The Famine in Jerusalem

[The Roman authorities then] sent Nero Caesar against [the Jews]. When he came [to Jerusalem, he wished to test his fate]. He shot an arrow to the east [and the arrow] came [and] fell in Jerusalem. [He then shot another arrow] to the west [and] it [also] fell in Jerusalem. [He shot an arrow] in [all] four directions of the heavens, [and each time the arrow] fell in Jerusalem. [Nero then conducted another test:] He said to a child: Tell me a verse [that you learned today]. He said to him [as follows]: And I will lay My vengeance upon Edom by the hand of My people Israel (Ezekiel 25:14).¹ [Nero] said: The Holy One wishes to destroy His Temple, and He wishes to wipe his hands with that man [i.e., with me. If I continue on this mission, I will eventually be punished for having served as God’s agent to bring about the destruction. So] he fled [and] became a convert, and [ultimately] R. Meir descended from him.

[The Roman authorities then] sent Vespasian Caesar against [the Jews]. He came [and] laid siege [to Jerusalem for] three years. There were [at that time] in [Jerusalem] these three wealthy people: Nakdimon ben Guryon, ben Kalba Savua, and ben Tsitsit Ha-Kesat. Nakdimon ben Guryon [was called by that name] because the sun shined [nakad] on his behalf, [as it is related elsewhere that the sun once continued to shine in order to prevent him from suffering a substantial loss]. Ben Kalba Savua [was called this] because anyone who entered his house when he was hungry as a dog [kelev] would leave satiated [save‘a]. Ben Tsitsit Ha-Kesat [was referred to by that name because] his ritual fringes [tsitsit] dragged [along] on blankets [keset], [meaning that he would not walk in the street with his feet on the ground, but rather they would place blankets beneath him]. There are [those] who say that his seat [kiseh] was found among the nobles of Rome, [meaning that he would sit among them].

[These three wealthy people offered their assistance.] One [of them] said to [the leaders of the city]: I will feed [the residents] with wheat and barley. And one [of them] said to [the leaders of the city: I will provide the residents] with wine, salt, and oil. And one [of them] said to [the leaders of the city: I will supply the residents] with wood. And the sages gave [special] praise to he [who gave the] wood, [since this was an especially expensive gift]. R. Ḥisda would give all of the keys to his servant, except [for the key] to [his shed] for [storing] wood, [which he deemed the most important of them all]. As R. Ḥisda said: One storehouse of wheat requires sixty storehouses of wood [for cooking and baking fuel. These three wealthy men] had [between them enough commodities] to sustain [the besieged] for twenty-one years.

There were certain zealots among [the people of Jerusalem]. The sages said to them: Let us go out and make peace with [the Romans. But the zealots] did not allow them [to do this. The zealots] said to [the sages]: Let us go out and engage in battle against [the Romans. But] the sages said to them: You will not be successful. [It would be better for you to wait until the siege is broken. In order to force the residents of the city to engage in battle, the zealots] arose and burned [down] these storehouses of wheat and barley, and there was [a general] famine.