Shabbat 156B

דקאי צדק במערב ⁠— מהדרנא ומוקימנא ליה במזרח. והיינו דכתיב: ״מי העיר ממזרח צדק יקראהו לרגלו״.

Is it because Jupiter is situated in the west that you cannot have children? I will restore it and establish it in the east. And that is the meaning of that which is written with regard to Abraham: “Who has raised up one from the east, he will call justice [tzedek] to his steps [leraglo]. He gives nations before him, and makes him rule over kings; his sword makes them as the dust, his bow as the driven stubble” (Isaiah 41:2). God established Jupiter [tzedek] in the east on behalf of [leraglo] Abraham.

ומדשמואל נמי אין מזל לישראל. דשמואל ואבלט הוו יתבי, והוו קאזלי הנך אינשי לאגמא. אמר ליה אבלט לשמואל: האי גברא אזיל ולא אתי, טריק ליה חיויא ומיית. אמר ליה שמואל: אי בר ישראל הוא, אזיל ואתי. אדיתבי אזל ואתא.

And from that which transpired to Shmuel, one can also conclude that there is no constellation for the Jewish people. The Talmud relates that Shmuel and the non-Jew sage Ablet were sitting, and they saw these people were going to the lake. Ablet said to Shmuel: This person will go and he will not return, because a snake will bite him and he will die. Shmuel said to him: If he is a Jew, he will go and come back. As they were sitting for a while, the person they discussed went away and then returned.

קם אבלט שדיה לטוניה, אשכח ביה חיויא דפסיק ושדי בתרתי גובי. אמר ליה שמואל: מאי עבדת? אמר ליה: כל יומא הוה מרמינן ריפתא בהדי הדדי ואכלינן. האידנא הוה איכא חד מינן דלא הוה ליה ריפתא, הוה קא מיכסף. אמינא להו: אנא קאימנא ומרמינא. כי מטאי לגביה, שואי נפשאי כמאן דשקילי מיניה, כי היכי דלא ליכסיף. אמר ליה: מצוה עבדת. נפק שמואל ודרש: ״וצדקה תציל ממות״, ולא ממיתה משונה, אלא ממיתה עצמה.

Ablet stood up, threw down the person’s burden, and inside he found a snake cut and cast in two pieces. Shmuel said to him: What did you do to merit being saved from death? The person said to him: Every day we all take bread together and eat from the bread. Today, there was one of us who did not have bread, and when it came time to gather the bread, he was embarrassed because he did not have any to give. I said to the others: I will go and take the bread. When I came to the person who did not have bread, I rendered myself as one who was taking from him so that he would not be embarrassed. Shmuel said to him: You performed a mitzva. Shmuel went out and taught based on this incident that even though it is written: “And charity will save from death” (Proverbs 10:2), it does not only mean that it will save a person from an unusual death but even from death itself.