measures were alloted to the swine and the rest of the world had the other.  Ten measures of fornication came into the world; nine of these belong to the Arabs and to the rest of the world the other.  Ten measures of impudence found its way into the world; Mishan appropriated nine, leaving one to the rest of the world.  Ten measures of talk came into the world; women claimed nine, leaving the tenth to the rest of the world.  Ten measures of early rising came into the world; they of Ethiopia received nine and the rest of the world one only.  Ten measures of sleep came to the world; the servants took nine of them, leaving one measure to the rest of the world.

Kiddushin, fol. 49, col. 2.

Ten different sorts of people went up from Babylon:—­(1.) Priests, (2.)
Levites, (3.) Israelites, (4.) Disqualified Cohanim, (5.) Freedmen, (6.)
Illegitimate, (7.) Nethinim, (8.) Unaffiliated ones, and (10.)
Foundlings.

Ibid., fol. 63, col. 1.

Ten characteristics mark the phlebotomist:—­He walks sideling along; he is proud; he stoops awhile before seating himself; he has an envious and evil eye; he is a gourmand, but he defecates little at a time; he is suspected of incontinence, robbery, and murder.

Ibid., fol. 82, col. 1.

Rabbi Chanena ben Agil asked Rabbi Cheya ben Abba, “Why does the word, ‘signifying that it may be well with thee’ not occur in the first copy of the ten commandments (Exod. xx.) as it does in the second?” (Deut. v.) He replied, “Before thou askest me such a question, first tell me whether the word occurs in Deuteronomy or not? for I don’t know if it does.”  The required answer was given by another Rabbi, “The omission of the word in the first publication of the ten commandments is due to the foresight of what was to befall the first tables, for if the word good had been in the tables, and broken withal, then goodness would have ceased to bless the sons of Israel.”

Bava Kama, fol. 55, col. 1.

The Tosephoth in Bava Bathra (fol. 113, col. 1) ingenuously admits that the Rabbis were occasionally ignorant of the letter of Scripture.  The above quotation may be taken as a sample of several in corroboration.

The Rabbis have taught that when pestilence is abroad no one should walk along the middle of the road, for there the angel of death would be sure to cross him.  Neither when there is pestilence in a town should a person go to the synagogue alone, because there, provided no children are taught there, and ten men are not met to pray there, the angel of death hides his weapons.  The Rabbis have also taught that (like the Banshee of Ireland), the howling of dogs indicates the approach of the angel of death, whereas when they sport it is a sign that Elijah the prophet is at hand, unless one of them happen to be a female, for it is her presence among them, and not any super-natural instinct, that is to be understood as the cause of the demonstration.