AT THE time of Rabbi Simon ben Shetach, there lived eighty witches in a cave.
"That must not be," said Rabbi Simon. "Eighty women just wasting away their time."
One day when the rain was pouring down in torrents, Simon gathered eighty tall young men. To each man he gave a new pitcher. Into this pitcher, each one put a clean new Talis (prayer shawl). Then they turned the pitchers upside down over their heads. In this way, the prayer shawls were kept dry.
Rabbi Simon then said to the young men:
"When we arrive at the cave, this is what you'll do. When I whistle once, put the wraps on; when I whistle again, come into the cave at once. As each of you enters, lift a young woman off the floor. (Once the witches are off the floor, they lose their power.)"
And so they all set out for the cave.
When they reached the cave, the Rabbi knocked at the door and said:
"What did you come to do here?"
"To learn and also to teach," said the Rabbi. "Each one of you will do some magic for me."
The witches opened the door. The young men quickly hid themselves outside the cave.
When the Rabbi came into the cave, one of the witches noticed that in spite of the rain he was perfectly dry.
"How is it you're dry when it's raining so hard outside?" she asked in wonder.
"I walked between the raindrops," answered the Rabbi simply.
Satisfied with the answer, the witches began to show their magic. One witch came forward and said:
Saying these words, she produced a piece of bread. When she had finished her trick, she turned to the Rabbi and asked:
"And you, what can you do?"
Then another witch came up and said:
And with that, she handed him some meat. When she had finished her stunt, she turned to the Rabbi and asked:
"And you, what can you do?"
Then the third witch said, as she knocked on the floor with a stick:
Saying that, she brought out some pudding. When she had finished her stunt, she turned to the Rabbi and said:
"And you, what can you do?"
Then a fourth witch, very tall and very lanky, came up. She stretched out her arms and began to move them round and round in a circle, as she said:
And she handed the Rabbi some wine. When she had finished her stunt, she turned to the Rabbi and said:
"And you, what can you do?"
The Rabbi answered, "I can whistle twice, and so bring eighty men dressed in dry wraps. They will entertain you. And you will surely enjoy them."
So the Rabbi whistled once and the young men put on their wraps, which they had kept dry under the pitchers. Then the Rabbi whistled again and they all rushed into the cave.
Each young man picked up a witch, put her on his camel, and rode away with her.
The witches all married the nice Jewish young men. They became good hard-working women and were the mothers of some great scholars in Israel.
