Midrasch zu Schemot 1:14

[(Numb. 14:11:) HOW LONG WILL THIS PEOPLE SCORN ME?: This text is related (to Is. 5:4): WHAT ELSE IS THERE TO DO FOR MY VINEYARD THAT I HAVE NOT DONE FOR IT? WHEN I HOPED FOR IT TO PRODUCE GRAPES, WHY DID IT PRODUCE SOUR GRAPES?⁸The beginning of this section is not found in Numb. R. The Holy One said: <Consider> what good things I have created within my world! Did I not make them for you? Yet with the very good that I made for you, you provoked me. I brought you out of Egypt. Then when I came to the sea, I made it as if it were full of clay.⁹Exod. R. 24:1; cf. Tanh., Numb. 4:13. Thus it is stated (in Hab. 3:15): YOU TROD THE SEA WITH YOUR HORSES, THE MORTAR OF MANY WATERS. They walked in it and talked to each other. A certain Reubenite said: Where are we? Do you not know that he has brought us away from clay and bricks and returned us to clay? Thus it is stated (in Exod. 1:14): AND THEY MADE THEIR LIVES BITTER WITH HARD LABOR AT MORTAR AND BRICKS. So similarly (in Hab. 3:15): YOU TROD THE SEA WITH YOUR HORSES, THE MORTAR OF MANY WATERS. The Holy One said to them: Yet with the good that I brought upon you, you provoked me. When they came to the desert, I brought the manna down to you for forty years.¹⁰With this sentence, the text again parallels Numb. R. 16:24. Moreover, none of them had to ease nature for those forty years. Rather when they ate the manna, it <simply> became flesh for them, as stated (in Ps. 78:25, 27) EACH ONE ATE THE BREAD OF THE MIGHTY (rt.: 'BR); [….AND HE RAINED DOWN MEAT UPON THEM LIKE DUST….] When <the manna> became body members (rt.: 'BR) and flesh,¹¹Numb. R. 7:4; Mekhilta deRabbi Ishmael, Wayassa‘ 4 (on Exod. 16:15); Sifre to Numb. 11:4 (88); Yoma 74b. they provoked him with it. Seeing for themselves that they did not have to go out <to ease nature> like <other> humans, they began saying to each other: Do you not know that we have had twenty days, even thirty [days], without easing nature? What is this? When a person does not ease nature for four or five days, does he not die or burst open? Now as for us, (according to Numb. 21:5), OUR SOUL LOATHES THIS MISERABLE FOOD. Why was it said to be MISERABLE (rt.: QLL)? Because it was light (rt.: QLL) within their bowels.

Alternatively, "when [the Lord] enlarges [your territory]" (Deuteronomy 20:12). "Let me exult and rejoice in Your loving-kindness when You notice my affliction, are mindful of my deep distress, and do not hand me over to my enemy, but grant me relief" (Psalms 31:8-9). The Rabbis say, this verse refers to Joseph. Joseph said, "Master of the universe, let me exult and rejoice in your loving-kindness that you have done for me. Had you [only] called Potiphar's wife to account for me, but not given me the powers of a sovereign, I would have been joyful and happy, now that you've also given me the powers of a sovereign, I will exult and rejoice in your loving-kindness." "When you notice my affliction", this [too] refers to Joseph, about whom it is written, "His feet were afflicted in fetters; an iron collar was put on his neck" (psalms 105:18). "and did not hand me over to my enemy" - this is Potiphar [who sought to imprison Joseph for life]. "but grant me relief", since he caused me to rule over the entire land of Egypt. From where is this derived? From the verse: "Now Joseph was the vizier of the land; it was he who dispensed rations to all the people of the land..." (Genesis 42:6). Alternatively "Let me exult and rejoice" is speaking about [the Children of] Israel. The Children of Israel said, "Master of the universe, let me exult and rejoice in your loving-kindness that you have done unto us, for had you [only] freed us from the Egyptians and not given us their money, we would have be gladdened, [but] what joy and happiness we have [now] that you have given us [also] their wealth. "when you notice my affliction" this refers to the Israelites about him it was written: "The Egyptians dealt harshly with us and oppressed us; they imposed heavy labor upon us. We cried to the LORD, the God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our plea and saw our affliction, our misery, and our oppression" (Deuteronomy 26:6-7). "are mindful of my deep distress" this refers to the Israelites, about whom it is written "they made life bitter for them" (Exodus 1:14). "and do not hand me over to my enemy" - this refers to the evil Pharaoh, as it is written "The foe said, “I will pursue"" (Exodus 15:9). "But grant me relief", that you widened our borders, as it says, "when [the Lord] enlarges [your territory]" (Deuteronomy 20:12).

(Deut. 25:17:) “Remember what Amalek did to you.” R. Tanhum bar Hanila'i opened [his discourse] (with Job 13:12), “Your remembrances are proverbs of ashes; your responses are responses of clay”:²⁴3:2; cf. 12:4; PR 12:2. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel, “These two remembrances are what I have mentioned to you in the Torah, you are to be mindful of them. (Deut. 25:19:) ‘You shall blot out the remembrance of Amalek.’ [And (Deut. 25:17), ‘Remember what Amalek did to you.’” (Job 13:12:) “Proverbs of ashes,” [meaning] those compared to ashes. If you are worthy, you shall be children of Abraham who compared himself to ashes, where it is written (in Gen. 18:27), “for I am dust and ashes.” But if [you are] not [worthy], (according to Job 13:12), “your responses are responses of clay.” [Then] prepare yourselves for enslavement in Egypt, as stated (in Exod. 1:14), “And they made their lives bitter with hard labor [at clay and bricks].” (A different version: [Then prepare yourselves] for the subjugation of the kingdoms, as stated (Ps. 129:3), “Plowmen plowed across my back.”) Another interpretation (of Job 13:12), “Your remembrances are proverbs of ashes”: Why are you misleading the creatures that see you and think about you that you are righteous like Avraham, as is stated about him (in Gen. 18:27), “for I am dust and ashes.” But you, “your responses are responses of clay,” like the generation of [the Tower of Babel], about whom it is written (in Gen. 11:3), “and the clay was mortar for them.”

(Deut. 25:17:) REMEMBER WHAT AMALEK DID TO YOU. R. Tanhum bar Hanila'i opened <his discourse> (with Job 13:12): YOUR REMEMBRANCES (i.e., of Amalek) ARE PROVERBS OF ASHES; YOUR RESPONSES ARE RESPONSES OF CLAY.³⁰Tanh., Deut. 6:5; PRK 3:2; cf. 12:4; PR 12:2. The Holy One said to Israel: These two remembrances are what I have mentioned to you in the Torah: {You are to be mindful of them.} (Deut. 25:19:) YOU SHALL BLOT OUT THE REMEMBRANCE OF AMALEK. [(Exod. 17:14:) I WILL UTTERLY BLOT OUT THE REMEMBRANCE OF AMALEK. You are to be mindful of them.] (Job 13:12:) PROVERBS OF ASHES. If you are worthy, you shall be children of Abraham who compared himself with ashes, where it is written (in Gen. 18:27): FOR I AM DUST AND ASHES. But if <you are> not <worthy>, (according to Job 13:12): YOUR RESPONSES ARE RESPONSES OF CLAY. Prepare yourselves for enslavement in Egypt, as written (in Exod. 1:14): AND THEY MADE THEIR LIVES BITTER … ³¹This lacuna indicated in the Buber text does not actually appear in the Bible. WITH HARD LABOR AT CLAY AND BRICKS.

These are the accounts of the tabernacle … and the bronze of the offering (Exod. 38:21, 29). The bronze of the offering (tenufah) refers to the bronze vessels given to a bride, for in Greek they call a bride nymphé.¹⁴A play on words: tenufah (“offering”) and nymphé, a Greek bride. You find that while the Israelites were making bricks in Egypt, Pharaoh decreed that they were not to sleep at home so that they would not have intercourse with their wives. R. Simeon the son of Halafta said: What did the Israelite women do? They would go to the Nile to draw water, and the Holy One, blessed be He, would fill their jugs with little fishes.¹⁵Small fishes arouse sexual desire (Berakhot 40a). They would (sell some), cook and prepare (the fish), and buy some wine (with the proceeds of the sale), and then bring it to their husbands in the fields, as it is said: In all manner of service in the field (Exod. 1:14). While the men were eating and drinking, the women would take out their mirrors and glance into them with their husbands. They would say: “I am more attractive than you,” and the men would reply: “I am handsomer than you.” In that way they would arose their sexual desires and become fruitful and multiply. The Holy One, blessed be He, caused them to conceive on the spot.

R. Phinehas the priest, the son of Hama, said: Seventy nations lived in Egypt, but only Israel was in servitude, as is said: And they made their lives bitter with hard service … in all manner of service in the field; in all their service (Exod. 1:14). What is meant by in all manner of service in the field? It means that after they had worked all day long with mortar and bricks, and returned home to rest in the evening, the Egyptians would come and say: “Go, gather some herbs from the field for me, chop down this tree for me, fill this barrel with water.” Hence, Scripture says: in all manner of service in the field.

“For, behold, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone” (Song of Songs 2:11).
“For, behold, the winter is past,” these are the four hundred years that were decreed upon our ancestors in Egypt.¹⁰⁷See Genesis 15:13. “The rain is over and gone,” these are the two hundred and ten years.¹⁰⁸This was the actual length of the exile and enslavement in Egypt. Is the rain not identical to the winter?¹⁰⁹In Israel, winter is the rainy season. Rabbi Tanḥuma said: The primary trouble [of the winter] is the rain. Similarly, the main enslavement of Israel was eighty-six years, from the time Miriam was born. vaymareru] their lives” (Exodus 1:14), as Miriam is an expression of bitterness [maror]>.

Another interpretation (of Cant. 4:8): WITH ME FROM LEBANON (rt.: LBN).²⁴Since this root also designates a brick, Lebanon becomes an allusion to the bricks made in Egypt. See Exod. R. 23:5. R. Levi said: The Holy One said: I was with you during the Egyptian enslavement. R. Berekhyah the Priest said: R. Levi bar Susi expounded as follows: (Exod. 24:10:) AND THEY SAW THE GOD OF ISRAEL, after they had been redeemed <from the Egyptian enslavement, (ibid., cont.:) AND UNDER HIS FEET THERE WAS SOMETHING LIKE BRICKWORK (rt.: LBN) OF SAPPHIRE, before they were redeemed. In a place where a road of brickwork (rt.: LBN) was to be laid, it was laid.²⁵Cf. Lev. R. 23:8; Cant. R. 4:8:1. Since the Holy One shares Israel’s sufferings, during the Egyptian enslavement it was fitting for heaven to have something like brickwork to correspond with the mortar and bricks for which Israel was enslaved. The enslavement in Babylon was greater than the enslavement in Egypt. Of Egypt it is written (ibid.) AND UNDER HIS FEET THERE WAS SOMETHING LIKE BRICKWORK (rt.: LBN) OF SAPPHIRE; but of Babylon it is written (in Ezek. 1:26): IN APPEARANCE LIKE {THE} STONEWORK OF SAPPHIRE….²⁶Since stone is harder to work than brick, the Babylonian enslavement must have been more difficult. Of Egypt it is written (in Exod. 1:14): AND THEY MADE THEIR LIVES BITTER WITH HARD LABOR; but of Babylon it is written (in Is. 14:3): AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS IN THE DAY THAT THE LORD GIVES <YOU> REST <FROM YOUR SORROW, FROM YOUR TROUBLE, > AND FROM YOUR HARD LABOR. The Holy One said to them: In Babylon I was with you, and in Egypt I was with you. Ergo (in Cant. 4:8): [COME] WITH ME FROM LEBANON, MY BRIDE, [WITH ME FROM LEBANON].²⁷The midrash is explaining that the twofold repetition of the words, WITH ME FROM LEBANON, is necessary because there were two enslavements. The first WITH ME FROM LEBANON depicts the Egyptian captivity, and the second concerns the Babylonian one.

(Exod. 3:1, cont.:) SO HE DROVE THE FLOCK TO THE FARTHEST END OF THE DESERT. Why was he seeking THE FARTHEST END OF THE DESERT? In order to keep himself far away from despoiling (the pasturage of others).⁶¹Exod. R. 2:3. Another interpretation: He sought the desert because he saw that he would receive greatness from the desert.⁶²Tanh. Exod. 1:14; Exod. R. 2:4. Torah came from the desert; commandments came from the desert; a tabernacle came from the desert; the Divine Presence came from the desert; kingdoms and priesthood came from the desert; the well came from the desert; the manna came from the desert; clouds of glory came from the desert. For that reason he sought THE FARTHEST END OF THE DESERT.

Another interpretation (of Exod. 3:1): SO HE DROVE THE FLOCK TO THE FARTHEST END OF THE DESERT. R. Joshua ben Qorhah said: <The Holy One> portended to him that his flock (the Israelites) would perish in the desert and that he would be removed (i.e., die) along with them. (Exod. 3:1:) SO HE DROVE THE FLOCK. <Thereby the Holy One> was hinting to him that he would drive the children of Israel forty years. Then after that he would be removed. So also in the case of Moses, when he sought the needs of Israel. When the Holy One, blessed be he, said to him: Go on my mission, Moses said to him (in Cant. 1:7): TELL ME, YOU WHOM MY SOUL LOVES, WHERE DO YOU TEND <YOUR FLOCK >…? How many midwives are there among them? How many are pregnant among them? How many ointments have you prepared for the pregnant ones who are among them? TELL ME, YOU WHOM MY SOUL LOVES. The Holy One answered and said to him (in Cant. 1:8): IF YOU DO NOT KNOW, O FAIREST AMONG WOMEN, COME OUT IN THE TRACKS OF THE FLOCK…. Ergo (in Exod. 3:1): SO HE DROVE THE FLOCK TO THE FARTHEST END OF THE DESERT. When he reached Horeb, what is immediately written (in vs. 2)? THEN THE ANGEL OF THE LORD APPEARED UNTO HIM IN A FLAME OF FIRE. Why IN A FLAME OF FIRE? In order to attract him. When he came to Sinai and saw that fire, he would be awe-struck.⁶³The verb here normally means “be afraid.” If it is so understood, there should probably be a negative here, i.e., “he would not be afraid,” in agreement with Codex Vaticanus Ebr. 34 and Tanh., Exod. 1:14. Ergo: IN A FLAME OF FIRE. Another interpretation: Why IN A FLAME OF FIRE? Because a flame is given from two thirds.⁶⁴Tanh., Exod. 1:14 (as interpreted by Enoch Zundel’s commentary, ‘Ets Yosef), elaborates further: “Why IN A FLAME (LBH) OF FIRE? <Because it> is from the upper two thirds of a bush, as the heart (LB) is placed in the upper two thirds of a human.” So also Codex Vaticanus Ebr. 34 and Exod. R. 2:5. Why FROM THE MIDST OF A THORN BUSH and not from the midst of another tree? The Holy One said (in Ps. 91:15): I WILL BE WITH HIM IN DISTRESS. Now they (the Israelites) were placed in the < thorns of> slavery; so shall I be revealed from the midst of another tree? Therefore, <I was revealed> (in Exod. 3:2): FROM THE MIDST OF A THORN BUSH, because it is all thorns.

It is written (in Job 23:13): BUT HE HAS ONENESS; SO WHO CAN TURN HIM? AND WHATEVER HIS SOUL DESIRES, HE DOES.⁷⁸Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael, Beshallah 7; Tanh. (Buber), Exod. 1:14; Tanh., Exod. 1:18; Cant. R. 1:9:1; see Exod. R.4:3. R. Papias interpreted: Because he stands alone in his world, there is no one to interfere with him. Whatever he wants, he does. R. Aqiva said to him: Enough from you, Papias! One does not < so > interpret here. Rather, he does everything according to the Law. What is the meaning of HAS ONENESS? < That >, just as the petitioner petitions < here > below, so < it is > above. Just as the Sanhedrin conducts proceedings below, so < it is > above, as stated (in I Kings 22:19): I SAW THE LORD SITTING UPON HIS THRONE, AND ALL THE HEAVENLY HOST WAS STANDING BY HIM TO HIS RIGHT AND TO HIS LEFT. Is there a left {and right} above? And has it not already been stated (in Exod. 15:6): YOUR RIGHT HAND, O LORD, GLORIOUS IN POWER, < YOUR RIGHT HAND SHATTERS THE ENEMY > ? It is simply that the ones < on the right > tip the balance toward the side of merit, and the ones < on the left > tip the balance toward the side of guilt. Ergo, everything < proceeds > with justice. And, just as one who is a petitioner petitions < here > below, so < it is > above. Where is it shown? Where Daniel has said so (in Dan. 4:14 [17]): THE RULING IS BY THE DECREE OF THE WATCHERS, AND THE PETITION {BY} THE WORD OF THE HOLY ONES. Now you say: Because he stands alone in his world, he does whatever he wants! What is the meaning of HAS ONENESS (in Job 23:13)? R. Pinhas bar Hama the Priest said: Because he alone in his world knows justice for his creatures. [R. Judah b. R. Shallum the Levite < said >: Because he alone in the world knows the temperament of his creatures.] The one to whom he says: Go on my mission, goes. Hence it says (in Job 23:13): AND WHATEVER HIS SOUL DESIRES, HE DOES. So also Jeremiah stated (in Jer. 1:6): I AM < BUT > A LAD. The Holy One said to him: DO NOT SAY: I AM < BUT > A LAD. So also with Sodom, he conducted the proceedings in their court and saw that their guilt merited destruction. Then after that he sent them (the angels) to destroy them. It is therefore stated (in Gen. 19:1): THEN THE TWO ANGELS CAME TO SODOM.

Three years (elapsed) until the birth of Moses. When Moses was born they said (to Pharaoh): Behold, he is born, and he is hidden from our vision. (Pharaoh) said to them: Since he is born, henceforth ye shall not cast the male children into the river, but put upon them a hard yoke to embitter the years of their lives with hard labour, as it is said, "And they made their lives bitter" (Ex. 1:14).

"So the Egyptians enslaved the children of Israel with back breaking labor [b'farech]" (Ex. 1:13). R. Elazar says, "B'pe rach—with a soft mouth." R. Shmuel says, "B'frichah—With rigor." "And they embittered their lives with hard work[, with clay and with bricks and with all kinds of labor in the fields...]" (Ex. 1:14). Rava said, "At first with mortar and bricks, and ultimately with all field work." "[...] all their work that they worked with them with was back breaking labor." To the one who says b'frichah—for they exchanged the work of the men with that of women, and the work of the women with that of men. To the one who says there b'pe rach—certainly that was [also] with rigor. At the time that he said (Ex. 1:10), "Get ready, let us be clever with it," Pharaoh gathered all Israel and said to them, "Please, let some of you work with me today for wages," which is as written, "b'farech—b'pe rach, with a soft mouth." He took a sack and a rake, and whoever saw Pharaoh taking a sack and a rake and working with bricks, would do [likewise]. Right away Israel went with alacrity and worked at the craft all day according to their strength (for they were strong and mighty). When it got dark, overseers were set over them, and they said to them, "Count the bricks." They right away stood and counted them, and he said to them, "Make me the same [amount] every day." He appointed Egyptian overseers over Jewish officers. The overseers would come and count the bricks and find a number missing, and the officers were beaten in place of the rest of the people, [for] they would not betray them to the overseers. They said, "Better that we should be beaten than that the rest of the people be hurt." Therefore, when the Omnipresent said (Num. 11:16), "Gather for Me seventy men," Moses said, "Master of the universe, I do not know who is worthy and who is unworthy." He said to him (ibid.), " '[...W]hom you know'–for these are the elders of the people and their officers who gave themselves up to be beaten in their place in Egypt. They should come and take this greatness." From this you may learn that anyone who gives themselves up for Israel merits honor and greatness. "And with all manner of labor in the field" (Ex. 1:14)—For is it possible that they worked in the field and not the city? Rather, they decreed upon them, that the men should lie in the field, and the women in the city, in order to reduce their fertility. The women would warm up heated food for them and bring to their husbands all kinds of food and drink and reassure them, saying, "They did not subjugate us. Ultimately the Holy One blessed be He will redeem us." From this, they had relations and were fruitful and multiplied. What was their reward? They merited the spoils of Egypt and the spoils of the Sea [of Reeds], as it says (Ps. 68:14), "If you lie between the borders—the feathers of a dove covered with silver...." And it is written (Song 4:12), "A locked garden"—these are the women, who were modest like a garden without a breach. "[A] locked up spring" (ibid.)—these are the men, who were laid like springs upon the field.