'the Pairs'), also called Zugoth /ˈzuːɡɒθ/ or Zugos /ˌzuːˈɡɒs/ in the Ashkenazi pronunciation, refers both to the two hundred year period (c. 170 BCE – 30 CE, Hebrew: תְּקוּפַת הַזּוּגוֹת, romanized: Təqūfaṯ hazZūgōṯ, lit.
[2] The discussants expressed belief in a demonology and in practices of sorcery from which protection was needed by avoiding certain activities.
The demonology included a discussion of Ashmidai (Asmodai or Asmodeus), referred to as the king of the shedim "demons".
However, later generations did not make efforts to avoid harm from pairings, and their rabbis suggest various reasons why this is the case.
[3] The Arba'ah Turim included the rules about pairings in Orach Haim 170, but the Beit Yosef disputed this based on the Tosafot.