Agadoth There once was a man who had a friend Kamtsa and an enemy Bar Kamtsa. He made a feast and told his servant: "Bring me Kamtsa!" But the servant made a mistake and brought Bar Kamtsa. The host, upon seeing this, went to where Bar Kamtsa had been seated and said: "You are my enemy, why are you here? Get out!" Bar Kamtsa replied: "Since I am already here, leave me be and I will pay you for my food and drink." "No!" said the host. "I will pay for half the cost of your feast." "No!" "I will pay the cost of the whole feast, " pleaded Bar Kamtsa. "No!" said the host as he grabbed Bar Kamtsa and threw him out in front of all the other guests. Bar Kamtsa then said, "Since the rabbis were sitting there and did not protest, since they were undisturbed, I will go and slander them to the authorities." He then told Caesar, "The Jews are rebelling... Send them a sacrifice and see if it is offered up." Caesar sent them the finest calf. On the way, Bar Kamtsa made a blemish on its lips (or some say, its eye), a place considered a blemish for Jews but not for Romans. The rabbis wanted to sacrifice it because of the concept of "peace with authorities." Rabbi Zekhariah ben Avkulus said: "It will be said that we sacrificed blemished animals." So they planned to kill Bar Kamtsa , to prevent him from reporting to Caesar. Rabbi Zechariah even said, "It will be said that whoever blemishes a consecrated animal deserves death ..." "We learn from this," said Rabbi Elizar, "How great is the power of humiliation. The Holy Blessed One came to the aid of Bar Kamtsa and destroyed His own House and Burnt Her Sanctuary. -Talmud, Masekhet Gittin *** Rabban Gamliel, Rabbi Elazar ben Azaria, Rabbi Joshua and Rabbi Akiva were going up to Jerusalem. When they reached Mount Scopus, they tore their clothes. Approaching the Temple Mount, they saw a fox run out of the area of the Holy of Holies. As they began to weep, Rabbi Akiva laughed. "Why are you laughing?" the others asked. "Why are you crying?" he retorted. They responded, "When foxes run in the place where only the High Priest could enter on Yom Kippur, shouldn't we cry?" "That is why I laughed," he answered. "I know two prophesies. The first, of the prophet Micah saying, 'Because of you, Zion will be a plowed field. Jerusalem a ruin, and the Temple Mount a forest.' The second of Zechariah saying, 'Old men and women will yet rejoice in the streets of Jerusalem.' Until I saw the first prophesy fulfilled, I feared the second would never happen. Now that I have seen the first prophesy come true, I know the second will also." The other's answered, "Akiva, you have comforted us! Akiva, you have comforted us!"

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