When I, Yannai, Die

They said: When King Yannai fell ill, he seized seventy of the elders of Israel. He put them in chains, ordering the prison guard: When I die, kill the elders, so that even as Israel rejoice, they shall mourn their masters. It was said: He had a good wife named Shalminon [Shelamzion] and when he died, she removed his ring from his finger, presented…