סנהדרין ק

A thick bearded man was studying מסכת סנהדרין, and was very disturbed when he reached the passage quoting Ben-Sira as stating עבדקן סכסן, which רש״י explains means that a thick bearded man is a שוטה.  What should he do?  Cutting the beard is אסור, but leaving it as is would expose him to ridicule as a fool.  He measured out two inches of beard and placed his face near the fire.  His beard immediately caught fire and even left burns on his face.  The man grabbed a pen and next to the passage in the גמרא wrote: “tested and proven.”

06/10/2021