R. Meir, R. Jose and R. Judah were journeying together across the country. R. Meir laid great stress upon the names of innkeepers, and whenever they came to one who had a peculiar name, R.Meir thought, "This man cannot be of much good," and would not entrust anything to his care, but when the host had a pleasant name, R. Meir thought he must be a pious man and gave him his purse to keep. But the other two companions paid no heed to this.

One day they came to an inn late on a Friday evening, and decided to remain there till after the Sabbath. After a while R. Meir asked the innkeeper what his name was.

He replied: "My name is Kidor."

Then R. Meir said to his companions: "I can see from his peculiar name that he is a wicked man, as the verse says: Kidor tahapukot, 'For they are a very froward

generation' " (Deut. 32.20).

R. Judah and R. Jose paid no attention to him, but gave their purses to the innkeeper to keep till after the Sabbath. Not so R. Meir, who went and buried his purse at the head of the grave of Kidor's father. In the night Kidor dreamt that if he dug up his father's grave, he would find a purse with money. In the morning the innkeeper came

to R. Meir and told him his dream. R. Meir replied: "Dreams seen on the night of Friday have no significance."

He told him this in order to drive the matter out of his mind so that he should not go to search for the purse. R. Meir himself went to the grave and kept watch the entire Sabbath day so that the purse might not be taken away. When night came, he took his purse and went his way.

On the Sunday morning, the two companions said to Kidor: "Dear host, give us our purses which we deposited with you till after the Sabbath."

The innkeeper replied: "I know nothing of any purses that you deposited with me."

Then R. Meir said to them: "Why did you not pay attention to his name?"

They replied: "Why did you not warn us that he is wicked man?"

R. Meir replied: "I thought he might be a wicked man, but I was not sure of it."

Then the two men took the innkeeper into a wine shop and gave him wine to drink, thinking they might persuade him with kind treatment. As they were sitting there, they noticed on his beard lentils, which he had eaten before he left the house. So they went quietly away and came to the wife of the innkeeper and said to her: "Give us our purses which we gave your husband to keep for us till after the Sabbath. He sent us to get them from you, and the proof of it is that your husband had lentils for dinner."

When the woman saw that they gave a correct sign, she gave them the purses.

Having recovered their purses, they went their way.

When the innkeeper returned home, his wife told him that she had given the purses to the men, for they had brought a sign that he had eaten lentils.

Then he fell upon his wife and beat her until he killed her.

That was the reward which the good woman received from that wicked man.

This also agrees with what we find in the treatise Hullin, ch. Kol ha-Basar, fol. 106 a: "The non-observance of the washing of the hands before meals has been the cause of a Jew eating swine's flesh, while the neglect to wash the hands after meals has caused the loss of a human life." For if the innkeeper had washed his hands, he would also have washed his face and beard and removed the lentils. The rabbis would then have had no sign to give, and the poor woman would not have lost her life. Hence one should wash his hands after meals.

Now I will tell you how the neglect to wash the hands before meals caused a man to eat swine's flesh, as you shall hear.