Once upon a time there lived a very mighty king who had a beautiful wife, but they had no children. So they prayed earnestly to God to give them a son who would rule after their death. As they prayed, their request was granted and the queen conceived and bore a son, who was as black as a real moor. And the king felt very sad and in bad humor that his wife should have given birth to such a blackamoor, for they were both handsome people. Turning the matter over in his mind, he bethought himself: "I have a moor in my service, surely my wife had the child by him."

He called his counselors together and desired to condemn the queen to death, for he began to hate her. The counselors were wise men, who were familiar with the science of nature.

They considered the matter a while and then said to him: "O lord king, do not be in such haste to have the queen condemned to death, lest you shed innocent blood. You may condemn her today, and tomorrow you may regret having put her to death. We will tell you this. It may be the queen thought about the moor who is in your service; or maybe she saw the figure of a moor represented in the draperies hanging at the foot of your bed, and when she was with you she had her thoughts centered on the moor. For we find in books that the children resemble the thing which the mother has in her mind at the time of conception. We, therefore, counsel you to pause and look into the matter before you do anything."

When the king heard this, he said: "This may very well be true, for there is the representation of a moor in the hangings around my bed, as it is customary for kings and princes to have images before their beds, and it is therefore likely that the queen may have thought of the moor while being with me."

Then, without looking at her, he shrewdly asked the queen: "My dear, how is it that such handsome people as you and I should have a child as black as a moor?"

The queen replied: "I will tell you how it happened. When we were together, I looked around and saw the picture of the moor in the hangings over our bed and I concentrated my thought upon it, and I think that this is why the child looks like a moor. For women easily wander in their thoughts and children resemble the thoughts of their mothers."

When the king heard this, he recognized the truth in the advice of his counselors, and he loved the queen again and the child also.

Therefore women should have good thoughts, and they will have good children. And this is what our sages mean when they say that he who thinks of committing a sin is worse than he who commits one with hands and feet. For the thoughts have their seat in the brain and the soul depends on the brain, hence he pollutes the soul; whereas he who commits a sin pollutes his body.

Therefore R. Johanan used to sit at the door so that the women should look at him when they came from the bath. For the thoughts come from the brain, and the seed from which the child is formed also comes from the brain. Therefore women, when being with their husbands, should concentrate their thoughts on scholars, and their children will be influenced thereby.

And this is the reason also why a woman should return to the bath if, on coming out, she meets anything, whatever it be, provided she desires to be pious and performs her ablutions properly, for anything that she meets makes an impression on her and she thinks about it at the time of coition and the child is affected thereby.

But there are two exceptions to this rule. The first is, if she meets a horse she need not return to the bath, for even if she should think of a horse, there would be no harm, for a horse is of a happy disposition, and therefore she may have a son whose heart will feel happy in the study of the Torah. The second is, if she meets a scholar she need not go back and repeat her ablution. On the contrary, she should think about him all the time. It is for this reason that our sages have made a rule that if one loses his wife he shall wait until three festivals have passed before marrying again. And the same thing applies to a widow. The reason is because a man continues to think of his first wife and this causes pain to the soul. During the first year after death, the soul, after ascending to heaven, comes down to the grave. This goes on for twelve months, but after the twelve months, the soul goes up to heaven and remains there. It is for this reason that a man should not marry before three festivals have passed; and the same thing applies to a woman, for it is a grievous trial to the soul of the dead. God's judgment also lasts twelve months. He requites everyone according to his deserts, and he who sins much must suffer much. You can therefore understand easily that much depends upon the state of the soul, and a great deal depends also upon the thoughts of man and wife when they are together. Follow, therefore, this rule and you will have good and pious children, who will always shine in the light of the Torah and will have a share in this world and in the world to come. Amen.