from a distant land, he plays the part of one who is austere in his religion and excessively scrupulous (1). If he is counted among their jurists, he at once begins condemning various matters, insinuating that their piety and learning are deficient; and the more rigorously he treats them, the more they say, “This is the scholar.” The most learned among them is the one who imposes the greatest severity. Thus, on first arriving, you will see him refuse to eat (2) their food or the meat they have slaughtered. He examines the butcher’s knife, censures him for some detail of his practice, and declares, “I will eat only meat slaughtered by my own hand.” They suffer because of him, yet say, “A learned stranger has come to us.”

He goes on forbidding what is lawful, piling burdens and shackles upon them, while simultaneously opening the doors of trickery and legal stratagem. Every time he does this they exclaim, “This is the godly scholar, the virtuous ḥakham.”

When their local leader sees that the newcomer’s influence is spreading and that his words have been welcomed, he measures himself against him. Should he perceive that the newcomer despises him and speaks ill of him, he will not accept it, for people generally side with the stranger. The leader’s own partisans then accuse him of ignorance and weak religiosity, refusing to believe him because they see that the newcomer has tightened the reins upon them; and the more a man restricts and hardens matters, the more learned (3) they deem him. The leader therefore abandons his former view and turns to praising and thanking the newcomer, saying, “May God magnify so-and-so’s reward, for he has strengthened the religious law in the hearts of this congregation, firmly established its foundations, and fortified the fence of the Law.”

The newcomer hears of these words and responds, “None among you is more learned than he, nor more knowledgeable of the Torah.” When he meets the leader he says, “God has adorned the people of our town through you and revived this community by means of you!”

And if the one who arrives is a ḥabr, one of their senior rabbis, then you will behold something even more astonishing.