Once upon a time there lived a man called Herod, who became king. Before he became king, he was a slave of the Hasmoneans, and among them there was a young girl whom Herod loved.

One day he heard a voice from heaven saying, "Any slave that rebels this day against his master will be fortunate."

Thereupon Herod killed all his masters except the young woman with whom he was in love. He spared her, for he wanted to marry her.

What did the young woman do? She said: "If anyone shall come and say that he has won the king's daughter, having put to death all the Hasmoneans except me, he shall not have me."

And with these words she went up to the roof of the house, threw herself down and broke her neck.

Then Herod said: "Who is there among you who interprets the verse: 'One from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee' (Deut. 17.15), as meaning from among thy brethren and not from a slave?"

And the sages said that this was their interpretation.

Whereupon he put them all to death with the exception of Judah son of Bota. Him he spared because he wanted to have his advice when he stood in need of it. But he had his eyes put out.

One day Herod was sitting in a chamber with Judah ben Bota, but the latter did not know who he was.

And Herod said: "What a miserable slave Herod is! He has killed all the sages and murdered his masters."

R. Judah replied: "What can I do?"

Herod said: "Let us curse him." For he desired to find out what Judah ben Bota had in his mind.

Then Baba replied, "The Bible says: 'Curse not the king, no, not in thy thought' '' (Eccl. 10.20).

Herod rejoined: "But Herod is no king."

Then Baba said: "Assume that he is no better than a rich man, who also must not be cursed, as we read in the verse: 'And curse not the rich in thy bed chamber'" (ibid.).

Then Herod revealed himself and said: "Had I known that you rabbis are so pious, I would not have killed them, but now that I have done it I fear me that God will not forgive the sin which I have committed. Now advise me what to do to obtain God's forgiveness."

Then Baba replied: "I will advise you what to do. You have extinguished the light of the Torah, now go and rekindle it, for the sages are called the light of the Torah and you have put them all to death; therefore go and kindle it anew, i. e. go and build the temple, of which it is said in the Bible: 'And it shall be a light to all the nations' (Is. 2.2). Therefore go and build the temple."

He took his advice and rebuilt the temple, as we are told in the Bible.