ears before the destruction of the Temple, the
empire of idolatry (Rome) began the conquest of Israel.

_Shabbath_, fol. 15, col. 1.

The empire of Rome was, some think, so designated, because it
strove with all its might to drag down the worship of God to the
worship of man, and resolve the cause of God into the cause of
the Empire.

During the time of the second Temple Persia domineered over Israel for
thirty-four years and the Greeks held sway a hundred and eighty.

_Avodah Zarah_, fol. 9, col. 1.

Foolish saints, crafty villains, sanctimonious women, and
self-afflicting Pharisees are the destroyers of the world. What is it to
be a foolish saint? To see a woman drowning in the river and refrain
from trying to save her because of the look of the thing. Who is to be
regarded as a crafty villain? Rabbi Yochanan says, "He who prejudices
the magistrates by prepossessing them in favor of his cause before his
opponent has had time to make his appearance." Rabbi Abhu says, "He who
gives a denarius to a poor man to make up for him the sum total of two
hundred zouzim; for it is enacted that he who possesses two hundred
zouzim is not entitled to receive any gleanings, neither what is
forgotten in the field, nor what is left in the corner of it (see Lev.
xxiii. 22), nor poor relief either. But if he is only one short of the
two hundred zouzim, and a thousand people give anything to him, he is
still entitled to the poor man's perquisites."

_Soteh_, fol. 21, col. 2.

The cup of David in the world to come will contain two hundred and
twenty-one logs; as it is said (Ps. xxiii. 5), "My cup runneth over,"
the numerical value of the Hebrew word, "runneth over," being two
hundred and twenty-one.

_Yoma_, fol. 76, col. 2.

In the world to come the Holy One will make a grand banquet for
the righteous from the flesh of the leviathan. _Bava Bathra_,
fol. 75, col. 1. (See the Morning Service for the middle days of
the Feast of Tabernacles.) God will make a banquet for the
righteous on the day when He shows His mercy to the posterity of
Isaac. After the meal the cup of blessing will be handed to
Abraham, in order that he may pronounce the blessing, but he
will plead excuse because he begat Ishmael. Then Isaac will be
told to take the cup and speak the benediction of grace, but he
also will plead his unworthiness because he begat Esau. Next
Jacob also will refuse because