aid (Prov. xxv. 21,
22), "If thine enemy hunger, give him bread to eat; if he be thirsty,
give him water to drink; for thus thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his
head, and the Lord shall reward thee" (i.e., oppose him with the law.
The word rendered bread, is metaphorically taken for the law, Prov. ix.
5, so that give him water to drink means also the law, Isa. lv.
1--Rashi. And the Lord reward thee, read not reward, but cause him to
make peace with thee, not to war against thee.) (5.) Isaiah calls him
stumbling-block; as it is said (Isa. lvii. 14), "Cast ye up, cast ye up,
prepare the way, take up the stumbling-block out of the way of my
people." (6.) Ezekiel calls him stone; as it is said (Ezek. xxxvi. 26),
"I will take away the heart of stone out of your flesh and I will give
you a heart of flesh." (7.) Joel calls him the hidden one; as it is said
(Joel ii. 20), "I will remove far from you the hidden one," i.e., the
tempter who remains hidden in the heart of man; "and I will drive him
into a land barren and desolate," i.e., where the children of men do not
usually dwell; "with his face toward the former sea," i.e., with his
eyes set upon the first Temple, which he destroyed, slaying the
disciples of the wise that were in it; "and his hinder part toward the
latter sea," i.e., with his eyes set on the second Temple, which he
destroyed, also slaying the disciples of the wise that were in it.

_Succah_, fol. 52, col. 1.

Once a Jewish mother with her seven sons suffered martyrdom at the hands
of the Emperor. The sons, when ordered by the latter to do homage to the
idols of the Empire, declined, and justified their disobedience by
quoting each a simple text from the sacred Scriptures. When the seventh
was brought forth, it is related that Caesar, for appearance' sake,
offered to spare him if only he would stoop and pick up a ring from the
ground which had been dropped on purpose. "Alas for thee, O Caesar!"
answered the boy; "if thou art so zealous for thine honor, how much more
zealous ought we to be for the honor of the Holy One--blessed be He!" On
his being led away to the place of execution, the mother craved and
obtained leave to give him a farewell kiss. "Go, my child," said she,
"and say to Abraham, Thou didst build an altar for the sacrifice of one
son, but I have erected altars for seven sons." She then turned away and
threw herself down headlong from the roof and expired, when the echo of
a voice was heard excl