Midrash su Proverbi 25:21

(Ib. 45) And Esther said, Let the king and Haman come this day unto the banquet. Our Rabbis were taught: For what purpose did Esther invite Haman to the feast? R. Elazar said: "She spread for him a net, as it is said (Pr. 69, 23) May their table become a snare before them." R. Joshua said: "She learned it in her father's house, as it is said (Prov. 25, 21) If thy enemy be hungry, give him bread." R. Meier said: "So that Haman should not learn of the matter and cause a revolution." R. Juda said: "So that it should not be noticed she was a Jewess." R. Nechemia said: "So that the Israelites say not, We have a sister in the king's court, and they should not [meanwhile] dismiss from their minds the idea of praying for mercy." And R. Jose said: "So that he should be near, if she wanted him." R. Simon b. Menassia said: "So that He above should notice [how she was forced to flatter her enemy] and should perform a miracle." R. Joshua b. Karcha said: "She intended to make herself agreeable to Haman, so that the king might become jealous, and should kill both him and her [whereby Israel would be saved]."

R. Berekhyah applies to <the evil drive> (Prov. 25:21): IF YOUR ENEMY IS HUNGRY, GIVE HIM BREAD TO EAT.⁵See M. Pss. 34:2. This <ENEMY> is the evil drive. GIVE HIM BREAD TO EAT from the bread of Torah, just as it says (of wisdom in Prov. 9:5): COME AND EAT OF MY BREAD. (Prov. 25:21, cont.:) AND IF HE IS THIRSTY, GIVE HIM WATER TO DRINK from the waters of Torah, just as it says (in Is. 55:1): HO, ALL WHO ARE THIRSTY, COME TO THE WATERS. For what reason? (Prov. 25:22:) BECAUSE YOU WILL BE HEAPING BURNING COALS ON HIS HEAD. Ergo (in Prov. 16:7): WHEN THE LORD IS PLEASED WITH ONE'S WAYS. This refers to the good drive. (ibid., cont.:) HE MAKES EVEN HIS ENEMIES TO BE AT PEACE WITH HIM. This refers to the evil drive. David said (in Ps. 35:10): ALL MY BONES SHALL SAY: LORD, WHO IS LIKE YOU? YOU DELIVER THE POOR FROM ONE STRONGER THAN HE, <i.e.,> the good drive from the evil drive.

R. Avira, and according to others, R. Joshua b. Levi, expounded: "There are seven names for the evil inclination. The Holy One, praised be He I calls him evil, as it is said (Gen. 8, 21) The imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; Moses calls him obduracy, as it is said (Deut. 10, 17) Remove the obduracy of your heart; and when he says a clean heart, it must be an unclean one. Solomon calls him enemy, as it is said (Prov. 25, 21) If thy enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink; for though thou gatherest coals of fire upon his head, yet will the Lord repay it unto thee. Do not read Yeshalem L'cha (repay thee), but read it Yashlimenu L'cha (he will make him peaceful toward thee ). Isaiah calls him stumbling block, as it is said (Is. 57, 14) And he will say. Cast ye up, cast ye up, clear out of the way, lift up every stumbling-block out of the way of my people. Ezekiel names him stone, as it is said (Ex. 36, 26) I will remove the heart of stone out of your body. Joel calls him Z'phoni, as it is said (Joel 2, 20) And the host of the (Z'phoni) north will I remove.

(Devarim 11:18) "And you shall place these words upon your hearts and upon your souls": Scripture hereby apprises us that words of Torah are comparable to a drug of life. An analogy: A father strikes his son a stunning blow and places a plaster on his wound, telling him: "My son, so long as this plaster is on your wound, you may eat and drink as you wish and bathe both in hot and cold and no harm will come to you. But if you remove it, you will raise an infection." Likewise, the Holy One Blessed be He says to Israel: My children, I have created in you a yetzer hara (an evil inclination), and I have created Torah as its antidote. So long as you occupy yourselves with it, it will not prevail over you, as it is written (Bereshith 4:7) "If you do 'good' (i.e., if you occupy yourself with 'good' = Torah), it (the yetzer hara) will be 'lifted' from you." But if you do not occupy yourselves with Torah, you will be delivered into its hand, viz. (Ibid.) "But if you do not do 'good,' sin crouches at the door." And, what is more, all of its concourse is with you, viz. (Ibid.) "and to you is its desire." And if you so will, you can prevail over it, as it is written (Ibid.) "and you can rule over it." And it is written (Proverbs 25:21-22) "If your foe is hungry, feed him bread," the "bread" of Torah; "and if he is hungry give him water (= Torah) to drink. For you thereby scoop out coals upon its head," (suffocating the "great flame"). "evil" is the yetzer hara (the evil inclination). Its Creator testifies about it that it is evil, viz. (Bereshith 8:21) "for the yetzer of man's heart is evil from his youth."