The Agada tells another story about King Solomon. He had the reputation of understanding every language in existence, including that of the animal world, and once heard a bird talking to his mate that was sitting on the dome of the Temple. “If,” he said, “I were to stamp my foot hard, the whole Temple would collapse in a moment.” Hearing this grandiloquent remark, King Solomon called the male bird, and assuming an angry look, asked him what he meant by such language. Trembling with fear, the bird excused himself, saying that he merely wished to tell his mate how strong he was. After being cautioned not to be so boastful in future, the bird returned to his wife, who was anxiously awaiting his return. And on her asking him what the great king wanted of him, he answered and said: “King Solomon urgently implored me not to destroy his beautiful Temple.” Sometimes the Agada occupies itself with the exposition of certain Biblical passages, which take the form of homilies. Thus, for instance, quoting the passage in Jeremiah xlvi. 28: “Fear thou not, my servant Jacob, for I am with thee; I will make a full end of all the nations by whom thou art oppressed, but of thee I will never make a full end,” the Agada speaks to the Jewish people living in exile: “Thou art grieved,” it says, “that thy Temple is destroyed, and that thy sons and daughters are scattered and dispersed to all quarters of the globe. But the Temple of God is the whole universe, and wherever thou wilt address thyself to him in prayer, he will listen to thee most graciously. Therefore, though thou art in a strange land, do not forsake the God of thy fathers; erect schools and colleges, and keep up the flame of knowledge in thy midst. Let this flame be a substitute for thy fire-offering, and thy heart a substitute for the altar of old. Both can be replaced by good actions. If thou hast taken pity on the poor and needy, and by consoling words thou hast soothed the grief of the widow and the orphan; or if by any charitable work thou hast saved even one life from misery and degradation, thou hast done a nobler deed unto thy God than if thou hadst offered him a thousand sacrifices. Thou art grieved because thy priests are no more; but it lies within thy power and that of every Israelite to lead as holy a life as they did. Let each man among you be a disciple of the High Priest Aaron, a friend of peace, a promoter of peace, and a friend of all men, and he will be as agreeable to God as the High Priest himself. Thou art scorned, ridiculed, and persecuted; the nations among whom thou livest try to get rid of thee; their leaders and statesmen treat thy race like a horde of outcasts; but do not despair of a better end. For the time is not far distant when the dawn of brighter days will break; when the rays of an enlightened age will disperse all the clouds of ignorance and superstition, and then thou wilt shine again in the golden sun of liberty^[54-1].”