Whose seal and wicks are these?
Question: The signs show that you are guilty. Or: If you examine your own behavior before you judge the behavior of others, you will see that you too have sinned in a similar matter (the source is in the story of Judah, who ordered Tamar to be punished for an act in which she was a partner in the act, and the seal and the wick were the compulsion for her participation in the act).
("And he said, "Tell me, whose are these seals and cords and mats?" - at the beginning of Lachish (Tamar to Judah), and then: "Tell me what you have in the house/ and what are your symbols and your ornaments/ and your seals and cords?" - Judah Al-Harizi (12th century)/ He married a woman who was ugly, and then: "And behold, he left behind him a letter and a widow, tell me." "To whom is the seal and the writing?" - Agnon/ This and That, and the Curved One Was Straight, 91)
Translation
Expression (Hebrew)
הַכֶּר נָא לְמִי הַחוֹתֶמֶת וְהַפְּתִילִים
Definition (Hebrew)
בְּהַשְׁאָלָה: הַסִּימָנִים מַרְאִים שֶׁאַתָּה אָשֵׁם. אוֹ: אִם תִּבְחַן אֶת הִתְנַהֲגוּתְךָ שֶׁלְּךָ לִפְנֵי שֶׁאַתָּה שׁוֹפֵט הִתְנַהֲגוּתָם שֶׁל אֲחֵרִים, תִּרְאֶה שֶׁגַּם אַתָּה חַטָּאת בְּדָבָר דּוֹמֶה (הַמָּקוֹר בַּמְּסֻפָּר עַל יְהוּדָה שֶׁצִּוָּה לְהַעֲנִישׁ אֶת תָּמָר עַל מַעֲשֶׂה שֶׁהָיָה שֻׁתָּף לוֹ בְּעַצְמוֹ, וְהַחוֹתֶמֶת וְהַפְּתִילִים הָיוּ הַהוֹכָחָה לְהִשְׁתַּתְּפוּתוֹ בַּמַּעֲשֶׂה).
("וַתֹּאמֶר, הַכֶּר נָא לְמִי הַחֹתֶמֶת וְהַפְּתִילִים וְהַמַּטֶּה הָאֵלֶּה"- בְּרֵאשִׁית לַח כֹּה (תָּמָר לִיהוּדָה), וְכֵן:"הַגִּידִי לִי מַה יֶּשׁ לָךְ בַּבָּיִת/ וְאַיֵּה שִׂמְלֹתַיִךְ וּמְעִילַיִךְ/ וְחוֹתְמַיִךְ וּפְתִילַיִךְ"- יְהוּדָה אַלְחַרִיזִי (הַמֵּאָה הי"ב)/ נִשּׂוּאֵי אִשָּׁה כְּעוּרָה, וְכֵן:"וְהִנֵּה הִשְׁאִיר אַחֲרָיו כְּתָב וְאַלְמָנָה, הַכֶּר נָא לְמִי הַחֹתֶמֶת וְהַמִּכְתָּב"-עַגְנוֹן/ אֵלּוּ וָאֵלּוּ, וְהָיָה הֶעָקֹב לְמִישׁוֹר, 91)