The Sages taught: There is no constellation for the Jewish People [ayn mazal b'yisrael] and charity saves from death [tzedakah tatzil mimavet]. As it is known from Rivka, the daughter of Ḥanina, of Sikhnin. When Rivka, the daughter of Ḥanina was young, the Chaldean astrologers told her mother and older sister, "That girl will be eaten by lions." After their mother died, her sister Beruriah would say to Rivka, "Give charity to the poor every morning, and pray for the welfare of your city." She did not know why she said that to her. But every morning, Rivka would go to the market and give coins to the poor people there. One day, she saw wife of the Roman governor who invited her to her home. The governor's wife wanted to speak to her in Aramaic and tried to say, "Come, and I will feed you milk" [ta’i de’okhlikh ḥelba]. However, her words were confused and she said, "May the lions eat you" [tokhlikha lavya]. The next day, a Roman soldier saw Rivka at the market and said to himself, "Why does the daughter of Rabbi Hanina walk free." He placed her in prison to await her death in the stadium. Beruriah heard and said to her husband, Rabbi Meir, "Is it not enough that my father was killed by the Romans, should me sister suffer the same fate?" She gave Rabbi Meir a large vessel and instructed him to go to the marketplace and to call out "Avimelech, King of Gerar has taken Rivka." Rabbi Meir did so, and immediately, all of the poor people in the market each placed their coins in the vessel until the vessel was overflowing with coins. Rabbi Meir went to the prison and said to the guard "Give me Rivka, the daughter of Hanina." The guard said to him "I fear that if I do so, I will be punished by the government." Rabbi Meir said to him "Take this vessel full of coins; give half to the governor as a bribe, and half will be for you." The guard said to him "But when the money is finished, what shall I do?" Rabbi Meir said to him "Say: God of Meir answer me! And you will be saved." Afterwards, Rivka fled to Babylonia and settled in Mata Meḥasya. [Adapted from Eruvin 53b, Shabbat 156b, Avodah Zara 18a.]