Satan in Goray

women might be ugly in the eyes of their husbands: And he called the pious with bynames in the German tongue to wit trop lekish parech esel shemosh pushkemeckler kaltoon bock, et al. (pinhead loony scab ass slattern meddler stinkpot he-goat) and in the Polish tongue and in Ivan's tongue as well: And he sang the bridal canopy tunes with great skill item the Covering Tune for when the groom covers the bride's hair, item the Canopy Dance Tune, item the Escort Tune for when bride and groom are escorted to their chamber: And he mimicked the sound of the fife and of the cymbal and of the bagpipe and Of the other instruments and all with locked lips and the hearts of the congregation were melted like wax at the sight of the woman's gesticulations and grimaces: And there were present flippant, light-headed persons that had never believed in transmogrification and now when they saw this with their own eyes they fell on their faces and beat their breasts and tore their garments and there was a great tumult: THEN DID REB MORDECAI JOSEPH (may his remembrance be a blessing) collect his strength and he bade a censer be fetched and onycha and wax and incense and other spices and glowing coals: And he bade black candles be lighted and they brought the board of purification and he enveloped himself in a white robe and another ten men put on prayer shawls and phylacteries and the chanter took a ram's horn in his hand: And he opened the doors of the Holy Ark and he drew out thence a Torah scroll and he cried: Be quick and fly Or I shall excommunicate thee and drive thee off by force: And he laid all the spice on the censer and the smoke of the incense arose for it is notorious that the smell of incense undoes the Husk: And thus it came to pass:

    FOR WHEN THE SPIRIT smelled the smoke of the holy incense he uttered a great and bitter cry and he sprang as high as the rafters, and the woman rolled on the floor and a foam dribbled from her mouth like an epileptic (God preserve us): And for spite the spirit flung her bonnet to the earth and uncovered her body, and she spread her legs to shOw her nakedness and to bring men into thoughts of transgression: And she passed water and befouled the holy place and her breasts became as hard as stones and her belly bulged so that ten men could not depress it: Her left leg she twisted around her neck and the right she stuck out stiff as a board and her tongue lolled like a hanged man's (God preserve us): In this state she lay and her cries went up to very Heaven and the earth was split by her cries: And she vomited blood and filth and it dripped from her nostrils and from her eyes and she broke wind: And many of the congregation turned sick with revulsion: One time she laughed and one time she cried and she sobbed and ground her teeth: And many righteous women did testify that a stink issued from that same place for the spirit dwelt in there (vid. sup.): and she also made such lewd gesticulations as cannot be put down in writing: And when they placed a holy object near her, to wit a page from a discarded holy volume, or the thread of a prayer shawl fringe, why she leaped up and flew through the air: And all this to the accompaniment of thunder and lightning, so that many of the congregation were struck with terror and their knees knocked and they cried: Woe unto us, For the profane doth triumph over the sacred (which God forbid);

    THEN DID REB MORDECAI JOSEPH (may his remembrance be a blessing) cry Blow the blast and he who held the ram's horn blew: And Reb Mordecai Joseph cried I excommunicate thee: May every curse and every ban in the Chapter of Curses fall on thy head if thou forsake not the body of this woman immediately and out of hand: And the chanter chanted the Chapter of Curses and sprinkled ashes on the woman's head: And there was such a turbulence in the study house that the gentiles came running up too and their priest with them and they bowed for they saw that this thing was from on high and they prayed to their God: And some of them cried that the woman be put to death for that she was a witch: And the congregation stood so close in the prayer house that no more could enter and there was a great press:

    AND THE DYBBUK cried Make me free of the ban and I undertake to leave in good faith for I can withstand the sacred no longer: And Reb Mordecai Joseph (may his remembrance be a blessing) did as the dybbuk had bidden promising to study the Mishna in his name and to recite the Mourner's