ABSTRACT
The stories of the Talmud are a rich source of folklore, history, and culture, and contain many of the character types and themes. The Babylonian thieves were disrespectful of Rabbi Yehuda, whereas the Israeli thieves were respectful of Rabbi Akiva. They highwaymen in both stories were Jewish. According to the Talmud, this trick was originally used in the Torah, by Jacob. Jacob told his brother Esau to go ahead and that he would follow him later to Seir. There is, however, no record of Jacob going to Seir. The Talmud often ridicules idols by distorting their names. For example, the Roman deity, Mercurius is referred to in the Talmud as Markulis. The Talmud concludes that even if one's intention is to disgrace Baal Peor by defecating before it, he has actually worshipped it. Thus, Sabta, who was trying to ridicule the idol inadvertently ended up "worshipping" it.
