מכות ב

Two men went to a רב to rule on a dispute. After hearing their testimony and arguments, he told them that it was a difficult matter and they need to return the following day.  One of the litigants immediately understood that the רב was corrupt and was simply waiting for a payoff to be made.  Accordingly, he said to the רב: “Permit me to tell you the story of a villager who was conducting the פסח סדר.  When he got to רבי אליעזר ורבי יהושע ורבי עקיבא ורבי טרפון, he saw that his wife was dripping drops of wine from her כוס. “We don’t do the dripping here,” he said. “These are רבנים, not מכות.”  When they arrived at דם, צפרדע, כינים, he saw that his wife was not spilling the drops from her כוס.  Surprised, he asked her why she wasn’t doing so.  “I thought that perhaps these are רבנים,” she said.  With a sigh, her husband responded: “Perhaps in the past they were רבנים.   Now, they’re merely מכות.”

06/10/2021