Every man as he goes on the eve of the Sabbath from the synagogue to his house is escorted by two angels, one of which is a good angel and the other an evil. When the man comes home and finds the lamps lit, the table spread, and the bed in order, the good angel says, "May the coming Sabbath be even as the present;" to which the evil angel (though with reluctance) is obliged to say, "Amen." But if all be in disorder, then the bad angel says, "May the coming Sabbath be even as the present," and the good angel is (with equal reluctance), obliged to say "Amen" to it. Ibid., fol. 119, col. 2. Two are better than three. Alas! for the one that goes and does not return again. _Shabbath_, fol. 152, col. 1. As in the riddle of the Sphinx, the "two" here stands for youth with its two sufficient legs, and the "three" for old age, which requires a third support in a staff. There were two things which God first thought of creating on the eve of the Sabbath, which, however, were not created till after the Sabbath had closed. The first was fire, which Adam by divine suggestion drew forth by striking together two stones; and the second, was the mule, produced by the crossing of two different animals. _P'sachim_, fol. 54, col. 1. "Every one has two portions, one in paradise and another in hell." Acheer asked Rabbi Meyer, "What meaneth this that is written (Eccl. vii. 14), 'God also has set the one over against the other'?" Rabbi Meyer replied, "There is nothing which God has created of which He has not also created the opposite. He who created mountains and hills created also seas and rivers." But said Acheer to Rabbi Meyer, "Thy master, Rabbi Akiva, did not say so, but spake in this way: He created the righteous and also the wicked; He created paradise and hell: every man has two portions, one portion in paradise, and the other in hell. The righteous, who has personal merit, carries both his own portion of good and that of his wicked neighbor away with him to paradise; the wicked, who is guilty and condemned, carries both his own portion of evil and also that of his righteous neighbor away with him to hell." When Rav Mesharshia asked what Scripture guarantee there was for this, this was the reply: "With regard to the righteous, it is written (Isa. lxi. 7), 'They shall rejoice in their portion, therefore in their land (beyond the grave) they shall possess the double.' Respecting the wicked it is written (Jer. xvii. 18), 'And destroy them with double destruction.'" _Chaggigah_, fol. 15, col. 1.