By his nature, Rav Nahman bar Yitzhak had a strong tendency toward theft, but with the help of good education and prayer he did not stray from the upright path. Indeed, when the effects of these positive influences eased slightly it became clear how strongly he could be pulled in the direction of sin.

Chaldean astrologers informed Rav Nahman bar Yitzhak’s mother: Your son will be a thief. From that day on, she did not allow him to uncover his head. She said to him: Cover your head so that the fear of Heaven will be upon you, and we will also pray for divine mercy [that you will not become a thief]. He did not know why she said this to him.

One day he was sitting and studying beneath a palm tree that belonged to others and the covering fell off his head. He lifted his eyes and saw the palm tree. He was then overcome by his evil inclination and he climbed the tree and detached a cluster of dates with his teeth. (Shabbat 156b)