PASSAGES RELATING TO JESUS
51
What of R. Jehoshua ben Perahjah ? When
Jannai the king killed our Rabbis, R. Jehoshua
ben Perahjah [and Jesus] fled to Alexandria of
Egypt. When there was peace, Shim'on ben
Shetah sent to him,
°G
From me [Jerusalem]
the city of holiness, to thee Alexandria of
Egypt [my sister]. My husband stays in thy
midst and I sit forsaken." He came, and
found himself at a certain inn ; they showed
him great honour. He said,
'
How beautiful
is this Acsania ! ' 1 (Jesus) said to him, ' Rabbi,
she has narrow eyes.' He said,
'
Wretch, dost
thou employ thyself thus ? ' He sent out four
hundred trumpets and excommunicated him.
He
[i.e.
Jesus] came before him many times
and said to him, ' Receive me.' But he would
not notice him. One day he
[i.e.
R. Jeh.] was
reciting the Shema', he
[i.e.
Jesus] came before
him. He
was minded to receive him, and
made a sign to him. He
[i.e.
Jesus] thought
that he repelled him. He went and hung up
a tile and worshipped it. He [R. Jeh.] said to
him, ' Return.' He replied,
'
Thus I have re-
ceived from thee, that every one who sins
and
causes the multitude to sin, they give him not
the chance to repent.' And a teacher has
said, ' Jesus the Nazarene practised magic and
led astray and deceived Israel.'
Commentary.-The
above passage occurs in almost
exactly the same words in b. Sotah. 47*, and the
incident of the escape to Alexandria and the letter
1
X'=Dtt denotes both inn and innkeeper.
it.
Jeh. uses it in the first
sense ; the answering remark implies the second meaning,
'
hostess.'
 |  |  |