They would have turned a deaf ear to reasoning.

I told them that Midrash about Jacob's journey to Laban." "What is that ?" "Oh, it's an amplification of the Biblical narrative.

The verse in Genesis says that he lighted on the place, and he put up there for the night because the sun had set, and he took of the stones of the place and he made them into pillows.

But later on it says that he rose up in the morning and he took _the_ stone which he had put as his pillows.
Now what is the explanation ?" Reb Shemuel's tone became momently more sing-song: "In the night the stones quarrelled for the honor of supporting the Patriarch's head, and so by a miracle they were turned into one stone to satisfy them all.

'Now you remember that when Jacob arose in the morning he said: 'How fearful is this place; this is none other than the House of God.' So I said to the wranglers: 'Why did Jacob say that?
He said it because his rest had been so disturbed by the quarrelling stones that it reminded him of the House of God--the Synagogue.' I pointed out how much better it would be if they ceased their quarrellings and became one stone.