Jastrow: סְרַס

סְרַס , Pa. סָרֵיס ch. same, 1) to emasculate. Targ. Y. Lev. XXII, 24.—Ḥag. 14ᵇ מהו לסָרוּסֵי וכ׳ is it permitted to castrate a dog? —2) to disarrange, transpose, reverse. Lev. R. s. 22 הוה מְסָרֵס קרייא וכ׳ Resh Lakish interpreted the verse (Is. LXVI, 3) by transposition (making the subject the predicate &c.), ‘he who kills a man (thinks of it as lightly as if he) had slaughtered an ox’ &c. Y. R. Hash. II, end, 58ᵇ [read:] ר"ש בן ל׳ מסרס הדין קרייא אלופינו מְסַבְּלִים אין כתיב וכ׳ R. S. b. L. interprets this verse just in a reverse way (to R. Johanan’s interpretation), it is not written, ‘our teachers bear’, but ‘our teachers are borne with’, when the small bear with (the shortcomings of) the great, then there is no breach &c.—Trnsf. to plague, torment, weary into submission. Gen. R. s. 58 (ref. to ופגעו, Gen. XXIII, 8) [read as:] Yalk. ib. 102 פגעוניה לי סָרְסוּנֵיה לי וכ׳ plague him for me, bore him for me, and if this has no effect, pray for him in my favor (that God may turn his heart to yield to my wishes).