Editing Judah ha-Nasi (section)

=== Talmudic narratives ===
Various stories are told about Judah, illustrating different aspects of his character.

It is said that once he saw a calf being led to the slaughtering-block, which looked at him with tearful eyes, as if seeking protection. He said to it: "Go; for you were created for this purpose!" Due to this unkind attitude toward the suffering animal, he was punished with years of illness. Later, when his maid was about to kill some small animals which were in their house, he said to her: "Let them live, for it is written: '[God's] tender mercies are over all his works'."<ref>Psalms 145:9</ref> After this demonstration of compassion, his illness ceased.<ref>[https://www.sefaria.org.il/Bava_Metzia.85a.7?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en Bava Metzia 85a]; [[Genesis Rabbah]] 33</ref> Judah also once said, "One who is ignorant of the Torah should not eat meat."<ref>Pesachim 49b</ref> The prayer he prescribed upon eating meat or eggs also indicates an appreciation of animal life: "Blessed be the Lord who has created many souls, in order to support by them the soul of every living being."<ref>Yerushalmi Berachot 10b</ref>

He exclaimed, sobbing, in reference to three different stories of martyrs whose deaths made them worthy of future life: "One man earns his world in an hour, while another requires many years".<ref>Avodah Zarah 10b, 17a, 18a; for a sentence by Judah on the ranking of the pious in the future world see Sifre, Deut. 47</ref> He began to weep when [[Elisha ben Abuyah]]'s daughters, who were soliciting alms, reminded him of their father's learning.<ref>Yerushalmi Hagigah 77c; compare Hagigah 15b</ref> In a legend relating to his meeting with [[Pinchas ben Yair]], he is described as tearfully admiring the pious Pinchas' unswerving steadfastness, protected by a higher power.<ref>Hullin 7b</ref> He was frequently interrupted by tears when explaining [[Book of Lamentations|Lamentations]] 2:2 and illustrating the passage by stories of the destruction of Jerusalem and of the Temple.<ref>[[Lamentations Rabbah]] 2:2; compare Yerushalmi Ta'anit 68d</ref> While explaining certain passages of Scripture,<ref>I Samuel 28:15; Amos 4:13, 5:15; Zephaniah 2:3; Lamentations 3:29; Ecclesiastes 12:14</ref> he was reminded of divine judgment and of the uncertainty of acquittal, and began to cry.<ref>Yerushalmi Hagigah 77a; Leviticus Rabbah 26; Midrash Shmuel 24</ref> [[Hiyya the Great|Hiyya]] found him weeping during his last illness because death was about to deprive him of the opportunity of studying the Torah and of fulfilling the commandments.<ref>Ketuvot 103b</ref>

Once, when at a meal his students expressed their preference for soft tongue, he made this an opportunity to say, "May your tongues be soft in your mutual intercourse" (i.e., "Speak gently without disputing").<ref>[[Leviticus Rabbah]] 33, beginning</ref>

Before he died, Judah said: "I need my sons! ... Let the lamp continue to burn in its usual place; let the table be set in its usual place; let the bed be made in its usual place."<ref>Ketubot 103a</ref>

====His prayers====
While teaching Torah, Judah would often interrupt the lesson to recite the [[Shema Yisrael]]. He passed his hand over his eyes as he said it.<ref>Berachot 13b</ref>

When 70-year-old wine cured him of a protracted illness, he prayed: "Blessed be the Lord, who has given His world into the hands of guardians".<ref>Avodah Zarah 40b</ref>

He privately recited daily the following supplication on finishing the obligatory prayers: "May it be Thy will, my God and the God of my fathers, to protect me against the impudent and against impudence, from bad men and bad companions, from severe sentences and severe plaintiffs, whether a son of the covenant or not."<ref>Berachot 6b; compare Shabbat 30b</ref>