Midrasch zu Schemot 7:9

When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying: “Show a wonder for you” (Exod. 7:9). He will be making a reasonable request to you. You find in the case of Noah, that though He said to him, after He saved him from the flood, Neither shall there be anymore a flood (Gen. 9:11), Noah demanded a sign, and God assured him: I have set my bow in the cloud (ibid., v. 13). Similarly, when Hezekiah was sick, the Holy One, blessed be He, sent Isaiah to him and he said: Thus saith the Lord, the God of David, thy father: “I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears; behold, I will heal thee; on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the Lord” (II Kings 20:5). But he replied: What shall be the sign? (ibid., v. 8), and He answered: This shall be the sign unto thee from the Lord, that the Lord will do the thing that He hath spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten degrees, or go back ten degrees? (ibid., v. 9). Likewise, Joshua, the high priest, was told: Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, … for they are men that are a sign (Zech. 3:8). Since the righteous demanded signs, how much more did the wicked Pharaoh (have the right to do so). Hence, when Pharaoh says unto you: Show a wonder for you (he will be making a reasonable request).

When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying (Exod. 7:9). May it please our masters to teach us whether a man who is bitten by a serpent while standing in prayer may stop praying. Our masters teach us: A man standing in prayer may not respond to the greeting of a king, nor may he stop praying when a serpent encircles his heel. Once a wild ass attacked and bit R. Hanina the son of Dosa while he was standing in prayer and his disciples fled in fear. Upon their return a hour later, they found the ass lying dead near its den. They cried out: “Woe to the man whom a wild ass bites, but woe to the wild ass that attacks R. Hanina the son of Dosa.” Why did the sages compare a serpent that winds itself about the heel of a man with the kingdom of Egypt? R. Yosé the son of Pazzi said: Because it is written: The sound thereof shall go like the serpent’s; for they march with an army, and come against her with axes, as hewers of wood (Jer. 46:22). Just as the serpent hisses and kills, so the kingdom of Egypt hisses and kills a man. He would imprison a man, accuse him in secret, and surreptitiously execute him.

(Exod. 26:7:) THEN YOU SHALL MAKE TENT SHEETS OF GOATS' HAIR <FOR A TENT OVER THE TABERNACLE;>…. This text is related (to Mal. 1:2): I HAVE LOVED YOU, SAYS THE LORD.²⁹Tanh., Exod. 7:9. Who spoke this verse? Malachi spoke it. When? When he rebuked Israel. Malachi said to them (in Mal. 3:8): WOULD ANYONE ROB GOD? <YET YOU ARE ROBBING ME.> They answered him (ibid., cont.): HOW ARE WE ROBBING YOU? Our masters have said of the generation of Malachi: He rebuked them, and they answered him. He said to them (ibid.): WOULD ANYONE ROB (QB') GOD? R. Levi said: That (i.e., QB') is an Arabic word.³⁰RH 26ab; M. Pss. 57:2. When an Arab comes to talk with his companion <and> says to him: Are you stealing (GNB) from us? <he says:> Are you robbing (QB') us? (Ibid.:) WOULD ANYONE ROB (QB') GOD. Then he said (ibid., cont.): BUT YOU SAY: HOW ARE WE ROBBING YOU? IN THE TITHE AND THE PRIESTLY SHARE, because they are not collecting them properly. Again he said to them (in Mal. 1:2): IS NOT ESAU JACOB'S BROTHER? And you say (ibid.): HOW HAVE YOU LOVED US? By universal custom, when someone has two sons, one first-born and one younger, who receives the most? The first-born. Esau came out < of the womb> first, as stated (in Gen. 25:25): THE FIRST (i.e., Esau) CAME FORTH RUDDY. It was proper for him to receive two shares, but I did not act in this way. Instead Jacob received two shares, this world and the world to come. Esau said so to Jacob (in Gen. 33:12): LET US GO ON OUR JOURNEY…. Let both of us walk in the world <together>.³¹Gen. R. 78:14; Deut. R. 1:20; Tanna deve Eliyahu Zuta 19; y‘AZ 2:1 (40c); cf. T‘AZ 3:4; PRE 37. Jacob said to him: Take your world and go away. Thus it is stated (in Gen. 33:14): PLEASE LET MY LORD GO AWAY…, UNTIL I COME TO MY LORD IN SEIR. R. Jacob said: I went through all the Scripture <to see> whether Jacob did or did not go to Seir, and I found no < indication that he did so>. Then when is he going <there>? In the Age to come, as stated (in Obad., vs. 21): FOR SAVIORS SHALL GO UP ON MOUNT ZION <TO JUDGE THE MOUNTAIN OF ESAU,>…. Therefore (in Mal. 1:2): YET I HAVE LOVED JACOB. Jacob is a partner with Esau in this world; {I <am a> } [but Esau is no] partner with Jacob in the world to come. Solomon said (in Prov. 5:17): LET IT BE FOR YOU ALONE AND NOT FOR STRANGERS ALONG WITH YOU.

(Mal. 1:2:) I HAVE LOVED YOU, SAYS THE LORD. See how he has cherished you. From the earth to the sky is a journey of five hundred years.³²Hag. 13a (bar.); yBer. 1:1 (2c). And likewise from the first sky to the second, from the second to the third, from the third to the fourth, from the fourth to the fifth, from the fifth to the sixth, and from the sixth to the seventh. Now it is unnecessary to calculate from the hoofs of the beasts (in Ezek. 1:5–13),³³For these calculations, see Hag. 13a (bar.) but the throne is above all of them. See how I cherished you! <I loved you so much> that I forsook³⁴The translation here follows the parallel text in Tanh., Exod. 7:9. The Buber text has the passive (hophal), “I was forsaken.” them all and said to you: Make me tent sheets of goats' hair, and I will come to dwell with you. R. Joshua ben Levi said: If the peoples of the world had known how good the Tabernacle was for them,³⁵Lev. R. 1:11; Numb. R. 1:3. they would have surrounded it with encampments and fortifications.³⁶Lat.: castra. Why? Before the Tabernacle was erected, the divine word went forth and entered into the midst of the tents belonging to the peoples of the world. Then they were seized with panic, since it is stated (in Deut. 5:23 [26]): FOR WHO IS THERE OF ALL FLESH THAT HAS HEARD THE VOICE OF THE LIVING GOD FROM THE MIDST OF THE FIRE, AS WE HAVE, AND LIVED? You heard it and are alive, but the peoples of the world heard it and were seized with panic in the midst of their tents. And you should not only say < this > about the Tabernacle, but even the Temple was good for them. Where is it shown? That is what Solomon ordained in his prayer (in I Kings 8:41, 43 // II Chron. 6:32, 33): AND LIKEWISE, <WHEN> THE FOREIGNER, WHO IS NOT OF YOUR PEOPLE ISRAEL, <COMES FROM A FAR COUNTRY FOR THE SAKE OF YOUR NAME>…, MAY YOU HEARKEN UNTO <HIM IN YOUR> HEAVENLY <ABODE>….³⁷Above, Tanh. (Buber), Gen. 6:14. But when Israel came to worship, what does he say (in vs. 39)? AND GIVE TO EACH ONE ACCORDING TO [ALL] HIS WAYS, SINCE YOU KNOW HIS HEART…. Yet in the case of the foreigner, whether they do or do not do <what is right >, give him whatever he asks, (according to vs. 43, cont.) SO THAT ALL THE PEOPLES OF THE EARTH [MAY KNOW] <YOUR NAME>…. Therefore, the Temple was good for the peoples of the world. [R. Samuel bar Nahman said: Before the Temple was built, the world rested upon a throne³⁸Gk.: thronos. of two legs; but since the Temple has been built, the world is firmly established³⁹Rt.: BSS; cf. Gk.: basis. and stands in its place. And you should not <only> say: The Temple. Even the Tabernacle was good for the peoples of the world.] Therefore the Holy One said to Moses: Make me a tabernacle (rt.: ShKN), because I desire to dwell (rt.: ShKN) with my children. When the ministering angels heard that, they said to him: Sovereign of the World, why are you leaving heavenly beings and descending to earthly beings? Your glory is that you <dwell> in the heavens, YOU WHO (according to Ps. 8:2 [1]) HAVE SET YOUR MAJESTY OVER THE HEAVENS. The Holy One said to them: By your lives, I am doing just as you said. Habakkuk said (in Hab. 3:3): GOD IS COMING FROM TEMAN. Then afterwards (in the same verse): AND THE EARTH IS FULL OF HIS PRAISE. The Holy One said to them: Now how are you surprised over this? Look at how I cherish the earthly beings, so as to descend and dwell under tent sheets of goats' hair. Thus it is stated (in Exod. 26:7): THEN YOU SHALL MAKE TENT SHEETS OF GOATS' HAIR.

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2 "And say to Aaron take your staff. There it is written, a staff of Your Strength G-d shall send forth from Zion" (Psalms 110:2). The Holy One, Source of all Blessing is He, does not discipline the wicked except with a staff. And why is this? Because [the wicked] are compared to dogs. As it says "And they return each evening, crying out like dogs" (Psalms 59:15). As it is normal to strike a dog with lashes, so too they [the wicked] are lashed.. For this it is said "The staff of Your Strength." G-d said to them [Moses and Aaron]: 'Pharaoh is wicked. If he asks you "give us a sign," strike him with the staff' as it says "Say to Aaron: 'take your staff'"

Our masters have said (concerning Exod. 26:28): THE CENTER BAR < THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF THE BOARDS > came down to Egypt at the hands of Jacob, the one which served <as a bolt> FROM END TO END.⁴²On the miraculous bending of the bar around three sides of the Tabernacle, see Rashi and the Tosafot on Shab. 94b. It did not do so without the cedars uttering⁴³So also Yalqut Shim’oni, Exod. 369–370. Cf. Codex Vaticanus, Ebr. 34; Tanh., Exod. 7:9; etc., which read, “Not only that, but the cedars uttered….” a song, <i.e.> that which David utters (in I Chron. 16:33 // Ps. 96:12): THEN (az) SHALL ALL FOREST TREES SHOUT FOR JOY. THEN (az) is nothing but a song which one utters to the Holy One⁴⁴Tanh., Exod. 7:9 adds Exod. 15:1 as another example of this use of az. and says: When will the Tabernacle be made? Now when the Holy One said [to Moses] that he should make the Tabernacle, what did he say to him (in Exod. 26:15)? AND YOU SHALL MAKE THE BOARDS INTO A TABERNACLE <OF ACACIA WOOD>,⁴⁵The traditional vocalization of the verse would be translated: AND YOU SHALL MAKE THE BOARDS FOR THE TABERNACLE OF ACACIA WOOD; but the midrash assumes that the boards were already prepared. Cf. Tanh., Exod. 7:9, which inserts the following clarification here: “And you shall make boards” is not stated here, but AND YOU SHALL MAKE THE BOARDS. the same boards which their father (Jacob) had prepared for them. R. Samuel bar Nahmani said: There were twenty-four kinds of cedar; but from all of them, only seven were chosen.⁴⁶yKet. 7:11 (31d). Thus it is stated (in Is. 41:19): IN THE WILDERNESS I WILL PLANT THE CEDAR, THE ACACIA, THE MYRTLE, AND THE OLIVE; IN THE DESERT I WILL SET THE CYPRESS, THE PLANE TREE, AND THE ELM TOGETHER. Cypress is silver fir;⁴⁷Gk.: elate, i.e., pinus picea. plane is maple;⁴⁸Gk.: sphendamnos, i.e., acer. elm is boxwood,⁴⁹Gk.: pyxinon or pyxos, i.e., buxos. which is more approved than all species of cedar. But of them all, none was selected except the acacia alone. [It is so stated] (in Exod. 26:15): <AND YOU SHALL MAKE THE BOARDS FOR THE TABERNACLE> OF ACACIA (shittim) WOOD. And why did he call it shittim? Simply in order to heal what Israel did in Shittim (Numb. 25:1–9). Another interpretation (of Exod. 26:15): ACACIA (shittim) WOOD. They sinned in Shittim, and they were stricken in Shittim. They sinned in Shittim (according to Numb. 25:1): WHILE ISRAEL WAS STAYING AT SHITTIM, <THE PEOPLE BEGAN TO GO WHORING WITH THE DAUGHTERS OF MOAB>. And they were stricken in shittim (according to Numb. 25:9): AND THOSE WHO DIED FROM THE PLAGUE WERE <TWENTY-FOUR THOUSAND >. Moreover, they did not move from there until they were healed. Phinehas arose and turned back the wrath from them, as stated (in vs. 11): PHINEHAS BEN ELEAZAR <BEN AARON THE PRIEST HAS TURNED AROUND MY WRATH FROM UPON THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL >…. The Holy One said: In the world to come I will heal the shittim, as stated (in Joel 4:18 [3:18]): AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS ON THAT DAY THE MOUNTAINS SHALL FLOW WITH FRESH GRAPE JUICE, THE HILLS SHALL RUN WITH MILK, AND [ALL] THE WATERCOURSES OF JUDAH SHALL RUN WITH WATER. THEN A SPRING SHALL ISSUE FROM THE HOUSE OF THE LORD AND SHALL WATER THE WADI OF THE ACACIAS (shittim).

3. "And cast it down before Pharaoh and it shall be a serpentine creature." It was taught in a Tannaitic statement: "One who stands to pray, even if the king should inquire of his welfare, should not answer. And even if a snake is wrapped around his ankles, he should not decease [prayer]. What did the sages see to connect this circling behavior of the snake to the sovereign of Egypt? Rabbi Simeon son of Pazi says that because it is written "Its voice like a snake travels" (Jeremiah 46:22) Just like the snake silences and kills, so too, the Kingdom of Egypt silences and kills. This is because it puts [a person] in prison and silences him in order to kill him. Another interpretation: What did the Holy One, Source of All Blessing is He see to connect the Kingdom of Egypt to a snake? Just like a serpent twists its path [slithers] so too Pharaoh twists his path [i.e. acts in a manner most wicked as opposed to the straight and narrow]. Therefore, the Holy One, Source of all Blessing is He said to Moses: Just like a snake twists, so does Pharaoh twist. When Pharaoh attempts to twist, speak to Aaron and he will suspend [raise] the staff against him [Pharaoh]. [As a message to Pharaoh that] from this you shall be struck.

Another interpretation: Why was it said to them that the sign would be of a serpentine creature? Because Pharaoh is compared to a serpentine creature. This is as it says "The great serpentine [crocodile], which dwells within its rivers [the Nile]" (Ezekiel 29:3). When Moses would exit from Pharaoh, he [Pharaoh] would say [to Moses]: 'if you come to me son of Amram, I will kill him, crucify him, and I will burn him. Yet, when Moshe would [later] enter, Pharaoh would immediately behave as a staff [rigid and unwilling to act on his threats].

When Pharaoh shall speak unto you (Exod. 7:9). Scripture states (elsewhere in reference to this verse): Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done; saying: “My counsel shall stand, and all My pleasure will I do” (Isa. 46:10). The Holy One, blessed be He, declared at the very beginning what the end would be, when He said to Moses: Behold, thou art about to sleep with thy fathers, and this people will rise up, and go astray (Deut. 31:16). They were destined to do so upon Joshua’s death. And will forsake Me, and break My covenant (ibid.), as it is said: And they forsook the Lord, and served Him not (Judg. 10:7). Hence at the very beginning he disclosed what would follow.

Another interpretation (of Is. 46:10): DECLARING THE END FROM THE BEGINNING. The Holy One made known to Moses, while he was at the bush, what Pharaoh was going to do. He said to him (in Exod. 4:2–4): MOSES, WHAT IS THIS IN YOUR HAND? AND HE SAID: A ROD. THEN HE SAID: CAST IT TO THE GROUND, SO HE CAST IT TO THE GROUND AND IT BECAME A SNAKE…. THEN THE LORD SAID UNTO MOSES: PUT OUT YOUR HAND AND GRASP IT BY THE TAIL…. So it reverted and became a rod. The Holy One said to him: Moses, just as the snake bends itself, so Pharaoh is going to bend himself because of you. Ergo (in Is. 46:10): DECLARING THE END FROM THE BEGINNING. When he comes and says (in Exod. 7:9): PRODUCE YOUR MIRACLE, simply do for him just as I have done.

When Pharaoh shall speak unto you (Exod. 7:9). Scripture says elsewhere: A fool spendeth all his spirit; but a wise man stilleth it within him (Prov. 29:11). That is, the fool says everything he has to say at one time, while quarreling with his neighbor, and the wise man eventually is able to refute him. A fool spendeth all his spirit refers to the wicked Pharaoh, while a wise man stilleth it within him alludes to Moses and Aaron, as it is written: But Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods (Exod. 7:12). Show a wonder for you; then thou shalt say unto Aaron, etc. (Exod. 7:9). Aaron will perform all the miracles while you stand by like a prince who instructs the elders and they do it. Hence the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses at the bush: He shall be to thee a mouth, and thou shalt be to him in God’s stead (ibid. 4:16).

Another interpretation (of Exod. 7:9): WHEN PHARAOH SPEAKS UNTO YOU, <SAYING PRODUCE YOUR MIRACLE, YOU SHALL SAY UNTO AARON: TAKE YOUR ROD AND CAST IT DOWN BEFORE PHARAOH. IT SHALL BECOME A SERPENT. > This text is related (to Prov. 29:11): A FOOL VENTS HIS WHOLE SPIRIT; BUT A WISE PERSON STILLS HIM IN THE END.⁷³Such a translation is required by the midrashic interpretation. Cf. the new JPSA version: BUT A WISE MAN CALMS IT DOWN. Whenever someone who is a fool or stupid comes to quarrel with his companion, he vents everything he has; but when that one is wise, in the end he causes him to cease.⁷⁴Tanh., Exod. 2:12; Exod. R. 9:7. Another interpretation (of Prov. 29:11): A FOOL VENTS HIS WHOLE SPIRIT. Who is this? This is Pharaoh. When Moses and Aaron went to him, the Holy One said to them: Before you go to him, I am telling you what he is going to do <to you> and ask you. (Exod. 7:9:) WHEN PHARAOH SPEAKS UNTO YOU, simply be careful. (Ibid., cont.:) YOU SHALL SAY UNTO AARON: TAKE YOUR ROD <AND CAST IT DOWN BEFORE PHARAOH>. When they went to Pharaoh, he said (ibid., cont): PRODUCE YOUR MIRACLE. Immediately (in vs. 10): AARON CAST DOWN HIS ROD. Then Pharaoh laughed at them. He said to them: Moses and Aaron, what are you thinking? That you have come to mock me? But I am not afraid of these things. All Egypt is full of magicians. There are people who carry straw to Afarayim, fine gold to Rekem (i.e., coals to Newcastle).⁷⁵Exod. R. 9:6; cf. Men. 85a; Gen. R. 86:5.

Another interpretation (of Exod. 7:9): WHEN PHARAOH SPEAKS UNTO YOU, … The Holy One said: Tomorrow I am leading my children out of Egypt and giving them the Torah. Now in it there is written (in Deut. 13:2 [1]): IF THERE ARISES AMONG YOU A PROPHET <OR ONE WHO DIVINES BY A DREAM AND HE GIVES YOU A SIGN OR A PORTENT >…. It is only right for him to summon you and say to you (in Exod. 7:8): PRODUCE YOUR MIRACLE…. At first he will speak to you harshly, since the word SPEAK (rt.: DBR in Exod. 7:9) is nothing but a word implying harshness. <It is> just as you say (in Gen. 42:30): THE MAN, THE LORD OF THE LAND, SPOKE (rt.: DBR) WITH US HARSHLY. He said to him: Aaron will do these things, but you shall stand like a prince giving decrees to the elders while they carry them out. (According to Exod. 7:9, cont.,) YOU SHALL SAY UNTO AARON: TAKE YOUR ROD AND CAST IT DOWN BEFORE PHARAOH….