SAID Rabbi Jose. "If all this is true, why were they so exceedingly foolish and blind that notwithstanding all their occult science they could not foresee the flood which the Holy One was preparing for their destruction?"
Said Rabbi Isaac: "They knew full well what was about to take place, but in the perversity of their hearts they said: 'We know the angels presiding over the fire and over the water and, by our magical science, will be able to restrain and prevent them from injuring us.' But…