The earliest texts of Toḇiyah can be found in Aramaic and these served as the basis for translations into Greek, Syriac, Latin, and Hebrew. Gaster published this short Hebrew version (“for reading on Shavuot”) along with a longer Hebrew translation that is closer to what was found in an Aramaic version which Adolf Neubauer had published about twenty years prior. In his introduction to his 1897 publication of this manuscript, Moses Gaster writes,

In this MS. (Codex Or. Gaster 28), we find a homily for the second day of Pentecost (Shavuot), the first part of which is a literal translation of the Aramaic text (of Tobit), but very much shortened towards the end. The greatest stress is laid on the giving of tithes, and the history of Tobit is adduced as an example of the grace of God bestowed on the man who fulfils faithfully the duty of paying his tithes. The lesson for the second day of Pentecost commences with the verse, Deut. 14:22, “Thou shalt surely tithe all the increase of thy seed, that which cometh forth of the field year by year.” The same words stand at the head of the Aramaic text and of the Hebrew. Here the introduction is more spun out than in the Aramaic text, which is merely an abridged copy of the original. Through this official connection with the liturgy one understands the reason why in the Aramaic and in this Hebrew version, which I will call H.G. (Hebrew Gaster), and in Ar. mention is made (II, 1) of the feast of Pentecost. Jerome and H.L. (Gaster’s other Hebrew manuscript of Tobit, Hebrew London) have merely a feast of the Lord. It may just as well be, that because this feast is mentioned in the legend the legend itself was brought in connection with the lesson of that day.

Now H.G. follows Aramaic as closely as possible, though leaving out the greater part of the legend; all the minor incidents and almost all the prayers are missing, so that the whole book is reduced to a comparatively short tale. But whatever there is left, is a literal translation which sometimes forces the character of the Hebrew. Thus it proves also the fact that Aramaic texts were translated into Hebrew at a later period, and that the legend of Tobit enjoyed a great reputation, and was preserved mainly through its connection with the liturgy. H.L. is also included in a volume containing all those books and poems which are usually associated with the prayer book and synagogue service. Through this connection one under stands the reason for its continual dwindling in size. It served as an illustration of the teaching of the Torah,^[1] Gaster uses “Law” as the default translation of Torah.  and was treated as such. By comparing H.G. with the Aramaic, we shall find that among other things omitted in both is that peculiar legend of the intended sacrifice of the two sons of Sennacherib, mentioned in H.M., chapter I. But the very same legend occurs in my MS. (28) in the homily preceding that of the Tobit legend. We have thus an indication of the probable source of this version (H.M.). It was in every probability taken from this or a very similar collection of homilies.

The minute comparison of the Aramaic (Neub.) with H.G. (for which that is the direct original), besides being interesting as illustrating the way how the abridgement was effected, is also of value for critical purposes. One point is especially important. When Tobi deposits the money with Gaḇael he received from him, according to the Greek, a handwriting (5:3) or a note of hand, so also Itala and Jer. H. L. has, a token (4:10), Ar. and H.M. have instead a bag, which to say the least, is very incongruous. In H.G. we have a ring as a token, which seems to be superior to all the rest. With a slight alteration one could amend the word אמתחת, bag, of H.M., into חתמת, which means a seal. This would imply that the Aramaic is a translation from the corrupted Hebrew text and not vice versa. But one example alone would not suffice to determine definitely the position in which those texts stand to one another. Without pursuing, therefore, this question any further, I limit myself merely to pointing it out. Many other similar contributions to the criticism of the text are to be found in this Hebrew version, for which reason I publish this also, and add an English translation to it. I have divided it into chapters according to the Aramaic and Greek, but without the division of verses, as these chapters are very small, and it is quite unnecessary to subdivide them any further.

Recordings

Source(s)

These are two prayers for Arsinoë found in amulets held in the collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum (No. 80.AM.55.1 and No. 80.AM.55.2). They were transcribed and translated by Roy Kotansky and published in “Two Inscribed Jewish Aramaic Amulets from Syria” (Israel Exploration Journal, 41:4 (1991), p.267-281). For additional details of these fascinating amulets, please consult this article. I have adapted Kotansky’s translation slightly by organizing the text in a linear fashion and in the transliteration of angelic names (i.e., Gavriel instead of Gabriel). I have also preferred an alternate reading of a line proposed by Kotansky in Amulet A (find note on “Tahomiel”). –Aharon Varady

Source(s)

Amulet A (No. 80.AM.55.1) from “Two Inscribed Jewish Aramaic Amulets from Syria” (Roy Kotansky 1991)

Amulet B (No. 80.AM.55.2) from “Two Inscribed Jewish Aramaic Amulets from Syria” (Roy Kotansky 1991)

The following is a reconstruction of this historiola made from the text found in an amulet bowl (12a) held in the collection of the National Library of Israel, and from the text of a silver amulet (№15) purchased by the Israel Museum in 1969. The translation is lightly adapted from the critical translation offered for both amulets by Joseph Naveh and Shaul Shaked.^[3] find Naveh and Shaked’s, Amulet and Magic Bowls: Aramaic Incantations of Late Antiquity (Brill 1985), pp. 104-122 and 188-197. 

The tale of Smamit was widely dispersed in many languages, but our reconstruction here is based primarily on Amulet Bowl 12a (Jerusalem, Heb. 4° 6079, NLI), supplemented by the text of the silver Amulet 15 (Israel Museum) and the notes of Joseph Naveh and Shaul Shaked. (Text in brackets is added from the text transcribed from Amulet 15 and their notes.) For the unreconstructed text, find Naveh and Shaked’s, Amulet and Magic Bowls: Aramaic Incantations of Late Antiquity (Brill 1985), pp. 104-122 and 188-197.

For related tales of vulnerable women, find the story of Lot’s Daughters (Genesis 18:17-19:29, which also involves mysterious traveling visitors), and the story of the Pilegesh b’Givah (Judges chapters 19-21, in which there are no visitors). For a related tale or possible derivation, find this historiola involving Eliyahu haNavi and Lilith.

Source(s)

Jerusalem Amulet Bowl 12a

Amulet 15 (Israel Musuem)

The Hygromancy is a technical compendium of astrological and demonological material; it fits well in the category of literary handbooks of esoteric knowledge much in the line of the Jewish Sefer ha-Razim and Harba di-Moshe, or the Testament of Solomon….In the majority of the manuscripts, the work is clearly divided in two parts. The first one, which we have called the Hygromancy, composed mainly of astrological instructions and in which the different units that form it are structured around the dialogue between Solomon and Rehoboam, shows no hints of Christianization and for the most part it is written in Koine Greek. The second part, which appears in at least nine of the more complete manuscripts, is formed by a treatise composed of a collection of magical practices and recipes (hygromancy, lecanomancy, catoptromancy, exorcisms). In its present state, this treatise is later than the first part or Hygromancy, since it is written in Byzantine Greek; however, many of the practices it describes are either directly linked with or are Christian reworkings of the ones that appear in magical papyri of late antiquity. Its relationship with the first part is weak since the pseudepigraphic fiction of the dialogue between Solomon and Rehoboam, which constitutes the structural backbone of the Hygromancy, is kept only in part of the textual tradition and in a partial way. Its exact contents vary greatly in each single manuscript following the fluid transmission of the ancient magical texts [….] From a linguistic point of view, the text in its present state can be dated around the fifth or sixth century C.E.; the main characteristics of its late Koine Greek fit in that temporal frame at least for some of the manuscripts (e.g., Monacensis 70). It shows no medieval influences in the syntax or the vocabulary, excepting some botanical terms that seem to be medieval. However, it has to be noted that the names of the plants correspond in the majority of cases with the classical denominations that are in Dioscorides’ Materia Medica (first century C.E.), rather than with their Byzantine equivalents. The contents of the work give some clues about its date and provenance. Generally speaking, most of the actions that appear to be performed or to be avoided depending on the hour (going into court, fights, problems with great lords, business ventures, speaking in public) fit clearly in any urbanized setting of late antiquity. There are no Christian overtones whatsoever, with the possible exception of the denomination of Sunday as the “day of the Lord,” but this epithet was used also in pagan ambiances since it was the day consecrated to Helios. The chronological sequence of the week (Sunday as first day and Saturday as the last, the ordinal numerals as names of the days) as well as the denomination of Friday as day of Preparation point clearly to a Jewish background. Besides, the prayers of the planets seem to be an adaptation of a pagan model to monotheist traits that would fit well in a Jewish setting. Finally we may add two further details. First, the mention of an “androgynous” demonic entity is surely strange, but it is less so when considering the importance that androgyny had both in some Greek texts of late antiquity and in the rabbinic literature. Although the text has demonized the androgynous, we find a similar narrative in Gnostic literature. Second, the unit about the symbols (characteres) of the planets is better understood when considering the importance of such drawings in the Jewish magical tradition. Summing up, it seems that the work in its actual form originated at the end of late antiquity, very likely around the fifth or sixth centuries C.E., in an urbanized milieu and quite likely within a Jewish environment, which was highly syncretized and whose main language was Greek. The weight of the astrological material in the whole of the work could point to Egypt as the ultimate origin of the work. However, the individual units could be earlier than the fourth century C.E.

This is a transcription of the Hygromantia Salomonis, published by Joseph Heeg in “Excerptum Ex Codice Monacensi Graeco 70” (1911), set side-by-side with Dr. Pablo A. Torijano’s “The Hygromancy of Solomon: A new translation and introduction,” in Old Testament Pseudepigrapha: More Noncanonical Scriptures, Volume 1, edited by Richard Bauckham, James R. Davila, and Alexander Panayotov (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2013), pages 305-325. In places where there was a small gap in the translation or helpful annotation, we have also consulted an earlier translation by Torijano: “A Translation of the Hygromanteia of Solomon,” Appendix One in his Solomon the Esoteric King: from King to Magus, Development of a Tradition (Brill 2002). We are indebted to Emily Kesselman for her transcription of Heeg’s critical text.

Source(s)

This manuscript, currently catalogued as Gaster Hebrew MS 177 in the collection of the University of Machester (f.36r-39r) was originally published by Ḥakham Dr. Moses Gaster as Wisdom of the Chaldeans: An Old Hebrew Astrological Text, reprinted from the Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archaeology, December 1900. (For additional details on this work, please consult Gaster’s article.) I have re-hebraicized angelic names and replaced archaisms. –Aharon Varady

Source(s)

This tale from the Alphabet of Ben Sira was transcribed from the print edition published in Otzar Hamidrashim vol. 1, (I. D. Eisenstein, New York: Eisenstein Press, 5675/1915, p.46-47). The English translation here was adapted from the English translation of Norman Bronznick, revised by David Stern and Mark Jay Mirksky in Rabbinic Fantasies: Imaginative Narratives from Classical Hebrew Literature (ed. David Stern & Mark Jay Mirksky).

Source(s)

Note: “The CAUSE” is used to translate the Divine Name YHVH, based on the philosophical idea of God as the Prime Mover and on the interpretation of the Name as a causative form of the copula – “causes to be.”

Source (Hebrew)	Translation (English)
תְּחִלַּ֥ת בְּרִיָּת֖וֹ שֶׁ֥לְּיֵֽשׁוּ׃ הָיְתָ֨ה אִמּ֜וֹ מִרְיָ֣ם בָּת־חָנָה֮ מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל֒ וְהָיָה־לָ֗הּ אָרוּשׂ֙ מִזֶּ֣רַע הַמְּלוּכָ֔ה מִבֵּ֥ית דָּוִ֖ד וּשְׁמ֣וֹ יוֹחָנָ֑ן וְהָיָה֙ בַּ֣עַל תּוֹרָ֔ה וִירֵ֥א שָׁמַ֖יִם הַרְבֵּֽה׃ וְהָ֣יָה־שָׁם֩ אֵ֨צֶל פֶּ֥תַח בֵּיתָ֛הּ לְנֶגְדָּ֖הּ יְפֵ֣ה מַרְאֶ֑ה יוֹסֵ֣ף בֶּן־פַּנְדֶּ֔ירָא נָתַ֥ן עֵינָ֖יו בָּֽהּ׃ וְהָיָ֗ה לַ֛יְלָה בְּמוֹצָאֵ֖י שַׁבָּ֑ת עָבַ֨ר עַל־פֶּ֤תַח בֵּיתָהּ֙ שִׁכּ֔וֹר וְנִכְנַ֖ס אֵלֶיֽהָ׃ וְהִיא֙ חָשְׁבָ֣ה בְּלִבָּ֔הּ שֶׁה֖וּא יוֹחָ֣נָן אֲרוּשָׂ֑הּ הִסְתִּ֥ירָה פָּנֶ֖יהָ וְנִתְבַּיְּשָֽׁה׃ חִבְּקָ֕הּ וְהָיְתָ֥ה אוֹמֶֽרֶת־ל֖וֹ אַל־תִּ֣גַּע־בִּ֑י שֶׁפֵּרַ֖שְׁתִּי נִדָּֽה׃ לֹא־חָשַׁ֥ב וְלֹא־חָשַׁ֖שׁ לִדְבָרֶ֑יהָ וְשָׁכַ֣ב עִמָּ֔הּ וְנִתְעַבְּרָ֖ה מִמֶּֽנּוּ׃ וּבַחֲצִ֖י לָ֑יְלָה בָּ֥א אֲרוּשָׂ֖הּ רַבִּ֥י יוֹחָנָֽן׃ אָֽמְרָ֣ה ל֗וֹ מַ֚ה ה֣וּא זֶ֔ה לֹא־הָיָ֧ה מִנְהָ֛ג כָּזֶ֖ה מִיּ֣וֹם שֶׁאֵרַשְׂתַּ֑נִי לָב֤וֹא אֵלַי֙ שְׁתֵּ֣י פְּעָמִ֔ים בְּלַ֖יְלָה אֶחָֽד׃ הֵשִׁ֥יב לָ֖הּ וְאָמַ֑ר פַּ֣עַם אַחַ֔ת עַתָּ֕ה אֲנִ֥י בָּא־אֵלַ֖יִךְ הַלָּֽיְלָה׃ אָֽמְרָ֣ה ל֔וֹ בָּ֣אתָ אֵלַ֔י וְאָמַ֥רְתִּי לְךָ֖ פֵּרַ֣שְׁתִּי נִדָּ֑ה וְלֹ֥א חָשַׁ֛שְׁתָּ וְעָשִׂ֥יתָ חֶפְצְךָ֖ וְהָלַֽכְתָּ׃ כֵּיוָן֩ שֶׁשָּׁמַ֨ע כָּ֜ךְ מִיָּ֣ד ׀ הִכִּ֗יר שֶׁיּוֹסֵף֙ בֶּ֣ן־פַּנְדֶּ֔רָא נָתַ֥ן עֵינָ֖יו בָּ֑הּ וְה֥וּא עָשָׂ֖ה הַמַּעֲשֶֽׂה׃ הִנִּיחָ֑הּ הִשְׁכִּ֣ים וְהָלַ֗ךְ אֵ֛צֶל רַבָּ֥ן שִׁמְע֖וֹן בֶּן־שָֽׁטַח׃ אָמַר־לוֹ֙ הֲרֵ֣י תֵּדַ֔ע מֶ֛ה שֶׁאֵ֥רַע לִ֖י בְּז֣וֹ הַלׇּֽיְלָה עִ֚ם אֲר֣וּשָׂתִ֔י נִכְנַ֥סְתִּי אֵלֶ֖יהָ כְּדֶ֥רֶךְ בְּנֵי־אָדָֽם׃ קֹ֣דֶם ׀ שֶׁהָיִ֣יתִי ׀ נוֹגֵ֣עַ בָּ֡הּ אָמְרָ֣ה לִי֩ שֶׁכְּבָ֨ר בָּ֜אתָ אֵלַ֗י הַלַּ֙יְלָה֙ פַּ֣עַם אַחַ֔ת וְאָמַ֥רְתִּי לְךָ֖ פֵּרַ֣שְׁתִּי נִדָּ֑ה וְלֹא֙ שָׁמַ֣עְתָּ אֵלַ֔י וְעָשִׂ֥יתָ חֶפְצְךָ֖ וְהָלַֽכְתָּ׃ כֵּיוָ֥ן שֶׁשָּׁמַ֖עְתִּי דְּבָרֶ֑יהָ כָּכָ֥ה הִנַּחְתִּ֖יהָ וָאֵ֥לֵךְ־לִֽי׃ אָ֣מַר־ל֔וֹ רַבִּ֥י שִׁמְע֖וֹן בֶּן־שָׁ֑טַח מִי־ה֖וּא שֶׁנָּפַ֥ל בְּלִבֶּֽךָ׃ אָמַ֥ר ל֖וֹ בֶּן־פַּנְדֶּ֑רָא שֶׁהוּא֙ קָר֣וֹב לְבֵיתָ֔הּ וְה֖וּא רוֹדֵ֥ף זִמָּֽה׃ אָמַ֨ר ל֜וֹ יוֹדֵ֤עַ אֲנִי֙ שֶׁאֵין־לְךָ֣ עֵדִ֔ים בְּדָבָ֖ר זֶ֑ה וּלְכָ֛ךְ שְׁת֖וֹק לַעֲצָתִ֥י שְׁמַֽע׃ אִ֤ם נִכְנָס֙ פַּ֣עַם אַחַ֔ת אִ֚י אֶפְשָׁ֔ר שֶׁלֹּ֥א יִכָּנֵ֖ס פַּ֣עַם שְׁנִיָּ֑ה עֲשֵׂה֙ בְּחׇכְמָתְךָ֣ הַזְּמָ֔ן וְהָעֵ֥ד עָלָ֖יו עֵדִֽים׃ אַחַ֖ר יָמִ֑ים יָֽצָא־ק֕וֹל שֶׁנִּתְעַבְּרָ֖ה מִרְיָֽם׃ אָמַ֣ר אֲרוּשָׂהּ֮ יוֹחָנָן֒ מִמֶּ֣נִּי ׀ לֹ֣א נִתְעַבְּרָ֗ה אֵשֵׁ֤ב כָּאן֙ וָאֶשְׁמְעָ֣ה חֶרְפָּתִ֔י מִבְּנֵ֥י אָדָ֖ם בְּכׇל־י֑וֹם עָמַ֖ד וְהָלַ֥ךְ לְבָבֶֽל׃ וְאַחַ֨ר יָמִ֜ים יָֽלְדָ֣ה בֵּ֗ן וְנִקְרָ֤א שְׁמוֹ֙ יְהוֹשֻׁ֔עַ עַל־שֵׁ֖ם אֲחִ֣י אִמּ֑וֹ וּלְאַחַ֞ר שֶׁנִּתְגַּלָּ֤ה חַטָּאתוֹ֙ וְקִ֣לְקוּל֔וֹ קְרָאוּה֖וּ יֵֽשׁוּ׃	The beginning of the creation of Yeshu. His mother was Miriam[1] Mary  daughter of Ḥannah,[2] Anna  an Israelite, and she had a fiancé of the royal seed of the house of David named Yoḥanan, and he was a master of Torah and very reverent of heaven. And there by the entrance to her house facing it, the very handsome Yosef ben Pandera set his eyes on her. And one night, after the sabbath, he came by the entrance to her house drunk, and came on to her. And she thought in her mind[3] Literally, “heart.” In traditional Jewish folk physiology the heart is the center of thought.  that he was Yoḥanan her fiancé, hiding her face from shame. He embraced her, and she was saying to him, “Don’t touch me, I’ve entered menstrual impurity.” He did not consider or heed her words, and slept with her, and she was impregnated by him. And at midnight her fiancé Rabbi Yoḥanan came. She said to him, “What is this? There has been no practice such as this since the day you betrothed me, to come onto me twice in one night.” He responded and said, “One time now have I come onto you tonight.” She said to him, “You came onto me, and I said to you, ‘I’ve entered menstrual impurity,’ but you didn’t heed, and you did what you wanted and went.” When he heard this, immediately he understood that Yosef ben Pandera[4] Pantera is an attested Roman last name of uncertain origin. Peter Schäfer has suggested it may be intended in rabbinic texts as a pun on “parthena” meaning “virgin”  had set his eyes on her, and he had done the deed. He got up from her and woke up and went by Rabban Shim’on ben Shetaḥ.[5] Important rabbi of the Hasmonean era, died c. 50 BCE. Said to be Jesus’s teacher (see B. Sotah 47a), despite the obvious calendric issues.  He said to him, “Hey, know what happened to me last night. With my fiancé I came onto her in the human manner. Before I could touch her she said to me that ‘you had already come on to me tonight one time, and I said to you, ‘I have entered menstrual impurity’ and you didn’t hear me and you did what you wanted and left.’ When I heard her words then I got up from her and came for myself.” Rabbi Shim’on ben Shetaḥ said to him, “Who is it who came to mind?”[6] See note 3.  He said to him, “Ben Pandera, since he is close to her house and he is a skirt-chaser.” He said to him, “I know that you have no witnesses for this matter, so be silent, listen to my advice. If he came one time, it is impossible he won’t come a second time; act intelligently this time, and make witnesses testify against him. After some days, the word came out that Miriam was pregnant. Her fiancé Yoḥanan said, “From me she is not pregnant. Should I stay here so I can hear my shame from people every day?” He got up and went to Babylon. And after some days she bore a son, and his name was called Yehoshua after the name of his mother’s brother, and after his sins and curse were revealed they called him Yeshu.
הוֹשִׁיבָת֥וֹ אִמּ֖וֹ לִפְנֵ֣י מְלַמֵּ֑ד וְהָיָ֤ה פִּקֵּ֙חַ֙ בַּהֲלָכָ֔ה מְלֻמָּ֕ד בַּתּוֹרָ֖ה וּבַתַּלְמֽוּד׃ וְהָיָ֞ה מִנְהַ֣ג ׀ תַּלְמִידֵ֣י חֲכָמִ֗ים שֶׁלֹּא֙ יַעֲבֹ֣ר בָּח֔וּר בַּדֶּ֖רֶךְ וְלָא־נַ֑עַר אֶ֗לָּא שֶׁהוּא֙ מְכַסֶּ֣ה רֹאשׁ֔וֹ אֲבָל֙ עֵינָ֣יו לָאָ֔רֶץ מֵרֹ֧ב כְּב֛וֹד תַּלְמִידִ֖ים לְרַבֵּיהֶֽם׃ וּבְי֨וֹם אֶחָ֜ד עָבַ֣ר ׀ ה֣וּא הָרָשָׁ֗ע וְהָי֤וּ דְּרַבָּנָיו֙ יוֹשְׁבִ֣ין צְפוּפִ֔ין עַל־שַׁ֖עַר בֵּ֣ית הַכְּנֶ֑סֶת שֶׁאוֹמְרִין־לָ֥הּ כְּנֶ֖סֶת לַמִּדְרָֽשׁ׃ וְ֠עָבַ֠ר אוֹת֨וֹ רָשָׁ֜ע בִּפְנֵ֣י רַבּוֹתֵ֗נוּ בְּקוֹמָ֤ה זְקוּפָה֙ רֹאשֹׁ֣ה גָּלָ֔ה וְלָא־יְהַ֥ב שְׁלָ֖מָא לְחַ֣ד מִנַּ֑יְהוּ וּבְעַזּ֣וּת מִצְח֔וֹ נָתַ֥ן פְּרִיעָ֖ה לְרַבּֽוֹ׃ לְאַחַ֣ר ׀ שֶׁעָבַ֣ר מֵהֶ֗ם עָנָ֨ה אֶחָ֤ד מֵהֶם֙ וְאָמַ֔ר מַמְזֵ֖ר ה֑וּא עָנָ֤ה הַשֵּׁנִי֙ וְאָמַ֔ר מַמְזֵ֖ר וּבֶן־הַנִּדָּֽה׃ י֣וֹמָא תִּנְיָ֔נָא הָי֥וּ רַבָּנָ֖ן בְּמַסֶּ֣כְתָּא דִּנְזִיקִ֑ין הִתְחִ֣יל ה֔וּא וְאָמַ֥ר בִּפְנֵיהֶ֖ן הֲלָכֽוֹת׃ עָנָ֛ה אֶ֥חָד מֵהֶ֖ן וְאָמַ֣ר ל֑וֹ הֲלֹ֣א שָׁנִ֔יתָ כׇּל־הַמּוֹרֶ֤ה הֲלָכָה֙ לִפְנֵ֣י רַבּ֔וֹ חַיָּ֖ב מִיתָֽה׃ עָנָ֨ה ה֜וּא וְאָמַ֣ר ׀ לְאוֹת֣וֹ הֶחָכָ֗ם אֵ֨י זֶ֤ה הוּא֙ רַ֔ב וְאֵי־זֶ֥ה ה֖וּא תַּלְמִ֑יד וְאֵ֨י זֶ֤ה הָיָה֙ חָכָ֣ם מֵחֲבֵר֔וֹ מֹשֶׁ֖ה א֥וֹ יִתְרֽוֹ׃ הֲלֹ֣א מֹשֶׁ֔ה אָ֥ב לַנְּבִיאִ֖ים וְרֹ֣אשׁ הַחֲכָמִ֑ים וְהֵעִידָ֤ה הַתּוֹרָה֙ עָלָ֔יו ׀ וְלֹא־קָ֨ם נָבִ֥יא ע֛וֹד בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל כְּמֹשֶֽׁה׃ וַהֲוָ֤ה יִתְרוֹ֙ גַּ֣בְרָא נׇכְרִ֔י וּמֵלִ֥יץ לְמֹשֶׁ֖ה דֶּ֣רֶךְ אֶ֑רֶץ כְּמַאֲמָ֗ר וְשַׂמְתָּ֥ עֲלֵיהֶ֛ם שָׂרֵ֥י אֲלָפִ֖ים וְשָׂרֵ֥י מֵאֽוֹת׃ וְאִם־אָמְרִ֣ין אַתּ֔וּן דְּיִתְר֥וֹ רַבָּ֖ה שֶׁלְּמֹשֶׁ֑ה הָיָ֥ה נִתְבַּטְּלָ֖ה גְּדֻלָּתֽוֹ׃ וּכְשֶׁשָּׁמְע֥וּ הַחֲכָמִ֖ים כָּ֑ךְ אָמְר֗וּ הוֹאִ֛יל וּמֵעִ֥יז כׇּל־כָּ֖ךְ נְפַשְׁפֵּ֥שׁ אַחֲרָֽיו׃ שָׁלְח֥וּ לְאִמּ֖וֹ לֵאמֹ֑ר אִמְרִי־לָ֕נוּ יֶ֥לֶד זֶ֖ה מִי־הָיָ֥ה אָבִֽיו׃ עָנְתָ֣ה וְאָמְרָ֔ה נִתְעַבַּרְתִּ֥י מֵאָרוּשִׂ֖י מארושתי רַבִּ֣י יוֹחָנָ֑ן וְהָלַ֣ךְ לְבָבֶ֔ל וְאֵינִ֥י יוֹדַ֖עַת מָ֥ה עָשָֽׂה׃ הֵשִׁ֥יבוּ לָ֖הּ לֵאמֹ֑ר הֲלֹ֨א הֵעִ֧ידוּ עָלָ֛יו שֶׁה֥וּא מַמְזֵ֖ר וּבֶן־הַנִּדָּֽה׃ עָנָ֛ה רַבִּ֥י שִׁמְע֖וֹן בֶּן־שָׁ֑טַח הַיּוֹם֙ שְׁלוֹשִׁ֣ים שָׁנָ֔ה שֶׁבָּ֛א רַֽבִּי־יוֹחָנָ֥ן אֲרוּסָ֖הּ לְפָנַֽי׃ אָ֚ז אָמַ֣ר לִ֔י כָּ֥ךְ וְכָ֖ךְ אֵרַ֥ע לִֽי׃ סִפֵּ֗ר כׇּל־מָ֨ה שֶׁכָּת֤וּב לְמַ֙עְלָה֙ מִזֶּ֔ה וּמַ֧ה שֶׁהֵשִׁ֛יב רַבִּ֥י שִׁמְע֖וֹן לְרַבִּ֣י יוֹחָנָ֑ן וּכְשֶׁנִּתְעַבְּרָ֗ה מֵרֹב֙ חֶ֣רְפָּת֔וֹ הָלַ֥ךְ לְבָבֶ֖ל וְלֹא־חָזַֽר׃ וְזֹ֨את מִרְיָ֜ם יָלְדָ֣ה ׀ יֵ֣שׁוּ זֶ֗ה וְאֵ֤ין עָלֶ֙יהָ֙ מִ֣שְׁפַּט־מָ֔וֶת שֶׁלֹּ֥א עָשְׂתָ֖ה מִדַּעְתָּ֑הּ כִּ֚י יוֹסֵ֣ף בֵּן־פַּנְדֶּ֔ירָא רוֹעֵ֥ה זוֹנ֖וֹת כׇּל־הַיּֽוֹם׃ וְכֵיוָ֨ן שֶׁ֤שָּׁמְעָה֙ מֵרַבִּ֣י שִׁמְע֔וֹן שֶׁאֵין־לָ֖הּ מִ֣שְׁפַּט מָ֑וֶת עָנְתָ֤ה גַּם־הִיא֙ וְאָמְרָ֔ה כֵּ֥ן הַמַּעֲשֶׂ֖ה והודית וְהוֹדָֽתָה׃ וְאַחַר֩ שֶׁנִּתְפַּרְסֵ֨ם הַדָּבָ֜ר עַל־יֵ֗שׁוּ כִּ֚י א֣וֹמְרִים ל֔וֹ מַמְזֵר֙ וּבֶ֣ן הַנִּדָּ֔ה וְחִֽיְּבוּ־ל֖וֹ מִיתָ֑ה יָצָ֥א וַיִּבְרַ֖ח לִירוּשָׁלִָֽם׃	His mother placed him before a teacher, and he was intelligent in the halakha and learned in the Torah and Talmud. And it was the custom of the students of the sages that no youth or lad would pass on the road unless he had covered his head, but his eyes to the ground out of the students’ respect for their rabbis. And on one day, that evildoer was passing, and his rabbis were sitting together at the gate of the synagogue, because they called the study-hall “synagogue.” And that very evildoer was passing before our rabbis standing upright with head uncovered, and he did not greet even one of them, and in his brazenness he disrupted his teacher. After he passed them, one of them responded and said, “He’s a bastard,” and the other responded and said, “A bastard and the son of a menstruant.” The next day our rabbis were in the tractate Nezikin, and he started to speak halakha in their faces. One of them responded and said to him, “Hasn’t it been drilled into you that one who teaches halakha in his rabbi’s face is liable for death?”[7] B. Berakhot 31b  He responded and said to that sage, “Who is the rabbi and who is the student? And who was wiser than his fellow, Moshe or Yitro? Wasn’t Moshe the father of the prophets and the chief of the sages — and the Torah testifies about him, ‘No other prophet arose in Israel like Moses!’[8] Deuteronomy 34:10  And Yitro was a foreign man, but he educated Moshe in the way of the world, as in the matter of ‘And place over them chiefs of thousands and chiefs of hundreds!’[9] Exodus 18:21  But if you would say that Yitro was greater than Moshe then his greatness would be nullified!” And when the sages heard this they said, “Since he is so brazen, let’s check up after him.” They sent to his mother, saying, “Tell us, this child, who was his father?” She responded and said, “I was impregnated by my fiancé Rabbi Yoḥanan, and he went to Babylon, and I don’t know what he did. They answered her, saying, “Wasn’t it testified about him that he is a bastard and the son of a menstruant?” Rabbi Shim’on ben Shetaḥ responded, “Today has been thirty years since Rabbi Yoḥanan her fiancé came before me. Then he told me ‘such and such happened to me.’” He told all that was written above this, and how Rabbi Shim’on answered Rabbi Yoḥanan, and how when she was impregnated, out of his great shame he went to Babylon and did not return. “And this Miriam bore this Yeshu, but she is not subject to a death sentence, because she did not act knowingly, because Yosef ben Pandera is a whoremonger all day.” And when she heard from Rabbi Shim’on that she was not subject to a death sentence, she also responded and said, “Thus was the matter,” and she admitted. And after the matter was publicized about Yeshu, that they said he was a bastard and the son of a menstruant and liable for death, he left and fled for Jerusalem.
וְהָיָ֛ה מֶמְשֶׁ֥לֶת כׇּל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל בְּיַ֣ד אִשָּׁ֑ה וּשְׁמָ֖הּ הֵלֵֽנִי׃ וְהָיָ֨ה בְּבֵ֤ית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ֙ אֶ֣בֶן שְׁתִיָּ֔ה שֶׁהִ֖יא פֵּרוּשָׁ֑הּ שָׁ֤ת אוֹתָהּ֙ יָ֔הּ וְהִ֣יא הָאֶ֗בֶן שֶׁנָּסַ֥ךְ עָלֶ֛יהָ יַעֲקֹ֖ב שָֽׁמֶן׃ וְהָיָ֣ה ׀ בָּ֗הּ כָּת֥וּב אוֹתִיּ֖וֹת שֶׁלְּשֵׁ֣ם הַמְּפֹרָ֑שׁ וְכׇל־מִי֙ שֶׁיִּלְמֹ֣ד אוֹתָ֔ם עוֹשֶׂ֖ה כׇּל־חֶפְצֽוֹ׃ וְהָיוּ֩ הַחֲכָמִ֨ים מִתְיָרְאִ֜ין שֶׁ֨יִּלְמְד֤וּ אוֹתָם֙ בַּחוּרֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וְיַחֲרִ֥יבוּ בָּהֶ֖ן הָעוֹלָ֑ם וְעָשׂוּ֙ תַּקָּנָ֣ה לַדָּבָ֔ר שֶׁלֹּ֥א יוּכְל֖וּ לִלְמֹֽד׃ כְּלָבִ֣ים שֶׁלִּנְחֹ֗שֶׁת תְּלוּיִים֮ עַל־שְׁנֵ֣י עַמּוּדֵ֣י שֶׁלְּבַרְזֶל֒ אֶל־שַׁ֣עַר הַ֠מּוֹקֵ֠ד וְכׇל־מִ֨י שֶׁנִּכְנַ֜ס וְלִמֵּ֤ד אוֹתָם֙ הָאוֹתִ֔יּוֹת וּבַשָּׁעָ֧ה שֶׁיּוֹצֵ֛א הָי֥וּ הַכְּלָבִ֖ים נוֹבְחִ֣ין אֵלָ֑יו וּכְשֶׁהָיָ֤ה רוֹאֶה֙ אֲלֵיהֶ֔ן הָי֛וּ הוֹלְכ֥וֹת הָאוֹתִיּ֖וֹת בלבו מִלִּבּֽוֹ׃ בָּ֣א זֶ֣ה יֵ֡שׁוּ וְלָמַ֣ד אוֹתָם֩ וְכָתַ֨ב עַל־קְלָ֜ף וְקָרַ֣ע יְרֵכ֗וֹ וְשָׂ֨ם בְּתוֹכ֤וֹ הַקְּלָף֙ וְאוֹתָ֣ן הָאוֹתִיּ֔וֹת שֶׁלֹּא־יִכְאַ֥ב עָלָ֖יו קְרִיעַ֣ת בְּשָׂר֑וֹ וְהֶחֱזִ֥יר הָע֖וֹר לִמְקוֹמֽוֹ׃ וּכְשֶׁיָּצָ֛א נִֽבְּחוּ־בּ֖וֹ הַכְּלָבִ֣ים שֶׁלִּנְחֹ֑שֶׁת וְהָלְכ֥וּ הָאוֹתִיּ֖וֹת מִלִּבּֽוֹ׃ הָלַ֣ךְ בְּבֵית֗וֹ וְקָרַ֤ע בְּסַכִּין֙ אֶ֣ת־בָּשָׂ֔ר וְנָטַ֥ל הַכְּתָ֖ב וְלָמַ֣ד הָאוֹתִיּ֑וֹת וְהָלַ֤ךְ וְקִבֵּץ֙ בַּחוּרֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל שָׁל֥וֹשׁ מֵא֖וֹת וַעֲשָׂרָֽה׃	And the governance of all Israel was in the hand of a woman and her name was Helene.[10] Helena of Adiabene, 1st century CE convert, died c. 56  And in the Holy Temple there was a Foundation Stone and this was its explanation: Yah set it there, and it is the stone on which Ya’aqov poured oil.[11] Genesis 35:14  And written on it was the Manifest Name, and anyone who learned it could do all that he pleased. And the sages were afraid that the youths of Israel would learn it and destroy the world with it, so they made a solution to the matter so one could learn it. Dogs of bronze hung on two pillars of iron by the Gate of the Hearth, and anyone who came to learn those letters, at the time when he went out the dogs would bark at him, and when he saw them the letters would leave his mind.[12] See note 3.  This Yeshu learned them and wrote them on parchment and split his thigh and put the parchment and the letters in it so that the tearing of his flesh would not hurt, and returned the skin to its place. And when he went out the dogs of bronze barked at him and the letters left his mind.[13] See note 3.  He went to his house and tore flesh with a knife and took up the text and learned the letters, and went and gathered three hundred and ten[14] Perhaps a reference to M. Uktzin 3:12?  youths of Israel.
אָמַ֤ר לָהֶן֙ תִּרְא֣וּ אוֹתָ֔ם הָאוֹמְרִ֣ים עָלַ֔י מַמְזֵ֖ר וּבֶ֣ן־הַנִּדָּ֑ה רוֹצִ֤ין גְּדֻלָּה֙ לְעַצְמָ֔ן וּמְבַקְּשִׁ֛ין לַעֲשׂ֥וֹת שְׂרָרָ֖ה בְּיִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ הֲלֹ֣א תִּרְא֔וּ כׇּל־הַנְּבִיאִ֥ים נִתְנַ֖בְּאוּ עַל־מְשִׁ֣יחַ הַשֵּׁ֑ם וַאֲנִ֥י ה֖וּא הַמָּשִֽׁיחַ׃ וְעָלַ֛י נִתְנַבֵּ֥א יְשַׁעְיָ֖הוּ וְאָמַ֑ר ׀ הִנֵּ֣ה הָעַלְמָ֗ה הָרָה֙ וְיֹלֶ֣דֶת בֵּ֔ן וְקָרָ֥את שְׁמ֖וֹ עִמָּ֥נוּ אֵֽל׃ וְעוֹד֙ דָּוִ֣ד זְקֵנִ֔י עָלַ֕י נִתְנַבֵּ֖א וְאָמַ֑ר ׀ הׄ֞ אָמַ֤ר אֵלַי֙ בְּנִ֣י אַתָּ֔ה אֲנִ֥י הַיּ֖וֹם יְלִדְתִּֽיךָ׃ ה֣וּא יְלָדַ֔נִי בְּלֹ֛א מִשְׁכַּ֥ב זָכָ֖ר עִם־אַמִּ֑י וְאִם־קוֹרְאִ֥ים אוֹתִ֖י מַמְזֵֽר׃ וְע֖וֹד נִתְנַבֵּ֑א ׀ לָ֚מָּה רָגְשׁ֣וּ גוֹיִ֔ם וּלְאֻמִּ֖ים יֶ֥הְגּוּ־רִֽיק׃ יִתְיַצְּבוּ֙ מַלְכֵ֣י אֶ֔רֶץ וְרוֹזְנִ֖ים נ֣וֹסְדוּ־יָ֑חַד עַל־ה֖ׄ וְעַל־מְשִׁיחֽוֹ׃ אֲנִ֥י ה֖וּא הַמָּשִׁ֑יחַ וְאֵ֣לּוּ שֶׁעָמְד֔וּ בְּנֵ֥י זְנוּנִ֖ים עָלַֽי׃ שֶׁכָּ֥ךְ אָמַ֖ר הַכָּת֑וּב ׀ כִּֽי־בְנֵ֥י זְנוּנִ֖ים הֵֽמָּה׃ וְעָ֥נוּ ל֖וֹ הַבַּחוּרִ֑ים אִם־אַתָּ֣ה מָשִׁ֔יחַ הֶרְאָ֖נוּ אֽוֹת׃ אָמַ֥ר לָהֶ֖ם מָ֣ה הָא֑וֹת תְּבַקֵּ֣שׁ מִמֶּ֔נִּי וְאֶעֱשֶׂ֖ה לָכֶֽם׃ מִ֠יָּ֠ד הֵבִ֨יאוּ ל֜וֹ פִּסֵּ֗חַ שֶׁלֹּ֥א עָמַ֛ד עַל־רַגְלָ֖יו מֵעוֹלָ֑ם אָמַ֤ר עָלָיו֙ א֣וֹתִיּ֔וֹת וְקָ֖ם עַל־רַגְלָֽיו׃ בְּאוֹתָ֣הּ שָׁעָ֔ה הִשְׁתַּ֥חֲווּ ל֖וֹ כֻּלָּ֑ם וְאָמְר֖וּ זֶ֥ה הַמָּשִֽׁיחַ׃ ע֛וֹד עָשָׂ֥ה לָהֶ֖ם א֣וֹת אַחֶ֑רֶת הֵבִ֤יאוּ לוֹ֙ מְצוֹרָ֔ע וְאָמַ֥ר הָאוֹתִיּ֛וֹת עָלָ֖יו וְנִתְרַפֵּֽא׃ הִתְוַסְּפ֣וּ עִמּ֔וֹ מִבְּנֵ֖י פְּרִיצֵ֥י עַמּֽוֹ׃ כֵּיוָן֙ שֶׁרָא֣וּ חֲכָמִ֔ים שֶׁהָי֥וּ מַאֲמִֽינִין־ל֖וֹ כׇּל־כָּ֑ךְ הֶחֱזִיק֣וּהוּ וְהוֹלִיכ֔וּהוּ לִפְנֵי֙ הֵלֵ֣נִי הַמַּלְכָּ֔ה שֶׁבְּיָדָ֖הּ אֶ֥רֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ אָמְר֖וּ לָ֑הּ בְּיָד֙ הָאִ֣ישׁ הַזֶּ֔ה יֵ֥שׁ מְכַשְּׁפִי֛וּת וּמַתְעֶ֖ה הָעוֹלָֽם׃ הֵשִׁ֣יב יֵ֮שׁוּ֮ לָ֣הּ לֵאמֹר֒ כְּבָ֣ר הַנְּבִיאִ֗ים נִבְּא֤וּ עָלַי֙ כַּמָּ֣ה זְמַ֔ן ׀ וְיָצָ֥א חֹ֖טֶר מִגֵּ֣זַע יִשָׁ֑י וַאֲנִ֖י הֽוּא׃ וַעֲלֵיהֶ֖ם אָמַ֣ר הַכָּת֑וּב ׀ אַשְׁרֵ֧י הָאִ֛ישׁ אֲשֶׁר־לֹ֥א הָלַ֖ךְ בַּעֲצַ֥ת רְשָׁעִֽים׃ אָמְרָ֣ה לָהֶ֗ם יֵ֚שׁ בְּתוֹרַ֣תְכֶ֔ם מָ֥ה שֶׁאוֹמֵ֖ר זֶֽה׃ אָמְר֗וּ יֵ֚שׁ בְּת֣וֹרָתֵ֔נוּ אֲבָ֕ל לָ֥א נֶאֱמַ֖ר עַל־זֶ֑ה כִּ֣י נִכְתַּ֗ב וְאֶת־הַנָּבִ֥יא הַה֛וּא ׀ וּבִֽעַרְתָּ֥ הָרָ֖ע מִקִּרְבֶּֽךָ׃ וּמָשִׁ֗יחַ שֶׁאָ֙נוּ֙ מְקַוִּ֣ים ל֔וֹ יֵשׁ־בּ֖וֹ אוֹת֑וֹת וְכָת֣וּב בֵּ֗הּ ׀ וְהִֽכָּה־אֶ֙רֶץ֙ בְּשֵׁ֣בֶט פִּ֔יו וְאֵ֛ין בָּזֶ֥ה הַמַּמְזֵ֖ר הָאֹת֥וֹת הַלָּֽלוּ׃ אָמַ֥ר יֵ֖שׁוּ לָ֑הּ אֲד֤וֹנָתִי֙ אֲנִ֣י ה֔וּא וַאֲנִ֖י אֲחַיֶּ֥ה הַמֵּתִֽים׃ שָׁלְחָה֙ אֲנָשִׁ֣ים נֶאֱמָנִ֔ים וְאָמַ֥ר הָאוֹתִיּ֖וֹת וְהֶחֱיָ֥ה הַמֵּֽת׃ בְּאוֹתָ֥הּ שָׁעָ֖ה נִבְהֲלָ֣ה הַמַּלְכָּ֑ה וְאָמְרָ֕ה זֶ֖ה א֥וֹת גָּדֽוֹל׃ נָתְנָ֤ה לַחֲכָמִים֙ נְזִיפָ֔ה וַיֵּצְא֥וּ מִלְּפָנֶ֖יהָ מֻכְלָמִ֑ים וְהָיָ֥ה לָהֶ֖ם צַ֥עַר גָּדֽוֹל׃ הוֹסִ֣יפוּ פְּרִיצִ֔ים וְהָי֖וּ עִמּ֑וֹ וְהָיְתָ֥ה בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל מַחֲלֹ֥קֶת גְּדוֹלָֽה׃	He said to them, “Look at those who say of me ‘bastard and son of a menstruant.’ They want greatness for themselves, and seek to lord it in Israel. Don’t you see? All the prophets prophesied about the anointed of God, and I am that anointed. And of me Isaiah prophesied and said, ‘Behold, the young woman conceives and bears a child, and calls his name God-is-with-us.’[15] Isaiah 7:14  And also David my ancestor prophesied and said of me: ‘The CAUSE said to me, ‘You are my son, I today bore you.’[16] Psalms 2:7  God bore me without any sex with my mother; should they call me a bastard? And also he prophesied, ‘Why do the nations rage and the regimes utter worthlessness, the earth’s kings stand up and the princes gather together against the CAUSE and God’s anointed.’[17] Psalms 2:1–2  I am the anointed, and these who stand against me are children of whoredom. For thus the verse says, ‘For they are children of whoredom.’[18] Hosea 2:6 ” The youths responded to him, “If you are anointed, show us a sign!” He said to them, “What sign? Ask of me and I will do it for you.” They brought him a lame man who had never stood on his feet; he said the Letters over him and he got up on his feet. At that very time they all bowed to him and said “This is the anointed!” He also did for them another sign: they brought him a leper, and he said the Letters over him, and he was healed. And added with him were the children of the apostates of his people.[19] See Daniel 11:14 and MT Kings and Wars 11:6  When the sages saw that they were believing him so, they took him and brought him before Helene the queen, in whose hand was the land of Israel. They said to her, “In the hand of this man is sorcery, and he deludes the world.” Yeshu answered her, saying: “The prophets already prophesied about me some time — ‘And a shoot will grow from the stump of Jesse’[20] Isaiah 11:1  and I am he. And of them the verse says, ‘Blessed is the man who does not walk in the advice of the evil.’[21] Psalms 1:1 ” She said to them, “Is what he is saying in your Torah?” They said, “It is in our Torah, but it is not said of this one, as it says regarding a false prophet, ‘And you shall sweep out evil from your midst.’[22] Deuteronomy 13:6  And the anointed one whom we wait for has his own signs, and it is written there, ’And he will split earth with the rod of his voice’[23] Isaiah 11:4 , and this bastard has done none of these signs.” Yeshu said to her, “My lady, I am he, and I will revive the dead.” She sent trustworthy men, and he said the Letters and revived the dead. At that time the queen was terrified and said, “This is a great sign!” She gave rebuke to the sages and they went out from her humiliated, and it was greatly stressful for them. He added apostates and they were with him, and there was in Israel great division.
הָלַ֥ךְ יֵ֖שׁוּ לְגָלִ֥יל הָעֶלְיֽוֹן׃ וְנִתְקַבְּצ֣וּ הַחֲכָמִ֔ים וְהָלְכ֖וּ לִפְנֵ֣י הַמַּלְכָּ֑ה וְאָמְר֤וּ לָהּ֙ אֲד֣וֹנָתֵ֔נוּ יֵ֨שׁ עִמּ֥וֹ מְכַשְּׁפ֛וּת וּמַטְעֶ֥ה בּ֖וֹ אֶת־הַבְּרִיּֽוֹת׃ וּלְפִיכָךְ֩ שָׁלְחָ֨ה פָּרָשִׁ֜ים בִּשְׁבִ֗ילוֹ וּמְצָא֙וּהוּ֙ שֶׁהָיָ֣ה מַתְעֶ֔ה אֶת־אַנְשֵׁ֖י גָּלִ֣יל הָעֶלְי֑וֹן וְהָיָה ׀ אוֹמֵ֣ר לָהֶ֗ם אֲנִי֙ בֵּ֣ן אֱל֔וֹהַּ שֶׁכָּת֖וּב בְּתוֹרַתְכֶֽם׃ עָמְד֥וּ הַפָּרָשִׁ֖ים לְהוֹלִיכ֑וֹ וְלֹ֤א הִנִּיחוּם֙ אַנְשֵׁי֙ גָּלִ֣יל הָעֶלְי֔וֹן וְעָשׂ֖וּ מִלְחָמָֽה׃ אָמַ֥ר לָהֶ֛ם יֵ֖שׁוּ אַל־תִּלְחַ֑מוּ שׁ֚וּבוּ לָכֶ֔ם בִּגְבוּר֖וֹת אֲבִ֥י שֶׁבַּשָּׁמָֽיִם׃ וְהָי֨וּ עוֹשִׂ֜ים אַנְשֵׁ֣י גָּלִ֗יל צִפּוֹרִים֙ מִטִּ֔יט וְהָיָ֣ה אוֹמֵ֔ר אוֹתִיּ֖וֹת שֶׁלְּשֵׁ֣ם מְפֹרָ֑שׁ וְהָי֥וּ פּוֹרְח֖וֹת הָצִּפּוֹרִֽים׃ בְּאוֹתָ֣הּ שָׁעָ֔ה נָפְל֖וּ לְפָנָֽיו׃ וְאָמַ֖ר לָהֶ֑ם הָבִ֥יאוּ לִ֖י אֶ֥בֶן הָרֵחַֽיִם׃ גִּלְגְּל֞וֹ לִשְׂפַ֤ת הַיָּם֙ וְאָמַ֣ר הָאוֹתִיּ֔וֹת וְהֶעֱמִידָ֖הּ עַל־פְּנֵ֣י הַמָּ֑יִם וְיָשַׁ֤ב עָלֶ֙יהָ֙ כְּיוֹשֵׁ֣ב בַּסְּפִ֔ינָה וְהוֹלֵ֥ךְ וְצָ֖ף עַל־פְּנֵ֥י מָֽיִם׃ וְהָי֞וּ אֵ֣לּוּ הַשְּׁלוּחִים֮ רוֹאִ֣ים וּתְמֵהִים֒ וְאָמַ֨ר יֵ֜שׁוּ לַפָּרָשִׁ֗ים לְכוּ֙ אֶל־אֲדוֹנַ֣תְכֶ֔ם וְהִגִּ֥ידוּ לָ֖הּ מֶ֣ה שֶׁרְאִיתֶ֑ם וַתִּשָּׂאֵ֤הוּ הָר֙וּחַ֙ מִפְּנֵ֣י הַמַּ֔יִם וְהוֹצִיא֣וֹ לְיַבָּשָֽׁה׃ וַיֵּלְכ֗וּ וַיַּגִּ֧ידוּ הַפָּרָשִׁ֛ים לַמַּלְכָּ֖ה כׇּל־אֵ֣לֶּה הַדְּבָרִ֑ים וַתִּתְבַּהֵ֣ל הַמַּלְכָּ֔ה וַתִּתְמַ֥הּ תֵּמַ֖הּ גָּדֽוֹל׃ וַתְּשַׁלַּ֕ח וַתְּקַבֵּ֖ץ אֶת־זִקְנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וַתֹּ֣אמֶר לָהֶ֗ם אַתֶּ֤ם אוֹמְרִים֙ כַּשְׁפָ֣ן ה֔וּא וְה֛וּא מְחַדֵּ֥שׁ בְּכׇל־י֖וֹם אוֹת֥וֹת גְּדוֹלֽוֹת׃ וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ לֹ֖א אֲדוֹנָתֵ֑נוּ אַל־יִכָּנֵ֥ס בְּלִבֵּ֖ךְ עִנְיָנָֽיו׃ שִׁלְחִ֣י שְׁלוּחִ֔ים וְהָבִ֥יאִי אוֹת֖וֹ כָּ֑אן וְנִגְלֶ֖ה חֶרְפָּתֽוֹ׃ בְּאוֹתָ֣הּ שָׁעָ֔ה שָׁלְחָ֖ה שְׁלוּחִ֑ים וְהוֹסִ֤יפוּ עִמּוֹ֙ סִיעָת֣וֹ הָרְשָׁעָ֔ה וּבָא֥וּ עִמּ֛וֹ לִפְנֵ֖י הַמַּלְכָּֽה׃ וְהָלְכ֣וּ ׀ זִקְנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל וְלָקְחוּ֙ אָדָ֣ם אֶחָ֔ד וּשְׁמ֖וֹ יְהוּדָ֣א אִסְכָּרִיּ֑וֹתָא וְהִכְנִיס֗וּהוּ לְבֵית֙ קׇדְשֵׁ֣י הַקֳּדָשִׁ֔ים וְלָמַ֤ד הָאוֹתִיּוֹת֙ שֶׁלְּשֵׁ֣ם הַמְּפֹרָ֔שׁ שֶׁהָ֥יוּ חִקּוּקִ֛ין עַל־אֶ֖בֶן שְׁתִיָּֽה׃ וְכָתַ֣ב אוֹתָ֗ם עַ֚ל קְלָ֣ף קָטֹ֔ן וְקָרַ֖ע יְרֵ֑כוֹ וְאָמַ֨ר שֵׁ֤ם הַמְּפֹרָשׁ֙ שֶׁלֹּ֣א יִכְאַ֔ב כְּמוֹ־שֶׁעָשָׂ֥ה יֵ֖שׁוּ תְּחִלָּֽה׃ כֵּיוָ֧ן שֶׁיָּשַׁ֛ב יֵ֥שׁוּ עִם־סִיעָת֖וֹ אֵ֣צֶל הַמַּלְכָּ֑ה וְשָׁלְחָ֛ה בְּעַ֥ד הַחֲכָמִ֖ים לָבֽוֹא׃ וְעָנָ֣ה יֵ֗שׁוּ וְאָמַ֞ר עָלַ֤י נִתְנַבֵּא֙ וְאָמַ֔ר ׀ כִּ֥י סְבָב֖וּנִי כְּלָבִ֑ים וְעָלַ֣י אָמַ֔ר ׀ אַל־תֵּחַ֖ת מִפְּנֵיהֶֽם׃ כֵּיוָ֡ן שֶׁנִּכְנְס֣וּ הַחֲכָמִים֩ וִיהוּדָ֨א אִסְכָּרִיּ֜וֹתָא עִמָּהֶ֗ם וְהָ֨יוּ טוֹעֲנִ֧ים טַעֲנוֹתֵיהֶ֛ם עָלָ֖יו וְה֣וּא עֲלֵיהֶ֑ם עַ֣ד ׀ שֶׁאָמַ֣ר לַמַּלְכָּ֗ה עָלַ֤י נֶאֱמַר֙ ׀ אֶעֱלֶ֣ה לַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וּכְתִ֕יב ׀ כִּי־יִקָּחֵ֖נִי סֶֽלָה׃ וְהֵרִ֤ים יָדָיו֙ כְּמוֹ־כַּנְפֵ֣י נֶ֔שֶׁר וְהָיָ֖ה עוֹפֵ֑ף וְהָי֤וּ הַבְּרִיּוֹת֙ תְּמֵהִ֣ין מִפְּנֵיהֶ֔ם אֵ֚יךְ יַ֣פְרִ֔יחַ בֵּ֥ין הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וּבֵ֥ין הָאָֽרֶץ׃ וְאָמְר֨וּ זִקְנֵ֧י יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל לִיהוּדָ֖ה אִסְכָּרִיּ֑וֹתָא גַּ֣ם ׀ אַתָּ֗ה תַּזְכִּיר֙ הָא֣וֹתִיּ֔וֹת וַעֲלֵ֖ה אַחֲרָֽיו׃ וּמִיָּד֩ עָ֨שָׂה כֵּ֜ן וּפָרַ֣ח בַּשָּׁמַ֗יִם וְהָי֨וּ תְּמֵהִ֧ין הָעוֹלָ֛ם אֵ֥יךְ פּוֹרְחִ֖ים כַּנְּשָׁרִ֑ים עַד־שֶׁחִבֵּ֥ק אִסְכָּרִיּ֖וֹתָא וְעוֹפֵ֥ף בַּשָּׂמָֽיִם׃ וְלֹא־הָיָ֨ה יָכ֤וֹל לְהַכְרִ֙יעַ֙ זֶ֣ה אֶת־זֶ֔ה מִפְּנֵ֛י שֶׁיַּפִּילֵ֥הוּ לָאָ֖רֶץ בְּשֵׁ֣ם הַמְּפֹרָ֑שׁ בְּיַ֙עַן֙ שֶׁשֵּׁ֣ם הַמְּפֹרָ֔שׁ הָיָ֕ה עִם־זֶ֥ה וְעִם־זֶ֖ה שָׁוֶֽה׃ וְכֵיוָ֨ן שֶׁרָאָ֤ה יְהוּדָא֙ שֶׁכָּ֔ךְ קִלְקֵ֖ל מַעֲשָׂ֑יו וְהִשְׁתִּ֨ין עַל־יֵ֧שׁוּ וְנִטְמָ֦א שֶׁנָּפַ֥ל לָאָ֖רֶץ וְגַם־יְהוּדָ֥א עִמּֽוֹ׃ וְעַל־זֶ֣ה הַמַּעֲשֶׂ֔ה בּוֹכִ֖ים בְּלַ֣יִל שֶׁלָּהֶ֑ם וּמַעֲשֶׂה־זֶ֥ה שֶׁעָֽשָׂה־בּ֖וֹ יְהוּדָֽה׃	Yeshu went to the Upper Galilee. And the sages gathered and went before the queen and said to her, “Our lady, he has sorcery with him and he is deluding creatures with it.” Thus she sent cavalrymen[24] Hebrew parashim. Possibly a pun on Pharisees, perushim.  for him, and they found him as he was deluding the people of the Upper Galilee, and he was saying to them, “I am the Deity’s son, as is written in your Torah.” The cavalrymen stood up to bring him, but the people of the Upper Galilee would not release him, and they made war. Yeshu said to them, “Do not make war! Return in the might of my Father in heaven.” And the men of the Galilee made birds of clay, and he would say the Letters of the Manifest Name, and the birds would fly. At that very time they fell before him. And he said to them, “Bring me a millstone.” He rolled it to the shore of the sea and said the Letters over it and put it on the face of the water and sat on it like one would sit on a boat and went and floated on the face of the water. And these messengers saw and were astounded, and Yeshu said to the cavalrymen, “Go to your lady and tell her what you saw,” and the wind lifted him from the face of the water and brought him to dry land. And the cavalrymen went and told the queen all these things, and the queen was terrified and astonished with great astonishment. And she sent for and gathered the elders of Israel and told them, “You say he is a magician, and he does new great signs every day!” And they said, “No, our lady, do not let his matters enter your mind.[25] See note 3.  Send messengers and bring him here, and we will reveal his disgrace.” At that time she sent messengers, and his evil company gathered to him and came with him before the queen. And the elders of Israel went and took one man, and his name was Yehuda Iskariota,[26] Judas Iscariot.  and they brought him in to the house of the Holy of Holies and he learned the letters of the Manifest Name which were engraved on the Foundation Stone. And he wrote them on a small parchment and tore his thigh, and said the Manifest Name so as not to be hurt, just as Yeshu did previously. When Yeshu sat with his company at the queen’s, she sent for the sages to come. And Yeshu responded and said, “About me was prophesied and spoken: ‘For dogs surrounded me,’[27] Psalms 22:17  but of me said ‘Do not fear before them.’[28] Jeremiah 1:17  When the sages entered, and Yehuda Iskariota with them, they argued their arguments against him, and he against them, until he said to the queen, “About me it is said, ‘I will ascend to heaven,’[29] The introductory verb ne’emar would a prophetic passage, but no verse in the Tanakh says this. Perhaps the intended verse is Isaiah 14:13, which reads הַשָּׁמַ֣יִם אֶעֱלֶ֔ה “To the heavens I will ascend.” In context said verse is about the king of Babylon’s bragging, and in Christian interpretation it is traditionally considered to refer to Satan, so claiming it applies to Yeshu would be a telling choice.  and it is written, ‘For God will take me, selah.’[30] Psalms 49:16  And he raised his hands like the wings of an eagle and was flying, and the creatures were amazed before him — “How can he fly between heaven and earth?” And the elders of Israel said to Yehuda Iskariota, “You too, recall the Letters and go up after him.” And immediately he did so and flew in heaven, and the world was amazed — “How are they flying like eagles!?” until Iskariota grabbed him flying in heaven. And neither could defeat the other, to bring him down to earth through the Manifest Name, since the Manifest Name was for one and the other the same. And when Yehuda saw that this was so, he did something crude — he urinated[31] This is almost certainly a euphemism for “ejaculated.” Urine — unlike semen — doesn’t spread impurity, so being urinated on wouldn’t render one impure. To reflect this interpretation the word “rendered impure” in the Hebrew is cantillated with the rare trope merkha k’fula, generally used on a word with an aggadic midrash associated with it (see Weisberg, “The Rare Accents of the Twenty-One Books,” Jewish Quarterly Review, 1966).  on Yeshu and rendered him impure so he fell to earth along with Yehuda. And for this act they cry in their night,[32] Possibly referring to the Tenebrae service of mourning on the three days before Easter.  and the act that Yehuda did.
בְּאוֹתָ֣הּ שָׁעָ֔ה הֶחֱזִיק֖וּהוּ וְאָמְר֣וּ לְהֵלֵ֑נִי אֲבַ֣ד לֵ֗יהּ ה֚וּא יֵמַר־לָ֔ן מָן־ה֖וּא דְּמָ֥חֵי לֵֽיהּ׃ וְהָי֕וּ מְכַסִּ֥ין רֹאשׁ֖וֹ בַּבָּ֛גֶד וְהָיוּ֙ מַכִּ֣ין אוֹת֔וֹ בְּעֵצִ֖ים שֶׁלְּרִמּוֹנִֽים׃ כֵּיוָ֨ן שֶׁלֹּ֤א הָיָה֙ יוֹדֵ֣עַ דָּבָ֔ר נִרְאֶ֧ה שֶׁהָלַ֛ךְ שֵׁ֥ם הַמְּפֹרָ֖שׁ מִמֶּ֑נּוּ וְה֖וּא אָס֥וּר בִּידֵיהֶֽם׃ עָנָ֗ה וְאָמַ֣ר לַחֲבֵרָיו֮ לִפְנֵ֣י הַמַּלְכָּה֒ עָלַ֣י נֶאֱמַ֗ר ׀ מִ֤י יָקוּם־לִי֙ עִם־מְרֵעִ֔ים וַעֲלֵיהֶ֣ם אָמַ֔ר ׀ הַמַּ֖יִם הַזֵּידוֹנִ֑ים וַעֲלֵיהֶ֧ם נֶאֱמַ֛ר ׀ חִזְּק֥וּ פְנֵיהֶ֖ם מִסָּֽלַע׃ כֵּיוָ֨ן שֶׁשָּׁמְעָ֤ה הַמַּלְכָּה֙ כָּ֔ךְ נָתְנָ֥ה לַפְּרִיצִ֖ים נְזִיפָ֑ה וְאָמְרָה֙ לְחַכְמֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל הֲרֵ֥י ה֖וּא בְּיֶדְכֶֽם׃	At that time they grabbed him and said to Helene, “Let him perish! He should tell us who it is who beats him!” And they covered his head with a cloak and beat him with pomegranate wood.[33] Why pomegranate wood? Perhaps because of its association with the paschal sacrifice (M. Pesachim 7:1)  When he was rendered senseless, it seemed that the Manifest Name had left him, and he was bound in their hands. Yeshu responded and said to his fellows before the queen: “About me it is said, ‘Who will raise me up against evildoers?[34] Psalms 94:16 ’ And about them it says, ‘The wicked waters,[35] Psalms 124:5 ’ and about them it is said, ‘They strengthen their faces as rock.[36] Jeremiah 5:6 ’” When the queen heard this, she gave rebuke to the apostates, and said to the sages of Israel, “Behold, he is in your hands.”
וַיֵּצְאוּ֙ מִלִּפְנֵ֣י הַמַּלְכָּ֔ה וֶהֱ֣בִיא֔וּהוּ לְבֵ֥ית הַכְּנֶ֖סֶת שֶׁלִּטְבֶ֑רְיָא וְקָשְׁר֥וּ אוֹת֖וֹ עַל־עַמּ֥וּד הָאָרֽוֹן׃ וַיִּתְקַבְּצ֡וּ סִיעַ֣ת ׀ הַשּׁוֹטִ֣ים וְ֠הַתּוֹעִ֠ים אֲשֶׁ֨ר הֶאֱמִ֜ינוּ דְּבָרָ֗יו וַיְבַקְשׁ֧וּ לְהַצִּיל֛וֹ מִיַּ֥ד הַזְּקֵנִ֖ים וְלֹ֣א יָכְל֑וּ וַיְהִ֥י בֵּינֵיהֶ֖ם מִלְחָמָ֥ה גְּדוֹלָֽה׃ וְכִרְאוֹת֗וֹ כִּ֤י אֵין־בּוֹ֙ כֹּ֣חַ לִבְרֹ֔חַ וַיֹּאמַ֕ר תְּנוּ־לִ֖י מַ֣יִם מְעַ֑ט נָתְנוּ־ל֛וֹ חֹ֖מֶץ בִּכְלִ֥י נְחֹֽשֶׁת׃ עָנָ֤ה וְאָמַר֙ בְּק֣וֹל גָּד֔וֹל הֲלֹ֣א עָלַ֔י נִתְנַבֵּ֥א דָּוִ֖ד וְאָמַ֑ר ׀ וְלִצְמָאִ֖י יַשְׁק֥וּנִי חֹֽמֶץ׃ וְנָתְנ֥וּ לְרֹאשׁ֖וֹ עֲטָרָ֣ה מִקּוֹצִ֑ים וַיִּבְכּ֥וּ הַפְּרִיצִ֖ים בְּכִ֥י גָּדֽוֹל׃ וַתְּהִ֤י מִלְחָמָה֙ בֵּ֣ינֵיהֶ֔ם אָ֣ח לְאָחִ֔יו וְאָ֖ב לִבְנ֑וֹ וַיַּכְנִ֥יעוּ הַחֲכָמִ֖ים אֶת־הַפְּרִיצִֽים׃ וַיַּ֣עַן הוּא֮ וַיֹּאמַר֒ עָלַ֨י נִתְנַבֵּ֜א וַאֲמַ֗ר ׀ גֵּוִי֙ נָתַ֣תִּי לְמַכִּ֔ים וּלְחָיַ֖י לְמֹֽרְטִ֑ים פָּנַי֙ לֹ֣א הִסְתַּ֔רְתִּי מִכְּלִמּ֖וֹת וָרֹֽק׃ וְע֗וֹד עַל־אֵ֙לֶּה֙ אָמַ֣ר הַכָּת֔וּב ׀ וְאַתֶּ֥ם קִרְבוּ־הֵ֖נָּה בְּנֵ֣י עֹנְנָ֑ה זֶ֥רַע מְנָאֵ֖ף וַתִּזְנֶֽה׃ וְעָלַ֣י נֶאֱמַ֗ר ׀ אָכֵ֤ן חֳלָיֵ֙נוּ֙ ה֣וּא נָשָׂ֔א וּמַכְאֹבֵ֖ינוּ סְבָלָ֑ם וַאֲנַ֣חְנוּ חֲשַׁבְנֻ֔הוּ נָג֛וּעַ מֻכֵּ֥ה אֱלֹהִ֖ים וּמְעֻנֶּֽה׃ וְעָלַ֖י אָמַ֑ר ׀ יִכָּרֵ֥ת מָשִׁ֖יחַ וְאֵ֥ין לֽוֹ׃ וְכַאֲשֶׁ֨ר שָׁמְע֤וּ הַפְּרִיצִים֙ כָּ֔ךְ הִתְחִ֕ילוּ לִרְגּ֥וֹם אוֹתָ֖ם בַּאֲבָנִ֑ים וַיְהִ֧י בֵּינֵיהֶ֛ם רֶ֖שַׁע גָּדֽוֹל׃ וַיִּתְבַּהֲל֣וּ הַזְּקֵנִ֗ים וַיַּבְרִיחֻ֤הוּ מִפְּנֵיהֶם֙ הַפְּרִיצִ֔ים וַ֠יּוֹלִיכֻ֠הוּ שְׁלֹ֨שׁ מֵא֤וֹת וַעֲשָׂרָה֙ תַּלְמִידִ֔ים לִמְדִינָ֖ה אַנְט֑וֹכְיָא וַיְהִי־שָׁ֕ם עַד־עֶ֖רֶב פָּֽסַח׃ וַיְהִ֣י הַפֶּ֔סַח בַּשָּׁנָ֥ה הַהִ֖יא בַּשַּׁבָּ֑ת וַיָּב֨וֹא ה֤וּא עִם־תַּלְמִידָיו֙ לִיר֣וּשָׁלַ֔יִם בְּעֶ֤רֶב פֶּ֙סַח֙ וְהוּא־י֣וֹם שִׁ֔שִּׁי וְה֖וּא רוֹכֵ֥ב עַל־הַחֲמֽוֹר׃ וְהָיָ֣ה אוֹמֵ֣ר לְתַלְמִידָ֡יו עָלַ֣י נֶ֠אֱמַ֠ר ׀ גִּילִ֨י מְאֹ֜ד בַּת־צִיּ֗וֹן הָרִ֙יעִי֙ בַּ֣ת יְרוּשָׁלַ֔͏ִם הִנֵּ֤ה מַלְכֵּךְ֙ יָ֣בוֹא לָ֔ךְ צַדִּ֥יק וְנוֹשָׁ֖ע ה֑וּא עָנִי֙ וְרֹכֵ֣ב עַל־חֲמ֔וֹר וְעַל־עַ֖יִר בֶּן־אֲתֹנֽוֹת׃ בְּאוֹתָ֣הּ שָׁעָ֔ה בָּכ֥וּ כֻּלָּ֖ם וְהִשְׁתַּ֣חֲווּ־ל֑וֹ וְנִכְנַס֙ בְּבֵ֣ית הַמִּדְרָ֔שׁ עִם־שָׁל֥וֹשׁ מֵא֛וֹת וַעֲשָׂרָ֖ה תַּלְמִידָֽיו׃ בָּ֛א אֶחָ֥ד מֵהֶ֖ם וּשְׁמ֣וֹ גַּ֑יְסָא וְאָמַ֣ר לַחֲכָמִ֔ים תִּרְצ֖וּ הָרָֽשָׁע׃ אָמְר֕וּ וּבְאֵ֥יזֶה מָק֖וֹם ה֣וּא נִמְצָ֑א אָמַ֥ר ה֖וּא בְּבֵ֥ית המקדש הַמִּדְרָֽשׁ׃ אָמְר֥וּ ל֖וֹ הֶרְאָֽנוּ׃ אָמַ֣ר לָהֶ֡ם כְּבָ֣ר נִשְׁבַּ֩עְנוּ֩ הַשְּׁל֨וֹשׁ מֵא֤וֹת וַעֲשָׂרָה֙ תַּלְמִידִ֔ים בַּעֲשֶׂ֖רֶת הַדִּבְּר֑וֹת שֶׁלֹּ֨א נֶאֱמַ֥ר עָלָ֖יו הֲרֵי־הֽוּא׃ אֶ֣לָּא ׀ כְּשֶׁתָּב֣וֹאוּ בַבֹּ֗קֶר תִּתְּנוּ֮ שָׁל֣וֹם עָלֵ֒ינוּ֒ וַאֲנִ֤י אֵלֵךְ֙ וְאֶתֵּן־ל֣וֹ כְּרִיעָ֔ה וּלְמִ֨י שֶׁאֶתֵּ֧ן כְּרִיעָ֛ה אוֹת֖וֹ ה֣וּא הָרָ֑שָׁע וְכָ֖ךְ עָשֽׂוּ׃ נִתְקַבְּצוּ֙ תַּלְמִידֵ֣י יֵ֔שׁוּ וְהָלְכ֛וּ וְשָׁאֲל֥וּ בִּשְׁלוֹמָ֖ם שֶׁלְּתַלְמִידֵ֣י יֵ֑שׁוּ שֶׁבָּ֙אוּ֙ מִכׇּל־הַ֣מְּקוֹמ֔וֹת לְהִתְפַּלֵּ֕ל בְּחַ֥ג הַמַּצּ֖וֹת בְּהַ֥ר הַזֵּיתִֽים׃ וְנִכְנְס֤וּ הַחֲכָמִים֙ בַּמִּדְרָ֔שׁ שֶׁהָיוּ־שָׁ֥ם אוֹתָ֖ם שֶׁבָּ֣אוּ מֵאַנְט֑וֹכִיא וְהָיָ֛ה אוֹת֥וֹ הָרָ֖שָׁע עִמָּהֶֽם׃ וְנִכְנַ֣ס גַּ֮יְסָא֮ עִמָּהֶם֒ הִנִּ֙יחַ֙ כׇּל־הַקָּהָ֔ל וְנָתַ֥ן כְּרִיעָ֖ה לְיֵ֣שׁוּ הָרָ֑שָׁע מִיָּ֨ד הֵבִ֤ינוּ הַחֲכָמִים֙ עָמְד֣וּ עָלָ֔יו וְהֶחֱזִ֖יקוּ בּֽוֹ׃	And they went out from before the queen and they brought him to the synagogue of Tiberias and tied him to the pillar of the ark. And there gathered a company of deluded fools who believed his words and wanted to free him from the elders’ hands, but they could not, and between them was a great war. And when he saw that he had no strength to flee, he said, “Give me some water!” They give him vinegar in a copper cup. He responded and said in a loud voice, “Didn’t David prophesy about me and say, ‘And for my thirst they gave me vinegar?’[37] Psalms 69:22 ” And they placed on his head a crown of thorns, and the apostates cried a great cry. And there was war between them — brother against brother, father against son — and the sages defeated the apostates. And he responded and said, “About me it was prophesied and said, ‘My back I gave to the floggers, and my cheeks to the hear-pullers, my face I did not hide from insult and spit.’[38] Isaiah 50:6. From the third “servant song,” a group of four texts in late Isaiah used as proof texts for Christian doctrine.  And what’s more, about them the verse says, ‘And you, come here, soothsayer’s children, seed of an adulterous harlot!’[39] Isaiah 57:3.   And about me it is said, ‘Indeed, our sickness he bore, our suffering he endured, and we thought him plagued struck by God and afflicted.’[40] Isaiah 53:4. From the fourth “servant song,” a group of texts in late Isaiah used as proof texts for Christian doctrine.  And about me it says, ‘The anointed will be cut down and no more.’[41] Daniel 9:26 ” And when the apostates heard this they began to stone them with stones, and there was among them great evil. And the elders were frightened, and the apostates had him flee from before them, and three hundred and ten students, to a land, Antioch, and he was there until Passover eve. And Passover that year was on the sabbath, and he went with his students to Jerusalem on Passover eve — i.e. Friday — and he was riding on a donkey. And he was saying to his students, “About me is written, ‘Rejoice greatly, daughter of Ẓion! Shout out, daughter of Jerusalem! Behold your king comes to you, righteous and victorious is he, humble, and riding on a donkey, on a jack-ass son of a jenny-ass.’[42] Zechariah 9:9 ” At that time they all cried and bowed to him, and he entered the study hall with his three hundred and ten students. One of them came whose name was Gaisa,[43] This name, meaning “robber” in Aramaic, is not found in the Gospels. It may be a derivative of the name Gestas, apocryphally attributed to impenitent thief crucified alongside Jesus. In any case, in this narrative Gaisa — and not Yehuda Iskariota — serves as the traitor character.  and he said to the sages, “Do you want the evildoer?” They said, “And in what place is he found?” He said, “In the study-hall.”[44] The original Hebrew says “In the Temple, which should be said the study hall.” This is here represented as a qere/ketiv split.  They said to him, “Show him to us.” He said to them, “We the three hundred and ten students already swore by the Ten Commandments that we would not say of him ‘Here he is!’ Rather, when you come in the morning, give greeting to us, and I will go and kneel, and the one before whom I kneel is the evildoer,” and thus they did. The students of Yeshu gathered and went and greeted the students of Yeshu who came from all over to pray at the Festival of Flatbread on the Mount of Olives. And the sages entered the study where those who came from Antioch, and there that evildoer was with them. And Gaisa entered with them, left all the community, and kneeled to Yeshu the wicked; immediately the sages knew, rose against him, and got ahold of him.
אָמְר֥וּ ל֖וֹ מָ֣ה שְׁמֶ֑ךָ אָמַ֥ר לָהֶ֖ם מָתַּֽי׃ אָמְר֥וּ ל֖וֹ מֵהֵיכָ֥ן רְאָיָֽה׃ אָמַ֖ר לָהֵ֑ם ׀ מָתַ֣י אָב֔וֹא וְאֵרָאֶ֖ה פְּנֵ֥י אֱלֹהִֽים׃ אָמְרוּ־ל֕וֹ ׀ מָתַ֥י יָמ֖וּת וְאָבַ֥ד שְׁמֽוֹ׃ וְע֛וֹד אָמְר֥וּ ל֖וֹ מָ֣ה שְׁמֶ֑ךָ אָמַ֖ר נָקַֽי׃ אָמְר֥וּ ל֖וֹ מֵהֵיכָ֥ן רְאָיָֽה׃ אָמַ֕ר ׀ נְקִ֥י כַפַּ֖יִם וּבַ֥ר לֵבָֽב׃ אָֽמְרוּ־ל֕וֹ ׀ וְנַקֵּ֖ה לֹ֥א יְנַקֶּֽה׃ וְע֛וֹד אָמְר֥וּ ל֖וֹ מָ֣ה שְׁמֶ֑ךָ אָמַ֖ר בֻּֽנִי׃ אָמְר֖וּ מֵהֵיכָ֥ן רְאָיָֽה׃ אָמַ֕ר ׀ בְּנִ֥י בְכֹרִ֖י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ אָמְר֖וּ עָלֶ֣יךָ נֶאֱמָ֑ר ׀ הִנֵּה֙ אָנֹכִ֣י הֹרֵ֔ג אֶת־בִּנְךָ֖ בְּכֹרֶֽךָ׃ ואָמְר֥וּ ע֖וֹד מָ֣ה שְׁמֶ֑ךָ אָמַ֖ר נֵֽצֶר׃ אָמְר֖וּ מֵהֵיכָ֥ן רְאָיָֽה׃ אָמַר־ל֕וֹ ׀ וְנֵ֖צֶר מִשׇּׁרָשָׁ֥יו יִפְרֶֽה׃ אָֽמְרוּ־ל֕וֹ ׀ וְאַתָּה֙ הׇשְׁלַ֣כְתָּ מִקִּבְרְךָ֔ כְּנֵ֖צֶר נִתְעָֽב׃ וּכְאֵ֣לֶּה רַבּ֔וֹת שֶׁהָיָ֨ה אוֹמֵ֥ר לְעַצְמ֛וֹ שֵׁמ֖וֹת רַבּֽוֹת׃ וּמִיָּ֖ד תָּפְשׂ֣וּ אוֹת֑וֹ וְלֹ֨א הָי֤וּ יְכוֹלִים֙ לְהַצִּיל֔וֹ שְׁל֥וֹשׁ מֵא֛וֹת וַעֲשָׂרָ֖ה תַּלְמִידָֽיו׃ וּבְשָׁעָ֞ה שֶׁהָיָ֣ה רוֹאֶ֣ה ׀ לְעַצְמ֣וֹ נֶהֱרָ֗ג הִתְחִ֤יל וְאָמַר֙ הֲלֹ֣א עָלַ֔י נִתְנַבֵּ֥א דָּוִ֖ד וְאָמַ֑ר ׀ כִּ֥י עָלֶ֖יךָ הֹרַֽגְנוּ׃ וַעֲלֵיכֶ֖ם אָמַ֣ר יְשַׁעְיָ֑הוּ ׀ יְדֵיכֶ֖ם דָּמִ֥ים מָלֵֽאוּ׃ וַעֲלֵיכֶם֙ אָמַ֣ר הַנָּבִ֔יא לִפְנֵ֖י הַקָּד֣וֹשׁ בָּֽרוּךְ־ה֑וּא ׀ וְאֶת־נְבִיאֶ֖יךָ הָרְג֥וּ בֶחָֽרֶב׃ וְהִתְחִ֤ילוּ הַפְּרִיצִים֙ לִבְכּ֔וֹת וְלֹא־הָ֥יוּ יְכוֹלִ֖ים לְהַצִּ֑ילוֹ וּבְאוֹתָ֥הּ שָׁעָ֖ה נֶהֱרַֽג׃ וְהָיָ֖ה י֣וֹם שִׁשִּׁ֑י וְהָיָ֛ה עֶ֥רֶב פֶּ֖סַח וְעֶ֥רֶב שַׁבָּֽת׃ כְּשֶׁה֣וֹצִיאֻ֔הוּ לִתְלוֹת֥וֹ עַל־עֵ֖ץ הָיָ֣ה נִשְׁבָּ֑ר שֶׁהָיָ֛ה שֵׁ֥ם הַמְּפֹרָ֖שׁ עִמּֽוֹ׃ וּכְשֶׁהָ֣יוּ ׀ רוֹאִ֣ים הַשּׁוֹטִ֗ים שֶׁנִּשְׁבָּרִ֤ין הָעֵצִים֙ מִתַּחְתָּ֔יו הָי֣וּ חוֹשְׁבִ֔ים שֶׁמֵּרֹ֥ב צִדְקָת֖וֹ הָיָ֑ה עַ֚ד שֶֽׁהֵבִ֣יאוּ ל֔וֹ עָקָ֖ר שֶׁל־כְּרֽוּב׃ בְּיַ֙עַן֙ בִּהְיוֹת֣וֹ חַ֔י יָדַ֛ע מִנְהַ֥ג יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל שֶׁיִּתְל֑וּהוּ וַיֵּ֙דַע֙ מִיתָת֣וֹ וַהֲרִיגָת֔וֹ וְס֖וֹף יִתְל֥וּהוּ בְּעֵֽץ׃ וְעָשָׂ֗ה אָ֚ז בְּשֵׁ֣ם מְפֹרָ֔שׁ שֶׁלֹּ֥א יְקַבְּלֵ֖הוּ עֵ֑ץ וּלְעָקָ֣ר כְּר֗וּב לֹא־אָמַר֙ שֵׁ֣ם מְפֹרָ֔שׁ לְפִ֛י שֶׁאֵינ֥וֹ עֵ֖ץ אֶ֥לָּא עֵֽשֶׂב׃ וְכָ֨ךְ ה֤וּא יַעֲלֶה֙ לְשָׁנִ֔ים כְּרוּב֙ בִּי֣רוּשָׁלַ֔יִם יוֹתֵר֙ מִמֵּאָ֣ה לִיטְרִ֔ין עַ֖ד הַיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּֽה׃ לְאַחַ֣ר ׀ שֶׁתָּ֣לוּ אוֹת֗וֹ עַ֚ד שְׁעַ֣ת מִנְחָ֔ה הוֹרִיד֖וּהוּ מִן־הָעֵ֑ץ שֶׁכָּת֕וּב ׀ לֹא־תָלִ֥ין נִבְלָת֖וֹ עַל־הָעֵֽץ׃ קָבְר֤וּ אוֹתוֹ֙ כְּשֶׁיּ֣וֹם רִאשׁ֔וֹן וְהָי֛וּ פְּרִיצֵ֥י עַמּ֖וֹ בּוֹכִ֥ים עַל־קִבְרֽוֹ׃	They said to him,[45] One of the disciples. This entire portion of wordplay on names can be found in uncensored editions of B. Sanhedrin 43a.  “What is your name?” He said to them, “Mattai.”[46] Matthew.  They said to him, “From where is your proof?” He said to them, “When[47] Hebrew: matai  will I come and see the face of God?”[48] Psalms 42:3  They said to him, “When[49] Hebrew: matai  will he die and his name be lost?”[50] Psalms 41:6  Then they said to him,[51] Another disciple.  “What is your name?” He said, “Naqai.”[52] Lucas.  They said to him, “From where is your proof?” He said to them, “Pure[53] Hebrew: naqi  of hand and clean of heart”[54] Psalms 24:4  They said to him, “He remits,[55] Hebrew: naqqeh  but will not remit.”[56] Exodus 34:7  And then they said to him,[57] Another disciple.  “What is your name?” He said, “Buni.”[58] Possibly Nicodemius.  They said to him, “From where is your proof?” He said to them, “My firstborn son[59] Hebrew: b’ni  is Israel.”[60] Exodus 2:22  They said, “About you is said, ‘Behold I am killing your firstborn son[61] Hebrew: binkha .”[62] Exodus 4:23  And they said then,[63] To aother disciple.  “What is your name?” He said, “Netser.”[64] Nazarene.  They said to him, “From where is your proof?” He said to them, “And a twig[65] Hebrew: netzer  will sprout from his root.”[66] Isaiah 11:1  They said to him, “And you were torn from your grave like a despised twig.[67] Hebrew: netzer ”[68] Isaiah 14:19  And like this many times, where they would say to each one by many names. And immediately they grabbed him and his three hundred and ten students could not save him. And at that time he saw he was going to die, he started and said, “Wasn’t it about me that David prophesied and said, ‘For you we are killed!’[69] Psalms 44:23  And about you Isaiah said, ’Your hands are full of blood!’[70] Isaiah 1:15  And about you the prophet[71] Elijah  said before the blessed Holy One, ‘Your prophets they killed with the sword!’[72] I Kings 19:10 ” The apostates began to cry and could not save him, and at that time he was killed. And it was Friday, and it was Passover eve and Sabbath eve. When they took him out to hang[73] A word in Hebrew that can refer to hanging, impaling, or crucifixion.   on a tree, it shattered, because the Manifest Name was with him. And when the fools saw that the trees shattered under him, they thought it was from his great righteousness, until they brought to him a cabbage stalk.[74] This might seem to be too small to hang someone, but cabbages can grow much taller than you might think. The Jersey cabbage, native to the Channel Islands, has a stalk that can grow up to twenty feet tall if the weather permits. This “tree ” growing Collard greens in the Canary Islands is a cultivar of Collard greens, Brassica oleracea, able to grow quite large due to the frost-free climate. (credit: Sherwin Carlquist, license: CC BY-SA)   While he was still alive, he knew that the custom of Israel would be to hang him, and he knew his death and killing that in the end they would hang him on a tree. So he then made, by the Manifest Name, that no tree would receive him; but over a cabbage stalk he did not say the Manifest Name, since it is is not a tree but rather an herb. And thus, through the years cabbage grows in Jerusalem to more than a hundred liters, to this very day. And after they hanged him, by the grain-offering time they took him down from the tree, as is written, “Don’t let his corpse hang on the tree.”[75] Deuteronomy 21:23  They buried him on Sunday, and the apostates of his people cried at his grave.
עָבְר֥וּ עֲלֵיהֶ֖ם מִבַּחוּרֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל אָמְר֤וּ לָהֶם֙ בִּלְשׁ֣וֹן אֲרָמִ֔ית מַ֚אי אִיתִּ֔יבוּ אִיסַּכַּלִ֛י נְטַ֥לִי לְקַ֖בְרָא אִיסְּפֵּֽיקָא׃ אָמְר֨וּ הַשּׁוֹטִי֤ם בְּלִבָּם֙ שֶׁיַּחְפְּשׂ֣וּהוּ בַּקֶּ֔בֶר וְלֹ֖א מְצָאֽוּהוּ׃ וְהָלְכ֣וּ הַפְּרִיצִ֔ים לְהֵלֵ֥נִי הַמַּלְכָּ֖ה לֵאמֹ֑ר אוֹת֤וֹ שֶׁהָרְגוּ֙ מָשִׁ֣יחַ הָיָ֔ה וְכַמָּ֥ה מוֹפְתִ֖ים הֶרְאָ֥ה בְּחַיָּֽיו׃ וְעַכְשָׁ֞ו אַחַ֤ר מִיתָתוֹ֙ קָבְר֤וּ אוֹתוֹ֙ וְאֵינ֣וֹ בְּקִבְר֔וֹ שֶׁכְּבָ֥ר עָלָ֖ה בַּשָּׁמָ֑יִם וְכָת֕וּב ׀ כִּ֚י יִקָּחֵ֣נִי סֶ֔לָה ׀ כָּ֥ךְ נִבָּ֖א לְעַצְמֽוֹ׃ שָׁלְחָ֤ה לַחֲכָמִים֙ וְאָמְרָ֔ה מָ֥ה עֲשִׂיתֶ֖ם אוֹת֑וֹ וְאָ֥מְרוּ־לָהּ֙ הָרַ֣גְנוּ אוֹת֔וֹ שֶׁכָּ֥ךְ הָיָ֖ה דִּינֽוֹ׃ וְאָמְרָ֥ה לָהֶ֛ם אִם־הֲרַגְתֶּ֥ם אוֹת֖וֹ מָ֣ה עֲשִׂיתֶ֑ם אָמְר֥וּ לָ֖הּ קָבַ֥רְנוּ אוֹתֽוֹ׃ מִיָּ֛ד פִּשְׁפְּשׁ֥וּ אוֹת֖וֹ בַּקָּ֑בֶר וְלֹ֖א מְצָאֽוּהוּ׃ וְאָמְרָ֣ה לָהֶ֗ם בְּזֶ֤ה הַקֶּ֙בֶר֙ קְבַרְתֶּ֣ם אוֹת֔וֹ וְאֵיכָ֖ן ה֑וּא וְהָי֤וּ הַחֲכָמִים֙ מִתְבַּהֲלִ֔ים וְלֹא־הָי֥וּ יוֹדְעִ֖ים לְהָשִׁ֥יב לָֽהּ׃ לְפִ֣י ׀ שֶׁאָדָ֣ם ׀ אֶחָ֣ד הוֹצִיא֡וֹ מִ֠קִּבְר֠וֹ וְהוֹלִ֨יכוֹ לְגַנּ֜וֹ וְחָתַ֣ךְ הַמַּ֗יִם שֶׁהָיוּ֮ הוֹלְכִ֣ין לְגַנּוֹ֒ וְחָפַר֙ בַּח֔וֹל וְקָבַ֖ר אוֹת֑וֹ וְהֶחֱזִ֧יר הַמַּ֛יִם לְדָרְכָ֖ן עַל־קִבְרֽוֹ׃ אָמְרָ֣ה הַמַּלְכָּ֔ה אִם־לֹ֥א תִּרְא֖וּנִי אֶת־יֵ֑שׁוּ לֹא־אַנִּ֥יחַ מִכֶּ֖ם שָׂרִ֥יד וּפָלִֽיט׃ אָֽמְרוּ־לָ֑הּ תפילנו תַּפִּ֣ילִ֔נּוּ זְמַ֥ן קָב֖וּעַ וּתְנַֽאי׃ וְ֠אַחַ֠ר שֶׁנָּתְנָ֨ה אוֹתָ֜ם זְמַ֣ן קָב֗וּעַ הָיוּ֙ כׇּל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֣ל בּוֹכִ֔ים בְּצ֖וֹם וּבִתְפִלָּ֑ה וּמָצְא֤וּ הַפְּרִיצִים֙ פִּתְחוֹן־פֶּ֣ה לֵאמֹ֔ר אַתֶּ֥ם הֲרַגְתֶּ֖ם אֶת־מְשִׁ֥יחַ הֽׄ׃ וְהָי֥וּ כׇּל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל בְּצַ֣עַר גָּד֑וֹל וְהָי֤וּ חֲכָמִים֙ וְכׇל־אֶ֣רֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל בּוֹרְחִ֨ים מִמָּק֧וֹם לְמָק֛וֹם מֵרֹ֖ב הַפַּֽחַד׃ וַיֵּ֤צֵא מֵהֶם֙ זָקֵ֣ן אֶחָ֔ד וּשְׁמ֖וֹ רַ֣בִּי תַּנְח֑וּמָא וְהָיָ֛ה הוֹלֵ֥ךְ וּבוֹכֶ֖ה בַּשָּׂדֶֽה׃ רָאָ֥הוּ בַּעַל־הַגַּ֖ן וְאָ֣מַר־ל֑וֹ מָ֥ה אַתָּ֖ה בּוֹכֶֽה׃ אָמַר֙ כֹּ֣ה וָכֹ֔ה בְּעַ֛ד אוֹת֥וֹ הָרָשָׁ֖ע שֶׁאֵינ֣וֹ נִמְצָ֑א וְהִנֵּ֞ה הִגִּ֣יעַ ׀ זְמַ֣ן הַקָּב֗וּעַ שֶׁ֥נִּתְּנָה֙ הַמַּלְכָּ֔ה וְכֻלָּ֖נוּ בִּבְכִ֥י וּבְתַעֲנִֽית׃ מִיָּ֣ד ׀ כְּשֶׁשָּׁמַ֣ע דְּבָרָ֗יו שֶׁכׇּל־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ כַּאֲבֵלִ֔ים וְאָמְר֥וּ הָרְשָׁעִ֖ים עָלָ֣ה בַּשָּׁמָ֑יִם וְאָמַר֙ בַּ֣עַל הַגַּ֔ן הַיּ֕וֹם יִהְיֶ֛ה רְוָחָ֥ה וְשִׂמְחָ֖ה בְּיִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ כִּ֕י אֲנִ֖י גָּנַ֣בְתִּי אוֹת֑וֹ בִּשְׁבִ֤יל הַפְּרִיצִים֙ שֶׁלֹּ֣א יִקָּח֔וּהוּ וְיִהְיֶ֥ה לָהֶ֛ם פִּתְחוֹן־פֶּ֖ה לְד֥וֹר דּוֹרִֽים׃ מִיָּ֖ד הָלְכ֣וּ לִירוּשָׁלָ֑יִם וְאָמְר֥וּ לָהֶ֖ם בְּשׂוֹרָ֥ה טוֹבָֽה׃ וַיֵּ֣צְאוּ כׇּל־יִשְׂרָאֵל֮ אַחֲרֵ֣י בַּ֣עַל הַגַּן֒ וְקָשְׁר֨וּ חֲבָלִ֜ים בְּרַגְלָ֗יו וְהָי֨וּ סוֹחֲבִ֤ין אוֹתוֹ֙ בִּרְחוֹב֣וֹת יְרוּשָׁלַ֔יִם עַד־שֶׁ֥הֱבִיא֖וּהוּ לַמַּלְכָּ֑ה וְאָמְר֕וּ זֶה־ה֖וּא עָלָ֥ה בַּשָּׁמָֽיִם׃ וַיֵּצְא֥וּ מִלְּפָנֶ֖יהָ בְּשִׂמְחָ֑ה וְהִלְעִיגָ֣ה הַפְּרִיצִ֔ים וְשָׁבְחָ֖ה הַחֲכָמִֽים׃	Some of the youths of Israel passed by them, and said to them in Aramaic, “What are you sitting for? Look, pick up the grave, it’s doubtful!”[76] This Aramaic phrase seems to be somewhat muddled, and manuscripts differ widely. Samuel Krauss suggests a translation of “Why are you sitting here, you fools? Look at the grave, it is empty!” with Syriac (Christian Aramaic) influence and vocabulary.  The fools said in their mind[77] See note 3.  to search for him in the grave, but they did not find him. And the apostates said to Queen Helene, saying, “The one they killed was anointed, and so many wonders he showed in his life! And now after his death they buried him but he is not in his grave, because he already ascended to heaven, and it is written, ‘For He will take me, selah’[78] Psalms 49:16 — thus he prophesied of himself!” She sent for the sages and said, “What did you do to him?” and they said to her, “We killed him as was his judgment.” And she said to them, “If you killed him what did you do?” They said to her, “We buried him.” Immediately they rummaged for him in the grave and did not find him. And she said to them, “In this grave you buried him, so where is he?” And the sages were afraid and did not know how to answer her. For one man had taken him from his grave and brought him to his garden and stopped up the water that was flowing to his garden and dug in the sand and buried him and returned the water to its path over his grave. The queen said, “If you don’t show me Yeshu, I will leave no remnant or refugee of you.” They said to her, “Drop[79] The Hebrew is unclear. This vocalization follows Krauss but fudges the form a bit.  a set appointed time on us!” And after she gave them a set time, all Israel was crying in fasting and prayer, and the apostates found an opportunity to say “You killed the anointed of the CAUSE!” And all Israel was in great distress, and the sages and all the land of Israel fled from place to place out of great terror. And out of them came one elder named Rabbi Tanḥuma, and he was going and crying in the field. The owner of the garden saw him and said to him, “What are you crying for?” He said, “Such and such, on account of that one wicked one who is not found, and hey, the set time that the queen gave has arrived, and we are all in crying and self-affliction.” Immediately upon hearing his words that all Israel was like mourners, and the wicked were saying he went up to heaven, the owner of the garden said to him, “Today there will be relief and joy in Israel. For I stole him, so that the apostates would not take him, for it would be an opportunity for them for all generations.” Immediately they went to Jerusalem and told them the good news.[80] A common enough phrase in Hebrew, but it may also serve as a sly reference to the Greek term for the Christian gospels, evangelion, or literally “good news.” This term was certainly known to Jews, as in B Shabbat 116a-b the rabbis make a pun on it, referring to it as the avon gilyon or “sinful codex.”  And all Israel went after the owner of the garden, and bound him[81] Yeshu’s body, not the owner of the garden.  with ropes on his legs and dragged him through the streets of Jerusalem before they brought him to the queen and said, “This is the one who ‘rose to heaven!’” And they went from her presence in joy, and she mocked the apostates and praised the sages.
וּבָרְח֣וּ תַּלְמִידָיו֮ וְנִתְפַּזְּר֣וּ בַּמַּלְכֻיוֹת֒ מֵהֶ֨ם שְׁלֹשָׁ֜ה לְהָרֵ֣י אֲרָרָ֗ט וּמֵהֶ֤ם שְׁלֹשָׁה֙ לְאַרְמִ֔ינְיָא וּשְׁלֹשָׁ֖ה לְר֑וֹמָא וְהַשְּׁאָ֖ר לִמְקוֹמ֥וֹת אֲחֵרֽוֹת׃ וְהִתְעוּ֙ הָאֻמּ֔וֹת וּבְכׇל־מָק֣וֹם שֶׁבָּרְח֔וּ תָּבַ֕ע הַשֵּׁ֥ם יִתְבָּרַ֖ךְ דִּינ֣וֹ מֵהֶ֑ם וְנֶהֶרְג֖וּ כֻּלָּֽם׃ וְ֠רַבִּ֠ים מִבְּנֵ֨י פְּרִיצֵ֤י עַמֵּ֙נוּ֙ תָּע֣וּ אַחֲרָ֔יו וְהָיְתָ֣ה מַחֲלֹ֔קֶת בֵּינֵיהֶ֖ם וּלְבֵ֣ין יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וְהִכְא֧וּ בְּמַכּ֛וֹת וּבִלְבּ֥וּל תְּפִלּ֖וֹת וְהַפְסָד֥וֹת מָמֽוֹן׃ וּבְכׇל־מָק֛וֹם שֶׁהָי֥וּ רוֹאִ֖ין אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל הַפְּרִיצִ֞ים הָי֤וּ אוֹמְרִים֙ לְיִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אַתֶּ֥ם הֲרַגְתֶּ֖ם אֶת־מְשִׁ֥יחַ הֽׄ׃ וְיִשְׂרָאֵ֕ל הָי֥וּ אוֹמְרִ֖ים לָהֶ֑ם בְּנֵי־מָ֣וֶת אַתֶּ֔ם שֶׁתַּאֲמִ֖ינוּ בִּנְבִ֥יא שָֽׁקֶר׃ בְּכׇל־זֹ֕את לֹ֥א יָצְא֖וּ מִכְּלַ֣ל יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וְהָיְתָ֨ה מַחֲלֹ֤קֶת וּקְטָטָה֙ בֵּינֵיהֶ֔ם וְלֹא־הָיָ֥ה מְנוּחָ֖ה לְיִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ וְכֵיוָ֗ן שֶׁרָא֣וּ חַכְמֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵל֮ אָמְרוּ֒ שְׁלֹשִׁ֣ים שָׁנָ֗ה מִזְּמַ֤ן שֶׁנֶּהֱרַג֙ אוֹת֣וֹ הָרָשָׁ֔ע וּמֵאָ֣ז עַד־עַתָּ֔ה אֵין־לָ֥נוּ מְנוּחָ֖ה עִם־אֵ֣לּוּ הַתּוֹעִ֑ים וְאֵין־זֶ֥ה אֶ֖לָּא מֵרֹ֥ב עֲוֺנֹתֵֽינוּ׃ שֶׁכָּת֕וּב ׀ הֵ֚ם קִנְא֣וּנִי בְלֹא־אֵ֔ל כִּעֲס֖וּנִי בְּהַבְלֵיהֶ֑ם ׀ אֵלּ֥וּ נוֹצְרִ֖ים שֶׁאֵינָ֥ן כְּלֽוּם׃ וַֽאֲנִי֙ אַקְנִיאֵ֣ם בְּלֹא־עָ֔ם בְּג֥וֹי נָבָ֖ל אַכְעִיסֵ֑ם אֵ֖לּוּ הַיִּשְׁמְעֵאלִֽים׃ וְאָמְרוּ֙ חֲכָמִ֔ים עַד־מָתַי֙ יְחַלְּל֣וּ הַפְּרִיצִ֔ים שַׁבָּ֖ת וּמֹעֲדִ֑ים וְהוֹרְגִ֖ים אִ֥ישׁ לַחֲבֵרֽוֹ׃ אֶ֚לָּא נִרְאֶ֣ה חָכָ֔ם שֶׁיּוֹצִ֖יא אֵ֣לֶּה הַתּוֹעִ֑ים מִכְּלַ֖ל יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃	And his students fled and were scattered among the kingdoms — three of them to the mountains of Ararat, and three of them to Armenia, and three to Rome, and the rest to to other places. And they deluded the nations, and in every place they fled, the Blessed Name’s judgment came upon them and they were all killed. And many of the descendants of the apostates of our people were deluded after him, and there was disputation between them and Israel, and they struck with beatings[82] The original manuscript has a lacuna between “and they struck” and “and confusion of prayers.” — “with beatings” is a guess.  and confusion of prayers and loss of money. And wherever they saw Israel, the apostates would say to Israel, “You killed the anointed of the CAUSE!” And Israel would say to them, “You are doomed to die, for you believe in a false prophet!” Despite all that, they would not leave the community of Israel, and there was dispute and strife between them, and there was no rest for Israel. When the sages of Israel saw, they said, “Thirty years since that wicked one was killed, and from then on to now we have had no peace with these delusional ones, and this is because of nothing but our many sins. As it is written, ‘They provoked me with an ungod, enraged me with their wasted breaths’[83] Deuteronomy 32:21 a  — these are the Nazarenes[84] Christians. From “Nazareth.”  who are as nothing. ‘So I will provoke them with an unpeople, with a foolish nation enrage them’[85] Deuteronomy 32:21 b  — these are the Ishmaelites.[86] Muslims. ” And sages said, “How long will the apostates desecrate the Sabbath and festivals, and kill one another? Rather, let’s look for a sage who will lead these delusional ones out of the community of Israel.
הַיּ֣וֹם שְׁלֹשִׁ֣ים שָׁנָה֩ ה֨וֹכַחְנ֜וּם וְאֵינָ֣ם ׀ שָׁבִ֣ים אֶל־הׄ֗ הוֹאִיל֙ וְנִכְנַ֣ס בְּלִבָּ֔ם שֶׁיֵּ֖שׁוּ מָשִׁ֣יחַ הָיָ֑ה וְיֵלְכ֣וּ לַאֲבַדּ֔וֹן וְיִֽהְיֶה־לָ֖נוּ מְנוּחָֽה׃	“Today is thirty years we have contended with them but they have not returned to the CAUSE, since it has entered their minds[87] See note 3.  that Yeshu was the anointed. Let them go to damnation, but let us have rest!”
וְהִסְכִּ֨ימָה דַּ֤עַת הַחֲכָמִים֙ עִם־דַּ֣עַת אֶחָ֔ד וּשְׁמוֹ֙ אֵ֣לִיָּ֔הוּ וְהָיָ֖ה חָכָ֣ם גָּד֑וֹל וְאָמְרוּ־ל֗וֹ אָ֨נוּ נַסְכִּ֤ים לְהִתְפַּלֵּל֙ בִּשְׁבִילֶ֔ךָ וְתִהְיֶ֨ה בְּחֶזְקַ֧ת יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל כָּשֵׁ֥ר לֶעָתִיד־לָב֖וֹא לָֽךְ׃ וַֽעֲשֵׂה־חֶ֖סֶד עִ֣ם יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וְהוֹצֵ֤א הַפְּרִיצִים֙ מִמֶּ֔נּוּ וְיֵלְכ֥וּ לַאֲבַדּֽוֹן׃ הָלָ֤ךְ אֵלִיָּ֙הוּ֙ הֶ֣דְרִי֔וֹן שֶׁהָיָ֥ה בִּטְבֶ֖רְיָא עַד־אַנְט֑וֹכְיָא וְנָתַ֤ן הַתְרָאָה֙ בְּכׇל־אֶ֣רֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל כׇּל־הַמַּאֲמִ֥ין בְּיֵ֖שׁוּ יִתְחַבֵּ֥ר אֵלַֽי׃ וְאָמַ֣ר לָהֶ֗ם אֲנִי֙ שְׁלוּח֣וֹ שֶׁל־יֵ֔שׁוּ שְׁלָחַ֖נִי אֲלֵיכֶ֑ם וְאֶעֱשֶׂ֤ה לָכֶם֙ א֔וֹת כְּמ֥וֹ שֶׁעָשָׂ֖ה יֵֽשׁוּ׃ הֵבִ֖יאוּ מְצֹרָ֑ע וְשָׁ֥ם יָד֛וֹ עָלָ֖יו וְנִרְפָּֽא׃ וְהֵבִֽיאוּ־ל֜֞וֹ פִּסֵּ֗חַ וְאָמַר֙ שֵׁ֣ם הַמְּפֹרָ֔שׁ וְשָׂ֥ם יָד֖וֹ עָלָ֑יו וְנִרְפָּ֖א וְעָמַ֥ד עַל־רַגְלָֽיו׃ מִיָּד֩ הִשְׁתַּ֨חֲווּ ל֜וֹ וְאָמְר֗וּ בְּוַדַּ֕אי שֶׁאַתָּ֥ה שְׁלוּח֖וֹ שֶׁ֣ל־יֵ֑שׁוּ שֶׁגַּ֨ם אַתָּ֧ה הׇרְאֵֽיתָ־לָ֛נוּ אוֹת֖וֹת כָּמֽוֹהוּ׃ וְאָמַ֣ר לָהֶ֗ן יֵ֮שׁוּ֮ נָתַ֣ן לָכֶ֣ם שָׁלוֹם֒ וְאָמַ֡ר הֲרֵ֣י אֲנִי֩ אֵ֨צֶל אָבִ֤י שֶׁבַּשָּׁמַ֙יִם֙ אֵ֣צֶל יְמִינ֔וֹ עַ֛ד שֶׁיַּעֲשֶׂ֥ה נְקָמָ֖ה בַּיְּהוּדִ֑ים כְּמוֹ֙ שֶׁאָמַ֣ר דָּוִ֔ד ׀ נְאֻ֨ם ה֤ׄ לַאדֹנִי֙ שֵׁ֣ב לִימִינִ֔י עַד־אָשִׁ֥ית אֹיְבֶ֖יךָ הֲדֹ֥ם לְרַגְלֶֽיךָ׃ בְּאוֹתָ֥הּ שָׁעָ֖ה בָּכ֣וּ כֻּלָּ֑ם וְהוֹסִ֥יפוּ שְׁט֖וּת עַל־שְׁטוּתָֽם׃ אָמַ֣ר לָהֶם֮ אֵלִיָּהוּ֒ יֵ֣שׁוּ ׀ אָמַ֣ר לָכֶ֗ם כֹּ֚ל מִ֣י־שֶֽׁיִּרְצֶ֔ה לִהְי֥וֹת עִמִּ֖י לֶעָתִ֣יד לָב֑וֹא יוֹצִ֤יא עַצְמוֹ֙ מִכְּלַ֣ל יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וְלֹ֥א יִתְחַבֵּ֖ר עִמָּהֶֽם׃ שֶׁכְּבָ֛ר אָבִ֥י שֶׁבַּשָּׁמַ֖יִם תִּעֵ֣ב אוֹתָ֑ם וּמִכָּ֣אן וְאֵילָ֔ךְ אֵינ֥וֹ רוֹצֶ֖ה עֲבוֹדָתָֽם׃ שֶׁכָּ֤ךְ אָמַר֙ עַל־יְדֵ֣י יְשַׁעְיָ֔הוּ ׀ חׇדְשֵׁיכֶ֤ם וּמֽוֹעֲדֵיכֶם֙ שָֽׂנְאָ֣ה נַפְשִׁ֔י הָי֥וּ עָלַ֖י לָטֹ֑רַח נִלְאֵ֖יתִי נְשֹֽׂא׃ אֶ֞לָּא יֵ֣שׁוּ ׀ אָמַ֣ר לָכֶ֗ם כׇּל־מִ֨י שֶׁיִּהְיֶ֤ה בְּחֶזְקָתִי֙ יְחַלֵּ֣ל הַשַּׁבָּ֔ת שֶׁכְּבָ֨ר שָׂנֵ֧א אוֹת֛וֹ הַקָּד֖וֹשׁ בָּר֣וּךְ ה֑וּא וְיִשְׁמֹ֨ר י֤וֹם רִאשׁוֹן֙ תַּחְתָּ֔יו כִּ֨י בּ֧וֹ הֵאִ֛יר הַקָּד֥וֹשׁ בָּרֽוּךְ־ה֖וּא עוֹלָמֽוֹ׃ וּבִשְׁבִ֤יל פֶּ֙סַח֙ שֶׁעוֹשִׂ֣ין יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל עֲשׂ֥וּ אוֹתָ֖ם עֵ֣דָה דִּקְיָ֑ימְתָא שֶֽׁעָמַ֥ד בּ֖וֹ מִקִּבְרֽוֹ׃ וּבִשְׁבִ֥יל עֲצַ֖רְתָּא סוּלָּ֑קָא וְה֥וּא י֛וֹם שֶׁעָלָ֥ה בּ֖וֹ בַּשָּֽׁמָיִם׃ וּבִשְׁבִ֖יל רֹ֣אשׁ הַשָּׁנָ֑ה אַשְׁכַּ֖חְתָּא דִּצְלִֽיבָא׃ וּבִשְׁבִ֥יל צֽוֹמָא־רַ֖בָּא גְּזֽוּרְתָּא׃ וּבִשְׁבִ֥יל חֲנֻכָּ֖ה קָלֶֽנְדָּא׃ אַ֨ף לָ֤א עֻרְלֵ֙יתָא֙ מִדַּ֔י אַף־לֹ֥א גְּז֖וּרְתָּא מִדַּ֑י מִי־שֶׁיִּרְצֶ֤ה לְהִמּוֹל֙ יִמּ֔וֹל וּמִי־שֶׁלֹּ֥א יִרְצֶ֖ה אַל־יִמּֽוֹל׃ וְע֣וֹד מַ֣ה שֶּׁבָּרָא֩ הַקָּד֨וֹשׁ בָּֽרוּךְ־ה֜וּא בְּעוֹלָ֗מוֹ מִן־יַתּ֤וּשׁ קָטֹן֙ עַד־פִּיל֙ שֶׁה֣וּא גָּד֔וֹל שְׁפ֥וֹךְ דָּמ֛וֹ בָּאָ֖רֶץ אֲכָל֑וּהוּ שֶׁכָּ֣ךְ כָּת֔וּב ׀ כְּיֶ֣רֶק עֵ֔שֶׂב נָתַ֥תִּי לָכֶ֖ם אֶת־כֹּֽל׃ וְאִ֕ם יַטְרִ֥יחַ מִכֶּ֖ם לְאֶחָ֣ד מִ֑יל יֵלֵ֥ךְ עִמּ֖וֹ שְׁנֵ֥י מִילִֽין׃ וְאִ֕ם יַכֶּ֧ה יְהוּדִ֛י בָּכֶ֖ם בְּצַ֣ד שְׂמֹא֑ל תְּנוּ־ל֥וֹ ע֖וֹד צַ֥ד יָמִֽין׃ וְאִ֗ם יְחָרֵ֧ף אֶתְכֶ֛ם יְהוּדִ֖י תִּסְבְּל֑וּהוּ וְאַ֣ל־תְּשִׁיב֔וּהוּ כְּג֖וֹן שֶׁסָּבַ֥ל יֵֽשׁוּ׃ בְּדֶ֤רֶךְ עֲנָוָה֙ הֶרְאָ֣ה עַצְמ֔וֹ כְּדֵ֖י לְהַרְא֣וֹת לָכֶ֑ם כֵּ֚ן עֲנָוָ֣ה כָּמ֔וֹהוּ שֶׁתִּסְבְּל֕וּ כׇּל־מָ֖ה שֶֽׁיַּעֲשׂ֥וּ לָכֶֽם׃ וּלְי֣וֹם הַדִּ֗ין יִפְרַע֮ מֵהֶ֣ם יֵ֒שׁוּ֒ וְלָכֶם֩ יֵ֨שׁ תּוֹחֶ֤לֶת בִּשְׁבִיל־עֲנָוָה֙ שֶׁכָּ֣ךְ כָּת֔וּב ׀ בַּקְּשׁ֤וּ אֶת־הׄ֙ כׇּל־עַנְוֵ֣י הָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר מִשְׁפָּט֖וֹ פָּעָ֑לוּ בַּקְּשׁוּ־צֶ֙דֶק֙ בַּקְּשׁ֣וּ עֲנָוָ֔ה אוּלַי֙ תִּסָּ֣תְר֔וּ בְּי֖וֹם אַף־הֽׄ׃ עַ֛ד שֶׁהִפְרִ֥ישׁ אוֹתָ֖ם מִיִּשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ וְזֶ֣ה אֵלִיָּ֩הוּ֩ שֶׁהֶרְאָ֨ה לָהֶ֜ם אֵ֣לֶּה הַחֻקִּ֗ים אֲשֶׁ֣ר לָא־טוֹבִ֔ים שֶׁעָשָׂ֕ה בְּעַ֖ד תַּקָּנַ֣ת יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וְקוֹרִ֥ין אוֹת֛וֹ נוֹצָרִ֖ים פָּֽאוּלוּס׃ אַחַ֨ר שֶׁתִּקֵּ֤ן לָהֶם֙ פָּ֔אוּלוּס אֵ֥לֶּה הַחֻקִּ֖ים וְהַצַּוִּ֑ין אָ֚ז נִפְרְד֣וּ הַתּוֹעִ֔ים מִיִּשְׂרָאֵ֕ל וּבָטְלָ֖ה הַמַּחֲלֹֽקֶת׃	And the thought of the sages agreed with the thought of one person named Eliyahu who was a great sage, and they said to him, “We will agree to pray for you that you will be properly in the portion of Israel in the world to come for you. And do kindness with Israel and bring these apostates out from us, that they go to damnation.” Eliyahu went to the hedrion[88] From the Greek ἕδρῐον, sitting-place. Cognate to the more common Hebrew word sanhedrin (from the Greek συνέδριον, togther-sitting-place.)  that was in Tiberius up to Antioch, and he gave an announcement in all the land of Israel: “All who believe in Yeshu, be joined with me!” And he said to them, “I am an emissary[89] i.e, apostle  of Yeshu; he sent me to you, and I will do for you a sign just as Yeshu did.” They brought him a leper, and he put his hand on him and he was healed. And they brought him a lame man, and he said the Manifest Name and put his hand on him, and he was healed and got up on his legs. Immediately they bowed to him and said, “Indeed, you are the emissary of Yeshu!, for you also showed us signs like his!” And he said to them, “Yeshu greeted you, and said, “I am by my Father in heaven, by His right hand, until He does vengeace on the Jews, as David said, ‘The CAUSE spoke to my master: sit at My right hand until I place your enemies as a stool for your feet.’[90] Psalms 110:1 ” At that time they all cried and added folly upon their folly. Eliyahu said to them, “Yeshu said to you, ‘All who want to be with me in the future should bring themselves out of the community of Israel, and not join with them. For my Father in heaven already hates them, and from here on will not want their service. For thus He said by the hand of Isaiah: ‘Your new-moons and festivals are hateful to My soul, they are as toil to me, I am sick of carrying them.’[91] Isaiah 1:14  Rather, Yeshu said to you, ‘All who want to be in my portion shall desecrate the Sabbath, for the blessed Holy One already hates it, and keep Sunday in its place, for on it the blessed Holy One illuminated the earth. And in place of Passover — as Israel makes — make the festival of Resurrection[92] The word qyamta for resurrection is a Syriac term without parallel in the Judeo-Aramaic corpus. It has the root qwm referring to standing in general, thus the wordplay in this verse. This passage refers to Easter. , for he stood up from his grave upon it. And in place of Shavuot, Ascension[93] Again, a Syriac word without parallel in the Judeo-Aramaic corpus, although easily understandable from its root slq referring to any upwards motion. Notably, instead of paralleling Shavuot with its historical counterpart of Pentecost, this text parallels it with the Feast of Ascension, generally ten days before Pentecost in most Christian liturgical calendars. , for it was the day upon which he ascended into heaven. And in place of the New Year, the Finding of the Cross[94] An untranslatable pun. The Aramaic word ashkaḥta literally means “finding,” but in Judeo-Aramaic usage it is generally used to refer to “invention” or “making up.” The Christian Feast of the Cross is on 14 September, approximately the time of Rosh haShanah. . And in place of the great fast,[95] Yom Kippur.  the Circumcision.[96] New Year’s Day, in most Christian liturgies (being eight days after Christmas). This is the first and only holiday listed here to be at an entirely different time from its Jewish counterpart. Some Eastern Orthodox Christians consider the entire Christmas season to be parallel with Sukkot.  And in place of Ḥanukkah, Calenda.[97] The Greek equivalent for the Latin Saturnalia, in this passage probably referring to Christmas.  Also, foreskins are irrelevant, also, circumcision is irrelevant — one who wants to circumcise should circumcise, and one who does not want to circumcise should not circumcise. And also, what the blessed Holy One created in His universe, from the tiny mosquito to the elephant — which is big — spill its blood on the ground and eat it, for thus is written, ‘Like green grass I have given you all.’[98] Genesis 9:3  If one of them bothers you for a mile, let him go with you two miles. And if a Jew strikes you on the left side, give him your right side as well.[99] These lines are obviously a parodic text of the Sermon on the Mount.  And if a Jew insults you, suffer it, and do not respond, just as Yeshu suffered. In the way of humility he showed himself, so as to show you thus humility like his you will show whatever they do to you. And on the day of judgement Yeshu will repay them, but for you there is hope on account of humility, as is written — ‘Seek the CAUSE, all humble of the land, who did his law, seek justice, seek humility, maybe you will be sheltered on the day of the CAUSE’s anger.’[100] Zephaniah 2:3 ” Untill he split them off of Israel. And this Eliyahu who showed them these laws that were not good, which he did for the sake of repairing Israel, the Nazarenes[101] See note 84  call Paulus.[102] i.e. the Apostle Paul, generally considered to be the person whose reforms turned Christianity from a schismatic form of Judaism to a separate religion. This text claims that was the rabbi’s plan all along. Interestingly, the idea that Paul was a student of the sages before joining the Christians is not contradictory — in his own letters he claims to have studied with Rabban Gamliel the Elder.  After Paulus set these rules and orders, then the errant were separated from Israel, and the dispute ceased.
וּלְאַחַ֣ר זְמַ֔ן עָמְדָ֖ה מַלְכ֥וּת פָּרָֽס׃ יָצָ֛א גּ֥וֹי אֶחָ֖ד מֵהֶ֑ם עִלֵּ֣ג עֲלֵיהֶ֔ם כְּמ֛וֹ שֶֽׁעִלְּג֥וּ מִינִ֖ים עַל־חֲכָמִֽים׃ וְאָמַ֣ר לָהֶ֗ם שָׁגָ֤ה פָּ֙אוּלוּס֙ בִּכְתָב֔וֹ שֶׁאָמַ֥ר לָכֶ֖ם אַל־תִּמּ֑וֹלוּ לְפִ֥י שֶׁיֵּ֖שׁוּ מָה֥וּל הָיָֽה׃ וְע֣וֹד ׀ אָמַ֣ר יֵ֗שׁוּ לֹ֨א בָּ֜אתִי לִגְרֹעַ דָּבָר֙ מִתּוֹרַ֣ת מֹ֔שֶׁה אֲפִ֖לּוּ א֣וֹת אֶחָ֑ד אֶ֖לָּא לְקַיֵּ֥ם כׇּל־דְּבָרָֽיו׃ וְזֶ֣ה ׀ ה֣וּא חֶרְפָּתָ֗ם שֶׁעָשָׂ֤ה לָהֶם֙ פָּ֔אוּלוּס אָמַ֖ר לֹ֣א תָּמ֑וּלוּ וְנֶסְתּ֙וֹרָס֙ אָמַ֣ר לָהֶ֔ם הִמּ֕וֹלוּ שֶׁיֵּ֖שׁוּ מָה֥וּל הָיָֽה׃ וְע֤וֹד אָמַר֙ נֶסְתּ֔וֹרָס כּוֹפְרִ֕ים שֶׁאוֹמְרִ֖ים יֵ֣שׁוּ אֱל֑וֹהַּ וְהוּא֙ יְל֣וּד אִשָּׁ֔ה אֲבָ֕ל שֵׁרְתָ֧ה בּ֛וֹ ר֥וּחַ הַקֹּ֖דֶשׁ כְּמ֥וֹת הַנְּבִיאִֽים׃ וְהָיָ֣ה נֶסְתּוֹרָ֔ס שֶׁהִתְחִ֖יל פְּלִ֣יג עַל־הַנּוֹצְרִ֑ים מְפַתֵּ֖חַ אֶת־נְשׁוֹתֵיהֶֽם׃ אַמָ֤ר לָהֶם֙ אֶעֱשֶׂ֣ה סְיָ֔ג שֶׁלֹּא־יִשָּׂ֥א נוֹצְרִ֖י שְׁתֵּ֥י נָשִֽׁים׃ וּכְשֶׁנִּתְעַ֤ב נֶסְתּ֙וֹרָס֙ בְּעֵינֵיהֶ֔ם נָפְלָ֥ה מַחֲלֹ֖קֶת בֵּינֵיהֶֽם׃ וּלְפִ֣י כָּ֔ךְ לֹא־יִתְפַּלֵּ֥ל נוֹצְרִ֖י לְתוֹעֵבָ֣ה שֶׁל־נֶסְתּ֑וֹרָס וְלָ֨א סִיעַ֣ת נֶסְתּ֔וֹרָס לְתוֹעֵבָ֖ה שֶׁל־נוֹצְרִֽים׃ וְאַחַר־כָּ֛ךְ הָלַ֥ךְ נֶסְתּוֹרָ֖ס לְבָבֶ֑ל לַמָּק֣וֹם אַחֵ֔ר שֶׁשְּׁמ֖וֹ חֲצָֽצָא׃ וְהָי֥וּ כֻּלָּ֖ם בּוֹרְחִ֣ין מִלְּפָנִ֑ין וְנִסְתְּר֣וּ הַנָּשִׁ֔ים שֶׁהָיָ֥ה נֶסְתּ֖וֹרָס בַּ֥עַל זְרֽוֹעַ׃ אָ֥מְרוּ לוֹ֙ הַנָּשִׁ֔ים מָ֥ה תִּרְצֶ֖ה מִמֶּ֑נּוּ אָמַ֨ר לָהֶ֜ן אֵינִ֣י ׀ רוֹצֶ֣ה מִכֵּ֗ן אֶ֚לָּא שֶׁתִּקְח֣וּ מִמֶּ֔נִּי קׇרְבָּ֖ן לֶ֥חֶם וָיָֽיִן׃ וְהָיְתָ֥ה מִנְהָגָ֖ן שֶׁל־נְשֵׁ֣י חֲצָ֑צָא שֶׁהֵן֙ נוֹשְׂא֣וֹת בִּידֵיהֶ֔ן מַפְתְּח֖וֹת גְּדוֹלֽוֹת׃ נָתַ֛ן לְאַחַ֥ת מֵהֶ֖ן הַקׇּרְבָּ֑ן וְהִשְׁלִיכָתַ֖ן בָּאָֽרֶץ׃ כָּרַ֣ע בָּאָ֗רֶץ וְהַנָּשִׁ֤ים הִשְׁלִ֙יכוּ֙ הַמַּפְתְּח֣וֹת שֶׁבִּידֵיהֶ֔ן וְהִכּ֖וּהוּ וָמֵ֑ת וְהָיְתָ֛ה מַחֲלֹ֥קֶת בֵּינֵיהֶ֖ם עַד־זְמַ֥ן גָּדֽוֹל׃	And after some time arose the kingdom of Persia. A gentile came out from them, mocking them like the heretics mocked the wise. And he said to them, “Paulus erred in his writing, that he said to you, ‘Do not circumcise,’ since Yeshu was circumcised. And also, Yeshu said, ‘I did not come to reduce a matter from the Law of Moses, even a single letter, but rather to fulfill all its words.’[103] A rephrasing of Matthew 5:17—18, a passage also referenced in the Talmud Bavli, Shabbat 116b. ” And this was their shame that Paulus had done for them — he said “Do not circumcise,” but Nestoras[104] A reference to the noted heresiarch Archbishop Nestorius of Constantinople. This entire chapter is somewhat muddledly recounting the narrative of the Nestorian schism. For quite some time in the medieval period the Nestorian church, which rejected the hypostatic union of Jesus’ divine and human natures, was a major rival of the Catholic church. The Nestorians were prominent in eastern Christian communities, and to this day some Assyrian Christians follow his teachings. However, the Nestorian church was not (as this text suggests) a Judaizing sect, and never mandated circumcision nor denied Jesus’s divinity. The Nestorians’ primary quibble with mainstream Christianity was on Christological grounds, a subject which the Jewish author of this text is forgiven for failing to understand.  said to them, “Circumcise, for Yeshu was circumcised.” And furthermore Nestoras said, “Infidels, claiming Jesus was a god! But he was born of a woman, but the Holy Spirit served in him, as with the prophets.[105] The Nestorians famously rejected the concept of referring to Mary as “God-bearer,” instead referring to her as the “Christ-bearer.” The human Jesus, in the Nestorian view, is distinct from the divine Son. But unlike this text’s retelling, the Nestorians believed the incarnation of Jesus’ divinity was radically different from that of the prophets. ” And Nestoras was starting to sectarianize the Nazarenes,[106] See note 84  and started with their wives. He said to them, “I will establish a fence — no Nazarene[107] See note 84  shall take two wives.”[108] The Nestorian church did not invent Christian monogamy. Their innovation was permitting successive marriages — i.e. remarrying after divorce, something the mainstream church did not permit.  And when Nestoras became hateful in their eyes, a dispute fell among them. And because of this, a Nazarene[109] In this case meaning mainline, non-Nestorian Christian  will not pray to the abomination of Nestoras, nor will an adherent of Nestorias to the abomination of the Nazarenes. And after that Nestoras went to Babylon, to another place called Ḥatsatsa.[110] This place name, literally meaning “gravel” in Aramaic, is unclear. Nestorius was born in Germanicea (now Kahramanmaraş, Turkey), studied theology at a monastery in Antioch, served as archbishop of Constantinople, and died in exile in Hibis (now Kharga, Egypt). While his followers were more prominent in the east, there is no evidence Nestorius himself spent any substantial time in Babylonia.  And they all fled from before him, and the women were hidden[111] A pun — “hidden” is nistaru in Hebrew.  because Nestoras was a violent man. The women said to him, “What do you want from us?” He said to them, “I want nothing from you but that you take from me a sacrament of bread and wine.” And it was the custom of the women of Ḥatsatsa that they would carry in their hands large keys. He gave one of them the sacrament and she threw it on the ground. He fell to the ground and the women threw the keys in their hands and struck him and he died, and there was dispute among them for a long time.
וְרֹ֖אשׁ מִסַּ֣נְהֶדְרִ֑ין וּשְׁמ֥וֹ שִׁמְע֖וֹן כֵּיפָֽה׃ וְלָמָּה֩ הָיָ֨ה שְׁמ֜וֹ כֵּיפָ֗א שֶׁהָיָ֤ה עוֹמֵד֙ עַל־הָאֶ֔בֶן שֶׁנִּתְנַבֵּ֥א עָלֶ֛יהָ יְחֶזְקֵ֖אל בִּנְהַ֣ר כְּבָ֑ר וְעַל֙ אוֹת֣וֹ הָאֶ֔בֶן הָיָ֧ה נַעֲנָ֛ה בַּת־ק֥וֹל מִן־הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם לְשִׁמְעֽוֹן׃ כֵּיוָן֩ שֶׁשָּׁמְע֨וּ נוֹצְרִ֜ים בְּשִׁמְע֣וֹן כֵּיפָ֗ה שֶׁהָיָה֙ מִשּׁוֹמְעֵ֣י בַּת־ק֔וֹל וְהָיָה־ב֕וֹ רֹ֥ב חׇכְמָ֖ה עַד־אֵ֣ין חֵ֑קֶר וְהָי֤וּ מְקַנְּאִין֙ בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל שֶׁנִּמְצָ֛א אָדָ֥ם גָּד֖וֹל בְּיִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ וְהִכְנִיס֙ הַשֵּׁ֣ם יִתְבָּרַ֔ךְ בְּלֵ֖ב שִׁמְע֣וֹן כֵּיפָ֑א לָלֶ֙כֶת֙ בִּיר֣וּשָׁלַ֔םִ לְהִתְפַּלֵּ֖ל בְּחַ֥ג הַסֻּכּֽוֹת׃ וְנִתְקַבְּצוּ֙ כׇּל־הַהֶ֣גְמוֹנִ֔ים וְהַיָּשִׁ֥ישׁ הַגָּד֖וֹל שֶׁ֣ל־נוֹצְרִ֑ים וּבָ֙אוּ֙ לְשִׁמְע֣וֹן כֵּיפָ֔א בְּהַ֣ר הַזֵּיתִ֔ים בְּי֥וֹם הוֹשַׁעְנָ֖א רַבָּֽא׃ כֵּיוָ֨ן שֶׁרָא֤וּ חׇכְמָתוֹ֙ הִסְכִּ֣ימוּ כֻּלָּ֔ם שֶׁלֹּא־יִמְנֶ֥ה כָּמ֖וֹהוּ בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל לְהַפְּכ֖וֹ בְּדַ֥ת נוֹצְרִֽים׃ וְהָאֲנִיס֣וּהוּ לֵאמֹ֗ר אִ֨ם לֹ֤א תַּחְזֹר֙ בְּדָתֵ֔ינוּ נַהֲרֹ֖ג אוֹתֶ֑ךָ וְלָא־נַשְׁאִ֣יר בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל הַנִּכְנָ֖ס בְּבֵ֥ית הַמִּקְדָּֽשׁ׃ כֵּיוָ֗ן שֶׁרָא֣וּ יִשְׂרָאֵל֮ כָּ֒כָה֒ הִתְחַנְּנ֣וּ אֵלָ֗יו תִּתְרַצֶּה֙ בְּדִבְרֵיהֶ֔ם וַעֲשֵׂ֖ה בְּחׇכְמָתֶ֑ךָ וְלָא־יִהְיֶ֣ה לְךָ֔ ב֖וֹ חֵ֥טְא וְעָוֺֽן׃ לְפִ֣י כָּ֔ךְ אַחַ֧ר שֶׁרָאָ֛ה שֶׁהַגְּזֵרָ֥ה קָשָׁ֖ה לְיִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל חָזַ֖ר עִם־הַנּוֹצְרִֽים׃ וְאָמַ֣ר לָהֶ֗ם בִּתְנַ֧אי זֶ֛ה אֲנִ֥י חוֹזֵ֖ר בַּדִּ֣ין שֶׁלָּכֶ֑ם שֶׁלֹּ֨א תַּהֲרֹ֤גוּ יְהוּדִי֙ וְשֶׁלֹּא֙ תֻּכּ֣וּ אוֹת֔וֹ וּתְנִיח֛וּהוּ לָצֵ֥את וְלָב֖וֹא בְּבֵ֥ית הַמִּקְדָּֽשׁ׃ וְקִבֵּ֣ל דְּבָרָ֔יו הַיָּשִׁ֥ישׁ וְהַנּוֹצְרִ֖ים עֲלֵיהֶ֑ם כׇּל־אֵ֖לֶּה הַתְּנָאִֽים׃ וּתְנַא֣י ׀ עָשָׂ֣ה לָהֶ֡ם שֶׁיִּבָּנוּ־ל֣וֹ מִגְדָּ֣ל גָּב֩וֹהַּ֩ וְיִכָּנֵ֨ס בְּתוֹכ֜וֹ וְלָ֣א ׀ יֹאכַ֣ל בָּשָׂ֗ר וְלֹא֙ דָּבָ֣ר אַחֵ֔ר כִּי־אִ֖ם לֶ֣חֶם וּמָ֑יִם לְהוֹרִ֨יד לָהֶ֜ם קֻפָּּ֣א בְּחֶ֗בֶל וְיִ֥תְּנוּ־ל֨וֹ לֶ֤חֶם וּמַ֙יִם֙ בִּלְבַ֔ד וְלִהְיוֹת֛וֹ בַּמִּגְדָּ֥ל הַה֖וּא עַד־י֥וֹם מוֹתֽוֹ׃ כׇּל־זֶ֨ה עָשָׂ֜ה שֶׁלֹּא־יִטְמָ֣א נַפְשׁ֔וֹ וְיִתְלַכְלֵ֖ךְ בָּהֶ֑ם וְשֶׁלֹּ֛א יִתְעָרֵ֥ב עִמָּהֶ֖ם ׀ לְשֵׁ֥ם שָׁמָּֽיִם׃ וְעַל־נוֹצְרִ֞ים הָיָ֤ה אוֹמֵר֙ לְפִ֣י דַּעְתְּכֶ֔ם כְּאִ֛לּוּ ה֥וּא מִתְאַבֵּ֖ל עַל־יֵ֑שׁוּ וְאֵינ֨וֹ אוֹכֵ֜ל בָּשָׂ֗ר א֚וֹ דָּבָ֣ר אַחֵ֔ר אֶ֛לָּא לֶ֥חֶם וּמַ֖יִם בִּלְבַֽד׃ וּבָנוּ־ל֣וֹ מִגְדָּל וְיָשָׁ֖ב בְּתוֹכ֑וֹ וְלָא־הָיָ֤ה נִטְמָא֙ בַּמַּאֲכָ֔ל וְלָא־הָיָ֥ה מִשְׁתַּחֲוֶ֖ה לַצָּֽלֶם׃ לְאַחַ֣ר יָמִ֗ים פִּיֵּט֙ בְּת֣וֹךְ הַמִּגְדָּ֔ל קְרוֹב֥וֹת וְיוֹצְר֖וֹת וּזוֹלְת֑וֹת עַל־שְׁמ֕וֹ כְּמ֖וֹ אֱלִיעֶ֥זֶר בֶּן־קָלִּֽיר׃ וְשָׁלַ֣ח וְקִבֵּ֡ץ זִקְנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵל֩ וְנָתַ֨ן לָהֶ֜ם כׇּל־מֶ֣ה ׀ שֶׁהוֹצִ֣יא מִדַּעְתּ֗וֹ וְצִוָּ֧ה אוֹתָ֛ם שֶׁ֥יְּלַמְּד֖וּם לַחַזָּנִ֑ים וְיִתְפַּלְל֣וּ בָּהֶ֔ם כְּדֵ֥י שֶׁיִּזְכְּר֖וּהוּ לְטוֹבָֽה׃ וְגַ֣ם לְבָבֶל֮ שָׁלְח֣וּ אוֹתוֹ֒ לְרַבִּ֨י נָתָ֜ן רֹ֣אשׁ הַגּוֹלָ֗ה וְהֶרְא֞וּהוּ לְרָאשֵׁ֤י יְשִׁיבוֹת֙ לְסַ֣נְהֶדְרִ֔ין וְאָמְר֖וּ ט֣וֹב ה֑וּא וְלִמְּד֛וּהוּ לַחַזָּנִ֖ין שֶׁ֥ל־כׇּל־יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ וְהָי֥וּ מִתְפַּלְּלִ֖ין אוֹת֑וֹ כׇּל־מִ֣י שֶׁיִּרְצֶ֔ה לִזְכֹּ֖ר שְׁמֽוֹ׃ רַבִּ֥י שִׁמְע֖וֹן בְּשִׁירָת֑וֹ זִכְר֣וּ זְכוּר֔וֹ לְחַיֵּ֖י הָעוֹלָ֥ם הַבָּֽא׃ וְהַשֵּׁ֤ם יִתְבָּרַךְ֙ בְּרַ֣חֲמָ֔יו יוֹלִיכֵ֖הוּ בְּמֵלִ֣יץ ט֑וֹב אָמֵ֖ן סֶֽלָה׃	And the chief of the Sanhedrin was named Shim’on Kefa.[112] i.e. Simon Peter, also referred to as “Kephas” in the Christan gospels. Alongside Paul, this makes two foundational figures in early Christianity which this text reclaims as rabbinic.  And why was his name Kefa?[113] Kefa is literally “stone” in Aramaic, and thus equivalent to the Greek name Peter. This is also referenced in the Christan gospels, Matthew 16:18, where Jesus himself makes a pun on this meaning.  Because he would stand on the stone on which Ezekiel prophecied in the river Chebar, and on that very stone a divine voice would answer Shim’on from heaven. When the Nazarenes[114] See note 84  heard that Shim’on Kefa was one of the hearers of the divine voice, and that in him was great uncountable wisdom, they were jealous of Israel, that such a great man was found in Israel. And the Blessed Name set in the mind of Shim’on Kefa to go to Jerusalem and pray during the festival of Sukkot. And all the hegemons and the great elder[115] The bishops and the pope. In this text Simon Peter is not said to be the pope.  of the Nazarenes[116] See note 84  went to Shim’on Kefa on the Mount of Olives on the day of Hosha’na Rabba.[117] The last day of Sukkot proper. Maybe also a pun on the Christian prayer “Osanna in excelsis”, which is a literal translation of the name of the day. Alternatively, a reference to the customs of Palm Sunday, themselves a muddled reference to the custom of the lulav on Sukkot.  When they saw his wisdom they all agreed that one like him should not count for Israel, to convert him to the religion of the Nazarenes.[118] See note 84  And they forced him, saying, “If you do not go back to our religion, we will kill you, and we will not leave in Israel anyone who enters the Holy Temple. When Israel saw this, they pleaded with him, “Accept their words and act by your wisdom, and the sin and transgression will not be upon you.” At that, after he saw that the ruling was bad for Israel, he went back with the Nazarenes.[119] See note 84  And he said to them, “On one condition will I go back in your practice — that you never kill a Jew, nor strike him, but let him exit and enter the Holy Temple.” And the elder[120] The pope.  and the Nazarenes[121] See note 84  accepted his words on them, all these conditions. And a condition he made for them that they would build him a tall tower[122] This is likely a reference to a stylite, a pillar upon which Christian ascetics would publicly isolate themselves, a practice begun in Syria in the 5th century CE by Simeon Stylites the Elder (ca. 390 – 2 September 459). –Aharon Varady  and he would go in it and eat no meat nor you-know-what,[123] A euphemism for pork.  just bread and water; to drop down to them a box on a string, and they would put bread and water alone in it, and to be in that tower until the day of his death. All this he did so as not to defile his soul nor be made unclean among them, nor be intermingled with them, in the name of heaven. And upon the Nazarenes[124] See note 84  he would say “According to your reasoning,” as if he was mourning for Yeshu; and he would not eat meat nor you-know-what, just bread and water alone. And they built him a tower and he dwelt in it, and he was not defiled in eating, nor did he bow down to the image.[125] The crucifix.  After some days he wrote poetry inside the tower — qerovot,[126] Poems to be recited within the morning ‘amidah service.  yotsrot,[127] Poems to be recited within the yotser or blessing.  and zultot[128] Poems to be recited within the emet v-yatsiv blessing.  — by his name,[129] i.e. following an acrostic format. In some variants of the text, specific prayers attributed to Simon Peter include Nishmat (which features the reverse acrostic שׄוכן עד… מׄי ידמה לך… עׄד הנה… וׄאלו פנו… נׄשמת), Ahava Rabba, and the Yom Kippur piyyut Eten T’hila.  as did ‘Eliezer ben Qallir.[130] Another famous liturgical poet, who lived ca. 570 – ca. 640 CE.  And he sent and gathered the elders of Israel, and gave them everything that came from his reasoning, and commanded them that they should teach it to cantors, and they should pray with them so as to remember him for good. And also to Babylon they sent them, to Rabbi Natan the exilarch, and they showed them to the heads of the yeshivas, to the Sanhedrin, and said, “This is good,” and they taught it to the cantors of all Israel. And everyone who would want to remember his name would pray it. Rabbi Shim’on in his song — remember his memory for life in the world to come! And may the Blessed Name in His mercy bring him a good advocate — amen, selah!
כֹּ֥ה אוֹמֵ֖ר מֹשֶׁ֔ה הַנִּבְזֶ֥ה הַמֻּבְהָ֖ק   סְלִ֥יק לֵֽיהּ׃   בָּר֤וּךְ אֲדֹנָי֙ יוֹ֣ם ׀ י֔וֹם יַֽעֲמׇס־לָ֑נוּ הָאֵ֥ל יְשׁוּעָתֵ֖נוּ סֶֽלָה׃ תַּ֖ם וְנִשְׁלַ֑ם שֶׁ֥בַח לָאֵ֖ל בּוֹרֵ֥א עוֹלָֽם׃	So says Moses, the incredibly humble,   the end.   Blessed be the Lord every day; may the God of our salvation support us, selah![131] Psalms 68:20.  It’s finished and it’s complete; praise to the God who made earth accrete!

Recordings

Notes

Notes

1	Mary
2	Anna
3	Literally, “heart.” In traditional Jewish folk physiology the heart is the center of thought.
4	Pantera is an attested Roman last name of uncertain origin. Peter Schäfer has suggested it may be intended in rabbinic texts as a pun on “parthena” meaning “virgin”
5	Important rabbi of the Hasmonean era, died c. 50 BCE. Said to be Jesus’s teacher (see B. Sotah 47a), despite the obvious calendric issues.
6	See note 3.
7	B. Berakhot 31b
8	Deuteronomy 34:10
9	Exodus 18:21
10	Helena of Adiabene, 1st century CE convert, died c. 56
11	Genesis 35:14
12	See note 3.
13	See note 3.
14	Perhaps a reference to M. Uktzin 3:12?
15	Isaiah 7:14
16	Psalms 2:7
17	Psalms 2:1–2
18	Hosea 2:6
19	See Daniel 11:14 and MT Kings and Wars 11:6
20	Isaiah 11:1
21	Psalms 1:1
22	Deuteronomy 13:6
23	Isaiah 11:4
24	Hebrew parashim. Possibly a pun on Pharisees, perushim.
25	See note 3.
26	Judas Iscariot.
27	Psalms 22:17
28	Jeremiah 1:17
29	The introductory verb ne’emar would a prophetic passage, but no verse in the Tanakh says this. Perhaps the intended verse is Isaiah 14:13, which reads הַשָּׁמַ֣יִם אֶעֱלֶ֔ה “To the heavens I will ascend.” In context said verse is about the king of Babylon’s bragging, and in Christian interpretation it is traditionally considered to refer to Satan, so claiming it applies to Yeshu would be a telling choice.
30	Psalms 49:16
31	This is almost certainly a euphemism for “ejaculated.” Urine — unlike semen — doesn’t spread impurity, so being urinated on wouldn’t render one impure. To reflect this interpretation the word “rendered impure” in the Hebrew is cantillated with the rare trope merkha k’fula, generally used on a word with an aggadic midrash associated with it (see Weisberg, “The Rare Accents of the Twenty-One Books,” Jewish Quarterly Review, 1966).
32	Possibly referring to the Tenebrae service of mourning on the three days before Easter.
33	Why pomegranate wood? Perhaps because of its association with the paschal sacrifice (M. Pesachim 7:1)
34	Psalms 94:16
35	Psalms 124:5
36	Jeremiah 5:6
37	Psalms 69:22
38	Isaiah 50:6. From the third “servant song,” a group of four texts in late Isaiah used as proof texts for Christian doctrine.
39	Isaiah 57:3.
40	Isaiah 53:4. From the fourth “servant song,” a group of texts in late Isaiah used as proof texts for Christian doctrine.
41	Daniel 9:26
42	Zechariah 9:9
43	This name, meaning “robber” in Aramaic, is not found in the Gospels. It may be a derivative of the name Gestas, apocryphally attributed to impenitent thief crucified alongside Jesus. In any case, in this narrative Gaisa — and not Yehuda Iskariota — serves as the traitor character.
44	The original Hebrew says “In the Temple, which should be said the study hall.” This is here represented as a qere/ketiv split.
45	One of the disciples. This entire portion of wordplay on names can be found in uncensored editions of B. Sanhedrin 43a.
46	Matthew.
47	Hebrew: matai
48	Psalms 42:3
49	Hebrew: matai
50	Psalms 41:6
51	Another disciple.
52	Lucas.
53	Hebrew: naqi
54	Psalms 24:4
55	Hebrew: naqqeh
56	Exodus 34:7
57	Another disciple.
58	Possibly Nicodemius.
59	Hebrew: b’ni
60	Exodus 2:22
61	Hebrew: binkha
62	Exodus 4:23
63	To aother disciple.
64	Nazarene.
65	Hebrew: netzer
66	Isaiah 11:1
67	Hebrew: netzer
68	Isaiah 14:19
69	Psalms 44:23
70	Isaiah 1:15
71	Elijah
72	I Kings 19:10
73	A word in Hebrew that can refer to hanging, impaling, or crucifixion.
74	This might seem to be too small to hang someone, but cabbages can grow much taller than you might think. The Jersey cabbage, native to the Channel Islands, has a stalk that can grow up to twenty feet tall if the weather permits. This “tree ” growing Collard greens in the Canary Islands is a cultivar of Collard greens, Brassica oleracea, able to grow quite large due to the frost-free climate. (credit: Sherwin Carlquist, license: CC BY-SA)
75	Deuteronomy 21:23
76	This Aramaic phrase seems to be somewhat muddled, and manuscripts differ widely. Samuel Krauss suggests a translation of “Why are you sitting here, you fools? Look at the grave, it is empty!” with Syriac (Christian Aramaic) influence and vocabulary.
77	See note 3.
78	Psalms 49:16
79	The Hebrew is unclear. This vocalization follows Krauss but fudges the form a bit.
80	A common enough phrase in Hebrew, but it may also serve as a sly reference to the Greek term for the Christian gospels, evangelion, or literally “good news.” This term was certainly known to Jews, as in B Shabbat 116a-b the rabbis make a pun on it, referring to it as the avon gilyon or “sinful codex.”
81	Yeshu’s body, not the owner of the garden.
82	The original manuscript has a lacuna between “and they struck” and “and confusion of prayers.” — “with beatings” is a guess.
83	Deuteronomy 32:21 a
84	Christians. From “Nazareth.”
85	Deuteronomy 32:21 b
86	Muslims.
87	See note 3.
88	From the Greek ἕδρῐον, sitting-place. Cognate to the more common Hebrew word sanhedrin (from the Greek συνέδριον, togther-sitting-place.)
89	i.e, apostle
90	Psalms 110:1
91	Isaiah 1:14
92	The word qyamta for resurrection is a Syriac term without parallel in the Judeo-Aramaic corpus. It has the root qwm referring to standing in general, thus the wordplay in this verse. This passage refers to Easter.
93	Again, a Syriac word without parallel in the Judeo-Aramaic corpus, although easily understandable from its root slq referring to any upwards motion. Notably, instead of paralleling Shavuot with its historical counterpart of Pentecost, this text parallels it with the Feast of Ascension, generally ten days before Pentecost in most Christian liturgical calendars.
94	An untranslatable pun. The Aramaic word ashkaḥta literally means “finding,” but in Judeo-Aramaic usage it is generally used to refer to “invention” or “making up.” The Christian Feast of the Cross is on 14 September, approximately the time of Rosh haShanah.
95	Yom Kippur.
96	New Year’s Day, in most Christian liturgies (being eight days after Christmas). This is the first and only holiday listed here to be at an entirely different time from its Jewish counterpart. Some Eastern Orthodox Christians consider the entire Christmas season to be parallel with Sukkot.
97	The Greek equivalent for the Latin Saturnalia, in this passage probably referring to Christmas.
98	Genesis 9:3
99	These lines are obviously a parodic text of the Sermon on the Mount.
100	Zephaniah 2:3
101	See note 84
102	i.e. the Apostle Paul, generally considered to be the person whose reforms turned Christianity from a schismatic form of Judaism to a separate religion. This text claims that was the rabbi’s plan all along. Interestingly, the idea that Paul was a student of the sages before joining the Christians is not contradictory — in his own letters he claims to have studied with Rabban Gamliel the Elder.
103	A rephrasing of Matthew 5:17—18, a passage also referenced in the Talmud Bavli, Shabbat 116b.
104	A reference to the noted heresiarch Archbishop Nestorius of Constantinople. This entire chapter is somewhat muddledly recounting the narrative of the Nestorian schism. For quite some time in the medieval period the Nestorian church, which rejected the hypostatic union of Jesus’ divine and human natures, was a major rival of the Catholic church. The Nestorians were prominent in eastern Christian communities, and to this day some Assyrian Christians follow his teachings. However, the Nestorian church was not (as this text suggests) a Judaizing sect, and never mandated circumcision nor denied Jesus’s divinity. The Nestorians’ primary quibble with mainstream Christianity was on Christological grounds, a subject which the Jewish author of this text is forgiven for failing to understand.
105	The Nestorians famously rejected the concept of referring to Mary as “God-bearer,” instead referring to her as the “Christ-bearer.” The human Jesus, in the Nestorian view, is distinct from the divine Son. But unlike this text’s retelling, the Nestorians believed the incarnation of Jesus’ divinity was radically different from that of the prophets.
106	See note 84
107	See note 84
108	The Nestorian church did not invent Christian monogamy. Their innovation was permitting successive marriages — i.e. remarrying after divorce, something the mainstream church did not permit.
109	In this case meaning mainline, non-Nestorian Christian
110	This place name, literally meaning “gravel” in Aramaic, is unclear. Nestorius was born in Germanicea (now Kahramanmaraş, Turkey), studied theology at a monastery in Antioch, served as archbishop of Constantinople, and died in exile in Hibis (now Kharga, Egypt). While his followers were more prominent in the east, there is no evidence Nestorius himself spent any substantial time in Babylonia.
111	A pun — “hidden” is nistaru in Hebrew.
112	i.e. Simon Peter, also referred to as “Kephas” in the Christan gospels. Alongside Paul, this makes two foundational figures in early Christianity which this text reclaims as rabbinic.
113	Kefa is literally “stone” in Aramaic, and thus equivalent to the Greek name Peter. This is also referenced in the Christan gospels, Matthew 16:18, where Jesus himself makes a pun on this meaning.
114	See note 84
115	The bishops and the pope. In this text Simon Peter is not said to be the pope.
116	See note 84
117	The last day of Sukkot proper. Maybe also a pun on the Christian prayer “Osanna in excelsis”, which is a literal translation of the name of the day. Alternatively, a reference to the customs of Palm Sunday, themselves a muddled reference to the custom of the lulav on Sukkot.
118	See note 84
119	See note 84
120	The pope.
121	See note 84
122	This is likely a reference to a stylite, a pillar upon which Christian ascetics would publicly isolate themselves, a practice begun in Syria in the 5th century CE by Simeon Stylites the Elder (ca. 390 – 2 September 459). –Aharon Varady
123	A euphemism for pork.
124	See note 84
125	The crucifix.
126	Poems to be recited within the morning ‘amidah service.
127	Poems to be recited within the yotser or blessing.
128	Poems to be recited within the emet v-yatsiv blessing.
129	i.e. following an acrostic format. In some variants of the text, specific prayers attributed to Simon Peter include Nishmat (which features the reverse acrostic שׄוכן עד… מׄי ידמה לך… עׄד הנה… וׄאלו פנו… נׄשמת), Ahava Rabba, and the Yom Kippur piyyut Eten T’hila.
130	Another famous liturgical poet, who lived ca. 570 – ca. 640 CE.
131	Psalms 68:20.

Is the Emerald Tablet a Jewish text? No, not really. But its emphasis on the ultimate oneness of all, deriving from neoplatonist philosophy, means it is quite closely linked with the development of the kabbalah. And there is a long history of Jewish involvement in alchemy, dating back to the legendary first alchemist ever, Mary the Jewess (said to be the inventor of the double boiler). So I translated it into Hebrew, because why not?

The Shimush Tehillim is a medieval work providing prescriptive theurgical associations for Psalms and verses from Psalms. It has been historically attributed to Rav Hai Gaon (939-1038 CE) but any definitive statement of authorship is lacking. The suggestion that portions of the Shimush Tehillim were authored during the late Geonic period in Iraq isn’t implausible. We also know that Hai Gaon was knowledgeable enough of Hekhalot writings to give a summary description of Hekhalot Rabbati and Zutarti in his correspondence. Writings found in the Shimush Tehillim have been found in a handbook from the Cairo Geniza with leaves dating from the 11th century.^[149] Cf. the Geniza text T.-S. K 1.28, as referenced by James Davila, Descenders to the Chariot (Brill 2001, p.237).  

This digital transcription of Shimush Tehillim derives from Elias Klein Békéscsaba’s 1936 compilation. This edition should not be considered a critical text, as earlier editions certainly exist. Not all of the Psalms are identified as having a particular theurgical use.

I made this transcription manually in the ProofreadPage collaborative transcription environment of Hebrew Wikisource. Please inform me of any errors. Shgiyot mi yavin, Ministarot Nakeni שְׁגִיאוֹת מִי־יָבִין; מִנִּסְתָּרוֹת נַקֵּנִי “Who can know all one’s flaws? From hidden errors, correct me” (Psalms 19:13).

The theurgical use of only 120 of the 150 Psalms are provided by Békéscsaba. I have annotated these with Reuven Brauner’s synopsis of Shimush Tehilim (Eclectic Torah Compilations 2012). He he has graciously shared this text through the Open Siddur with a CC BY-SA license. Brauner relied on another edition of Shimush Tehilim and so his synopsis includes information on the use of additional Psalms not provided in Békéscsaba’s 1936 compilation, as well as additional details concerning praxis not found in the text I transcribed. I intend to provide a critical text of Shimush Tehillim that accounts for all of the Psalms indicating from which manuscript or printed work the theurgical explanation is first provided.

Reuven Brauner writes:

Sefer Shimush Tehillim is a short and relatively little-known treatise attributed to Rav Hai Gaon (according to the Sedei Chemed) which describes the Kabbalistic uses of particular chapters and verses from the Book of Psalms for prophylactic or healing purposes. These selections are meant to be either recited alone, frequently multiple times, or in conjunction with some other action or prayer. Shimush Tehillim is mentioned in Teshuvas HaRashba (413), by the Chida, and others. This work is not to be confused with bibliomancy which is the use of Biblical verses for predicting the future.

There are numerous instances cited in the Talmud and other sources regarding the utilization of Biblical verses to ward off demons and the Evil Eye, against bad dreams, against the effects of drinking water uncovered at night, and other more serious calamities. Verses were employed to lighten the pain at childbirth, as protection against danger on a journey, fierce dogs, bleeding and wounds, and the effects of fire and fever. Verses were recited to gain favor or improve one’s memory, and so on. (See Sanhedrin 101a and Shulchon Oruch, Yoreh Deoh 179:8-10, et al.)

Yet, it must be noted, there was great opposition to use of the Torah for magical, curative purposes. The Rambam, the Tur (Yoreh Deoh 179), and the Shulchon Oruch (Yoreh Deoh 179:10) forbade such usage. The Rambam in Hilchos Avodas Cochavim 11:12 pointedly writes: “Regarding one who incants over a wound or reads a verse from the Torah, and so one who reads verses to calm a frightened child or places a Sefer Torah or Tefilin on a child so that he will sleep – it is not bad enough that these people are numbered among the sorcerers and diviners, but they are also counted as heretics to the Torah by using words of the Torah to heal the body. The (words of the) Torah are for healing the soul only, as it is written, ‘and they shall be life for your soul’. However, it is permitted to recite verses and chapters from Tehillim for protection against troubles and harm – by merit of their recitation.”

Protection – yes, curing – no.

Since Tehillim, more than any other Sefer from Tanach, was used to defend against the effects of all types of predicaments and saving from danger, as recorded in Shimush Tehillim, I thought that it might be interesting to prepare the following table1 to illustrate which chapters it suggests be used for which ailment and condition. For the convenience of the reader, I have also added a cross-referencing index.

Nevertheless, since this monograph is meant for general educational purposes only and not practical application, and in deference to the dissenting opinions, I have only provided a selection of chapter usage from the book, and did not list the use of single verses nor what other actions are required in addition to the recitation of the chapter to affect the desired results. For such purposes, the interested reader must consult an actual edition of Shimush Tehillim and ask his rabbi as to how to employ it, if at all. All this aside, it is commendable to recite Tehillim anyway for the efficacy of it as prayer is well-known.

Finally, I made no attempt at trying to determine why each chapter has the effect claimed, as there is no indication of this in Shimush Tehillim itself.

Reuven Brauner
5 Sivan 5766

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