Turnus Rufus once said to Rabbi Akiva, " If your God is a friend to the poor, why doesn't he feed them?0 To which he promptly replied, " That we by maintaining them may escape the condemnation of Gehenna. " On the contrary, said the Emperor, "the very fact of your maintaining the poor will condemn you to Gehenna. I will tell thee by a parable whereto this is like, It is as if a king of our own flesh and blood should imprison a servant who has offended him, and command that neither food nor drink should be given him, and as if one of his subjects in spite of him should go and supply him with both.
When the king hears of it will he not be angry with that man? And ye are called servants, as it is said (Lev. xxv. 55), ( For unto me the children of Israel are servants. } To this Rabbi Akiva replied, " And I too will tell thee a parable whereunto the thing is like. It is like a king of our own flesh and blood who, being angry with his son, imprisons him, and orders that neither food nor drink be given him, but one goes and gives him both to eat and drink. When