I think, in the Rashi on Sanhedrin 44b, the subject of the sentence "He should lift one of them from the ground" is not referring to one of the witches, but to one of the jars that he distributed in the sentence before.


  As translated here: http://www.bmv.org.il/shiurim/sanhedrin/san080.html
  
  [Shimon ben Shetach] assembled eighty tall young men and distributed to each of them a jar
  with a cloak wrapped up inside (it was a rainy day). He also told them
  to make sure that they were always eighty in number. "When you come
  inside," he said, "one of you must raise his jar from the ground; from
  that moment the witches will have no further hold over you; if that
  does not work then we can never beat them." Shim'on ben-Shataĥ went
  into the witches' coven and left the young men outside. When the
  witches asked him who he was he replied that he was a wizard who had
  come to test them with his wizardry. "What tricks can you do?" they
  asked. "Despite the fact that it is raining today I can produce eighty
  young men with dry cloaks!" "Show us!" He went outside and beckoned
  the young men inside. They removed the cloaks from the jars, put them
  on, and came into the coven. Thus they bettered the witches, took them
  outside and strung them all up. 


I don't know how lifting one of the jars from the ground would render their powers useless, but maybe that answer lies in what power the witches claimed to have.

Flying and sorcery
We have old system using .NET 3.5 (run on Windows Server 2003 32bits) to verify e-receipts from our customers (all use SHA1RSA algorithm as agreement). We store their certificates in database in Base64 string. Old code look like that:

//Store certificates
String certificateEncodeBase64 = Convert.ToBase64String(byteArrayCertificateFile);

//Verify signatures

//Hash algorithm SHA-1
HashAlgorithm hashAlgrothm = new SHA1Managed();
//Data
byte[] data = System.Text.Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(request.DataInUTF8);
//Signature
byte[] signature = Convert.FromBase64String(request.SignatureInBase64);
//Certificate
X509Certificate2 certificate = new X509Certificate2(Convert.FromBase64String(certEncodeBase64));
//Verify using algorithm RSA
RSACryptoServiceProvider pubKey = (RSACryptoServiceProvider)certificate.PublicKey.Key    
bool vr = pubKey.VerifyData(data, hashAlgrothm, signature);


Nothing issues except the performance is not good. That's why we want to move to new system using Java 1.7 (run on Windows Server 2012 64 bits). Our new code look like that:

//Using the same DB store certificates

//Verify signatures using Bouncy Castle JCE Provider

//Hash data using SHA-1
byte[] data_ = request.getDataInUTF8().getBytes("UTF-8");
MessageDigest messageDigest_ = MessageDigest.getInstance("SHA-1", "BC");
byte[] hashed = messageDigest.digest(data);
//Signature
byte [] signature = new BASE64Decoder().decodeBuffer(request.getSignatureInBase64());
//Certificate
CertificateFactory certificateFactory = CertificateFactory.getInstance("X509", "BC");
byte[] buffer = new BASE64Decoder().decodeBuffer(certEncodeBase64);
ByteArrayInputStream byteArrayCertificateInputStream = new ByteArrayInputStream(buffer);
Certificate certificate = certificateFactory.generateCertificate(byteArrayCertificateInputStream);
//Verify using algorithm RSA
Signature verifyEngine = Signature.getInstance("RSA", "BC");
verifyEngine.initVerify(certificate);
verifyEngine.update(hashed);
result = verifyEngine.verify(signature);


And we get this problem: In our test using all verified data taken from old system, new system verify some customer's data but some customers always return fail.
For one failed example

Certificate in Base64

MIIGVzCCBD+gAwIBAgIQVAHV43oelxumKTwtrMV+ljANBgkqhkiG9w0BAQUFADBpMQswCQYDVQQGEwJWTjETMBEGA1UEChMKVk5QVCBHcm91cDEeMBwGA1UECxMVVk5QVC1DQSBUcnVzdCBOZXR3b3JrMSUwIwYDVQQDExxWTlBUIENlcnRpZmljYXRpb24gQXV0aG9yaXR5MB4XDTEyMDQxNjA1NTg0NloXDTE0MDQxNjA1NTg0NlowgcExCzAJBgNVBAYTAlZOMRIwEAYDVQQIDAlIw6AgTuG7mWkxFzAVBgNVBAcMDkhhaSBCw6AgVHLGsG5nMTMwMQYDVQQKDCpOR8OCTiBIw4BORyBUTUNQIEPDlE5HIFRIxq/GoE5HIFZJ4buGVCBOQU0xUDBOBgNVBAMMR05Hw4JOIEjDgE5HIFRNQ1AgQ8OUTkcgVEjGr8agTkcgVk4gLSBUUlVORyBUw4JNIEPDlE5HIE5HSOG7hiBUSMOUTkcgVElOMIIBIjANBgkqhkiG9w0BAQEFAAOCAQ8AMIIBCgKCAQEAqxx3EzTjZLaBh2ymig4aQoqZK5R/wiVnq8hGUjyG95Fvr+IZvBKrE0Rp6+yZI5yQfWhLKoXwrcfV9qwYvDaeL7BQJpCDnEu3Xih3E66o59/zx/PjSCbhA+c9kuu5irasTLuxX2iUBbBZjzDw4TLzcWeo7HAY+WgNik1YjOy8ZINnYJfB99cwpvDpAL1nw+4dX8hYaKbwJiVLf+KwGvj/v/jxTCiZo1Ob48chiw88Y2S3ak0K26euZxQ3lFYoMKs0qp2FQuK7x0B1UY3WymXc+qWFp6z7p+XiVIyr0Rv1/C8mO4AzCY2xKkfkPTkWyHay5NffbP8gJYV+J/KYO6uDEQIDAQABo4IBoDCCAZwwcAYIKwYBBQUHAQEEZDBiMDIGCCsGAQUFBzAChiZodHRwOi8vcHViLnZucHQtY2Eudm4vY2VydHMvdm5wdGNhLmNlcjAsBggrBgEFBQcwAYYgaHR0cDovL29jc3Audm5wdC1jYS52bi9yZXNwb25kZXIwHQYDVR0OBBYEFM+JjYgczFow9j23/ufgnb0BiO91MAwGA1UdEwEB/wQCMAAwHwYDVR0jBBgwFoAUBmnA1dUCihWNRn3pfOJoClWsaq8wdgYDVR0gBG8wbTA0BgkrBgEEAYH6OgIwJzAlBggrBgEFBQcCARYZaHR0cDovL3B1Yi52bnB0LWNhLnZuL3JwYTA1BgsrBgEEAYH6OgICAjAmMCQGCCsGAQUFBwICMBgeFgBEAEkARAAtAEIAMQAuADAALQAyAHkwMQYDVR0fBCowKDAmoCSgIoYgaHR0cDovL2NybC52bnB0LWNhLnZuL3ZucHRjYS5jcmwwDgYDVR0PAQH/BAQDAgTwMB8GA1UdJQQYMBYGCCsGAQUFBwMCBgorBgEEAYI3CgMMMA0GCSqGSIb3DQEBBQUAA4ICAQBvkxvjAFJKM5/4wgtW2wx+Q0O2XhanV5nPv+mW2dODyner4wki+7hZQZ6LeufZ/ktNKAv2gm9Jt9uiQDVNh037WJu5haYBhxGFgFr96ZY9Cb9boPJ5p7u+k3K/4EDlmmVh4QgV/3HbKedpfvU7QtpSHyv6Fff7KaP3MzFgQZekocHaB8kRn8XL6vc+OLZp+wXeg9WYL9x0aO+JUSU5mWzPKX5tVukgciVWblVAN8jVOgZl+VgkJa10dQZP32Zk6AuBmznQJu8Oxpbrn600lyC8lj78f2tNxTgYrbw28Cx5+N5YYL7lIzsJAfnfKNTlFx9me/a/CL8b1KWx0FyjUN50tU7C2GX+Vt/lnSlvfH5gU/UKbiorqz5pyEzSocmScrcuWuzvZzHQkgxP/fsGfrAfN9cl+2GPewtzb+e2WaGoBo56t908IBDaQGlwHx5lpnM8i/8LERXv4It37SqdSe/2mtah7AvmIYkYu6REVQC1/bnfra7/gtk5i/nGA8vdxU417VgYOmQu2sYcEPd/3KhDjImiAkYd6UzFGXpZJL8/uqjL70U7++V6VObjpbsOuuZwh1Xl9h2Mbds++EnUvmP+Jb8R9m0U4dPFr8POexPJwdDGLE5aEjn4TrPgkEIaKyx+FRVLZUJzUELQODfvdGgt8eSNSTqRc+xp3/eutP56NQ==


RawData

&lt;HEADER&gt;&lt;VERSION&gt;1.0&lt;/VERSION&gt;&lt;SENDER_CODE&gt;TTSP_ICB&lt;/SENDER_CODE&gt;&lt;SENDER_NAME&gt;He Thong Thanh toan song phuong cua Ngan hang Vietinbank&lt;/SENDER_NAME&gt;&lt;RECEIVER_CODE&gt;TTSP_KBA&lt;/RECEIVER_CODE&gt;&lt;RECEIVER_NAME&gt;He thong Thanh toan song phuong cua Kho bac Nha nuoc&lt;/RECEIVER_NAME&gt;&lt;TRAN_CODE&gt;103&lt;/TRAN_CODE&gt;&lt;MSG_ID&gt;TTSP_ICB103004203763&lt;/MSG_ID&gt;&lt;MSG_REFID /&gt;&lt;SEND_DATE&gt;04-03-2014 09:03:15&lt;/SEND_DATE&gt;&lt;ORIGINAL_CODE&gt;TTSP_ICB&lt;/ORIGINAL_CODE&gt;&lt;ORIGINAL_NAME&gt;He Thong Thanh toan song phuong cua Ngan hang Vietinbank&lt;/ORIGINAL_NAME&gt;&lt;ORIGINAL_DATE&gt;04-03-2014 09:03:15&lt;/ORIGINAL_DATE&gt;&lt;ERROR_CODE /&gt;&lt;ERROR_DESC /&gt;&lt;SPARE1 /&gt;&lt;SPARE2 /&gt;&lt;SPARE3 /&gt;&lt;/HEADER&gt;&lt;BODY&gt;&lt;MT_ID&gt;1420110300335833&lt;/MT_ID&gt;&lt;SEND_BANK&gt;89201001&lt;/SEND_BANK&gt;&lt;RECEIVE_BANK&gt;89701002&lt;/RECEIVE_BANK&gt;&lt;CREATED_DATE&gt;04-03-2014 09:26:24&lt;/CREATED_DATE&gt;&lt;CREATOR&gt;DD740063&lt;/CREATOR&gt;&lt;MANAGER&gt;DD740096&lt;/MANAGER&gt;&lt;VERIFIED_DATE&gt;04-03-2014 09:29:41&lt;/VERIFIED_DATE&gt;&lt;F20&gt;1474010300001334&lt;/F20&gt;&lt;F23B&gt;CRED&lt;/F23B&gt;&lt;F26T&gt;C&lt;/F26T&gt;&lt;F32AS1&gt;04-03-2014&lt;/F32AS1&gt;&lt;F32AS2&gt;VND&lt;/F32AS2&gt;&lt;F32AS3&gt;324000000.00&lt;/F32AS3&gt;&lt;F33BS1&gt;VND&lt;/F33BS1&gt;&lt;F33BS2&gt;324000000.00&lt;/F33BS2&gt;&lt;F36 /&gt;&lt;F50P1&gt;VND101101001&lt;/F50P1&gt;&lt;F50AP2 /&gt;&lt;F50KP2&gt;HUYNH THI KIM THOA&lt;/F50KP2&gt;&lt;F51AP1S1 /&gt;&lt;F51AP1S2 /&gt;&lt;F51AP2 /&gt;&lt;F52P1S1 /&gt;&lt;F52P1S2 /&gt;&lt;F52AP2&gt;89201001&lt;/F52AP2&gt;&lt;F52DP2&gt;89201001&lt;/F52DP2&gt;&lt;F53P1S1 /&gt;&lt;F53P1S2 /&gt;&lt;F53AP2 /&gt;&lt;F53BP2 /&gt;&lt;F53DP2 /&gt;&lt;F54P1S1 /&gt;&lt;F54P1S2 /&gt;&lt;F54AP2 /&gt;&lt;F54BP2 /&gt;&lt;F54DP2 /&gt;&lt;F55P1S1 /&gt;&lt;F55P1S2 /&gt;&lt;F55AP2 /&gt;&lt;F55BP2 /&gt;&lt;F55DP2 /&gt;&lt;F56P1S1 /&gt;&lt;F56P1S2 /&gt;&lt;F56AP2 /&gt;&lt;F56CP2 /&gt;&lt;F56DP2 /&gt;&lt;F57P1S1&gt;C&lt;/F57P1S1&gt;&lt;F57P1S2 /&gt;&lt;F57AP2&gt;89701002&lt;/F57AP2&gt;&lt;F57BP2 /&gt;&lt;F57CP2 /&gt;&lt;F57DP2&gt;KBNN PHU TAN - AN GIANG&lt;/F57DP2&gt;&lt;F59P1&gt;372301048091&lt;/F59P1&gt;&lt;F59AP2 /&gt;&lt;F59P2&gt;UBND XA BINH THANH DONG#####&lt;/F59P2&gt;&lt;F70 /&gt;&lt;F71A&gt;SHA&lt;/F71A&gt;&lt;F71GS1 /&gt;&lt;F71GS2 /&gt;&lt;F72&gt;UBND XA BINH THANH DONG NOP TIEN XE CHUYEN BENH&lt;/F72&gt;&lt;F77B /&gt;&lt;F77TS1 /&gt;&lt;F77TS2 /&gt;&lt;F77TS3 /&gt;&lt;F77TS4 /&gt;&lt;F77TS5 /&gt;&lt;F77TS6 /&gt;&lt;F77TS7 /&gt;&lt;F77TS8 /&gt;&lt;F77TS9 /&gt;&lt;F77TS10 /&gt;&lt;F77TS11 /&gt;&lt;F77TS12 /&gt;&lt;F77TS13 /&gt;&lt;F77TS14 /&gt;&lt;F77TS15 /&gt;&lt;F77TS16 /&gt;&lt;F77TS17 /&gt;&lt;F77TS18 /&gt;&lt;F77TS20 /&gt;&lt;F77TS19 /&gt;&lt;/BODY&gt;


Hash data in Base64 using SHA-1

KLpuojRk329lb++8CFKTFADh+3c=


Signature in Base64

KWMVPKpQ8Pg3fUij9pND/me3orlplkbdNLWcH5rztMhIz0BjTN8CJJHiFrN1w1Qkih0lSl24zDE5nbYw/vo+EG3tSJzC+d/h7wkm6ad9LHt5Y0cxYRIKWSHJRbCjkOXcO/eE3KZaAZONGEVWt1bLkL3zERN11RAyZjFEzrGE7WbiLvp/51Cy5zBU/mLJts3waiEpqycjOOVNo59ICulwclhcPR+gVzcwh65oxBelI+XRbRN1PfEw5J48R6fTwmdtRzD+OJejMLHmiHUBErRNo+XG7Q5ovwY1AG2GfCOCYIOu2jYd5DD9ZDuLEMa54Uz7cy3UbciXG5/n+7GtLfGeHA==


For investigate further, we debug class DigestSignatureSpi that Bouncy Castle use to verify at line

try
{
    sig = cipher.processBlock(sigBytes, 0, sigBytes.length);

    expected = derEncode(hash);
}
catch (Exception e)
{
    return false;
}


sig is

[48, 33, 48, 9, 6, 5, 43, 14, 3, 2, 26, 5, 0, 4, 20, 40, -70, 110, -94, 52, 100, -33, 111, 101, 111, -17, -68, 8, 82, -109, 20, 0, -31, -5, 119]


while expected is

[40, -70, 110, -94, 52, 100, -33, 111, 101, 111, -17, -68, 8, 82, -109, 20, 0, -31, -5, 119]


This debug show sig include expected bit (last 20 bytes).

I don't know what is wrong. PLEASE HELP!!! Thank you.
