In the time of Keti'a, son of Shalom, there lived an Emperor who was a great enemy of the Jews. So he spoke to his counselors, of whom, Keti'a was also one, "If a man is suffering of an old sore and there is much putrifying flesh growing, what is he to do? Should he cut out the foul flesh so as to be healed, or should he leave it alone and continue to suffer from the pain of the old sore?"

This similitude the Emperor applied to the Jews, for he wanted to drive them out of his land.

Then Keti'a said to the Emperor, "You can neither destroy the Jews, nor drive them away, for it is written, 'I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven' (Zech. 2.10). The meaning is, as little as the world can exist without the winds, so little can it exist without the Jews, and you cannot drive them away. Moreover, if you

destroy the Jews, you and your country will be known as the 'cut off' kingdom."

The king replied, "You have answered me quite correctly, but whoever gains a victory over the king with his answer, as you have done, must be thrown into a pit of sand to be suffocated therein. And particularly since you have insulted me by saying that my kingdom will be called the 'cut off' kingdom, you deserve this judgment."

So they seized him and wanted to take him away and throw him into a house full of sand.

A Roman princess saw him and said, "Woe to the ship that sails without toll!", meaning Keti'a who was allowing himself to be killed for the sake of the Jews. "You hope thereby to obtain a share in the world to come," she continued, "but you are not circumcised."

On hearing this, some say, he performed the ceremony on himself and said, "I have paid my toll."

When he was about to be cast into the sand pit, he exclaimed, "All my property I leave to R. Akiba and his colleagues."

Then a voice came from heaven and said, "Keti'a, the son of Shalom, is prepared for the world to come."

When Rabbi heard this, he began to weep and said, "Some people perform good deeds all their lifetime, and it is with great difficulty that they enter heavenly bliss, whilst others win paradise in one brief moment, like Keti'a, son of Shalom, who won a share in the world to come in one moment because he bequeathed all his property to R. Akiba and his colleagues."