Commentary for Avodah Zarah 20:12
קטיעה בר שלום מאי הוי דההוא קיסרא דהוה סני ליהודאי אמר להו לחשיבי דמלכותא מי שעלה לו נימא ברגלו יקטענה ויחיה או יניחנה ויצטער אמרו לו יקטענה ויחיה
What about this Keti’ah b. Shalom? There was once a Caesar who hated the Jews. One day he said to the prominent members of the government, “Someone who has a wart on his foot, should he cut it away and live [in comfort] or leave it on and suffer discomfort?” They replied: He should cut it away and live in comfort.”
Daf Shevui to Avodah Zarah
Again, we find the Romans speaking cryptically. But this one is pretty easy to understand, I think. By the way, there is probably a pun here—the word for “cut away” and “keti’ah” sound very similar.
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