There once lived a goldsmith who most would consider blessed. He had a loving wife, many fine children, a large house, and he made a good living. But these riches were not enough for him. A she-devil had bewitched him with her beauty, and he kept her as a second wife. Pleasing her was what he thought about while he toiled; his thoughts strayed to his demonic wife even during his devotions in the synagogue.

So it was that one year, on the first night of Passover, the goldsmith was overcome with longing for his demon lover, and rushed off to see her. His mortal wife, troubled by his behavior, followed him to his workshop and peered in. There she saw her husband feasting with the woman of unsurpassed, otherworldly beauty.

The next day she told her tale to the Rabbi, who questioned the goldsmith. The Rabbi had assumed that the goldsmith had a perfectly ordinary lover, but eventually the goldsmith confessed that she was a demon, and the Rabbi became more sympathetic.

"Take this amulet," the Rabbi instructed. "The Ineffable Name is written upon it. So long as you carry this, the she-devil will have no power over you."

It was as the Rabbi said. The goldsmith's lust dissipated, and he put aside his demon lover. For many years, he was faithful to his wife, and thought of the temptress only with revulsion.

But when he lay dying, the she-devil came to him once more. She was still beautiful, and professed her distress. "I can forgive you for leaving me, and still love you. But what of our children?" she asked, sobbing. "Who shall provide for them?"

The goldsmith was moved by her plight, and his love for her was rekindled once more. "Take the cellar," he finally said. "Share this house with my human family." She fell upon him in gratitude, and cradled his head until he took his finally breath.

In the years after the goldsmith's death, a great war swept the land. All of the goldsmith's human sons died; strangers owned the house. For many years, the cellar door remained barred, though no one remembered the reason. But one day, a youth decided to see what lay beneath the earth and broke the locks. His body, which bore no signs of violence, was found on the threshold of the cellar.

Some two years after that, the demons began to visit the kitchen, and later the rest of the house. Food was made inedible by dirt and ash; delicate objects were smashed; the house's owners were terrified and moved to different quarters. The demons then began causing trouble throughout the rest of the city. The holy men were powerless to exorcise the demons, so eventually the city elders called a powerful seer.

The seer's incantations included the Ineffable Name, and he soon drove the demons from their hiding places. But he was curious, and questioned them about where they had lived. The demons told him of their father the goldsmith, and how he had left the cellar of the house to them on his deathbed.

"That was not lawful," the seer said. "Demons may only live in the wastelands, dark forests and deserts."

The demons protested, and demanded that the case be brought before a tribunal. So two days later, the seer and rabbinical judges took their places, and heard arguments from the demons (who appeared only as disembodied voices) and the house's human owners.

"We are the owners of that house," the demons said. "Our father left the cellar to us. Why should we suffer for his imperfect grasp of law? His human heirs are all dead; only they would have a direct claim with which to challenge ours. Banish us from the rest of the city, if you will, and forbid humans to live in the house with us, but do not deny us our birthright."

Next, the owners of the house spoke. "We are not related to the goldsmith by blood, but we purchased the house from his kin. We have a legal right to the property. The demons are trying to use human law in their favor, but it is not valid for demons. They have no claim."

The judges conferred with each other for a time, and announced their decision. "The demons hold no legal title to the house. The law of God states that they must shun the places of man. They cannot abide in a city; they certainly cannot share a house with humans."

And then the seer rose, and spoke a powerful incantation. The demons fled the city, banished to the wilderness.

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