Mar Ukva Leaps Into a Furnace to Protect a Poor Man

Gaster, Exempla of the Rabbis No. 228; Ketubot 67b

Curated by Arthur·Told by Maggid·April 19, 2026

Mar Ukba gave alms regularly to a poor man, who could not find out who his benefactor was. The poor man

io3

watched Ukba and his daughter and pursued them. They ran into a burning oven in order not to put the poor man to shame, but were not even singed.

Themes

Charity Poverty Miracles Rabbis Humility

Biblical References

Psalm 41:2

Continue Reading

Hebraic Literature (1901)The Poor Man Who Dined on Fowl and Old WineA beggar once came to Rava's door asking for a meal. The story is told in tractate Ketubot (folio 67, column 2), and it is really about the difference between c The Exempla of the Rabbis (1924)Why Rabbi Judah Wanted to Exclude the Ignorant from AlmsA terrible famine had descended on the land. Grain was scarce. Rabbi Judah ha-Nasi, the Prince, the compiler of the Mishnah, the richest and most influential sa Hebraic Literature (1901)Why Rav Chasda Sighed at the Gate of a Ruined HouseUlla and Rav Chasda were walking together when they came to the gate of the old house of Rav Chana bar Chenelai. Rav Chasda looked up at the crumbling walls, st The Exempla of the Rabbis (1924)The Open Purse That Once Hung at Rav Hisda's DoorpostRav Hisda was one of the leading sages of Babylonian Jewry in the third century, and in his prime he was also one of the wealthiest. One day, late in life, afte Exempla of the Rabbis (Gaster, 1924)A man came before Rabba and said that though he were poorA man came before Rabba and declared: "I am poor, yet every day I eat fattened fowl and drink aged wine." Rabba was skeptical. How could a poor man afford such Hebraic Literature (1901)Why Purim Is a Day of Gifts for the Poor of IsraelAlthough the reading of the Book of Esther, the Megillah, on Purim is not commanded anywhere in the Pentateuch, the Rabbis teach that it is binding on us and on