Midrasch zu Esra 1:3

“…who reigned from India to Kush, one hundred and twenty-seven provinces.” Rabbi Eliezer in the name of Rabbi Ḥanina: Are there not two hundred and fifty-two provinces in the world? David ruled over them all; that is what is written: “David’s renown went out to all the lands” (I Chronicles 14:17). Solomon ruled over them all; that is what is written: “Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms...” (I Kings 5:1). Aḥav ruled over them all; that is what is written: “As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom [to where my lord did not send to seek you]” (I Kings 18:10). Does a person take an oath about a place that he does not rule? Additionally, from here: “He counted the young princes of the dominions, and they were two hundred and thirty-two…” (I Kings 20:15). Where were the rest?⁸Earlier it was said that there were two hundred and fifty-two provinces, and here there are representatives of only two hundred and thirty-two dominions. Rabbi Levi and the Rabbis: Rabbi Levi said: They ceased to exist in the famine during the days of Eliyahu. The Rabbis said that Ben Haddad came and took them. That is what is written: “Ben Haddad king of Aram gathered his entire army, and thirty-two kings were with him, and horses and chariots; he went and besieged Samaria, and waged war against it” (I Kings 20:1). We need twenty, and you say thirty-two? Rather, there were provinces that were intractable, and he would take two [young princes] from them as hostages in his charge.
Rabbi Berekhya and the Rabbis [related to the verse: “He pierced my kidneys with the contents of his quiver [benei ashpato]” (Lamentations 3:13)]. Rabbi Berekhya said: These were the captives [benei ukaifi] and the hostages [benei emuryai].⁹These were the “contents of his quiver,” with which God pierced Israel’s kidneys. The Rabbis said: Benei ukaifi – as they were subjugated with manacles [arkof], and benei emuryai – as they were substitutes [temurot] for their fathers. And so it says: “And the hostages [benei hataaruvot]” (II Kings 14:14), they were guarantees [me’uravot] for their fathers.
Nebuchadnezzar ruled over them all; that is what is written: “Everywhere the sons of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens dwell, [He has given into your hand and set your rule over them all]” (Daniel 2:38). Cyrus ruled over them all; that is what is written: “The Lord…has given me all the kingdoms of the earth” (Ezra 1:2). Darius ruled over them all; that is what is written: “Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, [the nations, and the [speakers of different] languages that reside in the entire earth]” (Daniel 6:26). Aḥashverosh ruled over half of them. Why over half of them? Rabbi Huna in the name of Rabbi Aḥa and the Rabbis, Rabbi Huna in the name of Rabbi Aḥa: The Holy One blessed be He said to him: You divided my kingdom, as you said: “He is the God, who is in Jerusalem” (Ezra 1:3); by your life, I am going to divide your kingdom. The Rabbis say: The Holy One blessed be He said to him: You split My house, as you said: “Its height shall be sixty cubits¹⁰The height of the Sanctuary in Solomon’s Temple was one hundred and twenty cubits. and its width sixty cubits” (Ezra 6:3); by your life, I am going to split your kingdom.
Let it say one hundred and twenty-six, for what reason does the verse state “one hundred and twenty-seven provinces”? Rather, this is what the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: You added one ascent [aliya]¹¹Aliya means both second floor and ascent. to My house from your own, as you said: “Any among you from His entire people, may his God be with him, and he may ascend” (Ezra 1:3); I, too, will provide you with an additional ascent from my own, so he added one province to the tally; that is what is written: “One hundred and twenty-seven provinces.”

... Our teachers have said: Once, while Moses our Teacher was tending [his father-in-law] Yitro’s sheep, one of the sheep ran away. Moses ran after it until it reached a small, shaded place. There, the lamb came across a pool and began to drink. As Moses approached the lamb, he said, “I did not know you ran away because you were thirsty. You are so exhausted!” He then put the lamb on his shoulders and carried him back. The Holy One said, “Since you tend the sheep of human beings with such overwhelming love - by your life, I swear you shall be the shepherd of My sheep, Israel.”

Rabbi Ḥanina bar Ada began: [“The words of the mouth of a wise man are grace, and the lips of a fool will swallow him” (Ecclesiastes 10:12).] “The words of the mouth of a wise man are grace” – that is Cyrus, as it is stated: “So said Cyrus king of Persia: The Lord, God of the heavens, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and He has commanded me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah” (Ezra 1:2). “And the lips of a fool will swallow him” – as he (Cyrus) said: “He is the God who is in Jerusalem”¹²The implication being that He is only the god of Jerusalem, which demonstrates Cyrus’ foolishness. (Ezra 1:3).
“The beginning of the words from his mouth is foolishness and the result from his mouth is evil debauchery” (Ecclesiastes 10:13). What is the foolishness? “Any of you from all His people, may his God be with him…”¹³“His God,” implying that other nations have their own gods. (Ezra 1:3). “The result from his mouth is evil debauchery,” as he decreed, saying: Whoever crossed the Euphrates, crossed; and whoever has not crossed, shall not cross.
Another matter: “The beginning of the words...” that is Aḥashverosh, as it is stated: “In the reign of Aḥashverosh, at the beginning of his reign, they wrote a libel against the residents of Judah and Jerusalem.” (Ezra 4:6). “The result from his mouth is evil debauchery,” as he went up and cancelled the work on the Temple. When everyone saw that it was so, they began screaming: ‘Woe [vai];’ “it was [vayhi] during the days of Aḥashverosh” (Esther 1:1).

[(Exod. 3:1:) NOW MOSES WAS TENDING <THE FLOCK>.] This text is related (to Ps. 11:4): THE LORD IS IN HIS HOLY TEMPLE….⁴⁴Cf. Hab. 2:20. R. Samuel bar Nahman said: Before the destruction of the Sanctuary, the Divine Presence was situated in the Temple, as stated (Ps. 11:4): THE LORD IS IN HIS HOLY TEMPLE;⁴⁵Exod. R. 2:2; M. Pss. 11:3. but, after the Temple was destroyed, (ibid. cont.:) THE LORD'S THRONE IS IN THE HEAVENS. He had removed his Divine Presence to the heavens. R. Eleazar ben Pedat said: Whether the Temple is destroyed or not destroyed, the Divine Presence has not moved from its place, as stated (in Ps. 11:4): THE LORD IS IN HIS HOLY TEMPLE. And where is it shown? Where it is stated (in I Kings 9:3): MY EYES AND MY HEART SHALL BE THERE FOR ALL TIME. It also says so (in Ps. 3:5 [4]): I RAISE MY VOICE UNTO THE LORD, AND HE ANSWERS ME FROM HIS HOLY HILL. SELAH. For even though it is <only> a hill,⁴⁶Midrash Tanhuma (Jerusalem: Eshkol: n.d.), vol. 1, appendix, p. 90, n. 2, suggests emending HR (“hill”) to HRB (“destroyed”) so that the clause would read in agreement with Codex Vaticanus Ebr. 34 and Exod. R. 2:2: “For even though it is destroyed.” here he remains in his holiness. R. Eleazar ben Pedat said: See what is written (in Ezra 1:3): AND LET HIM BUILD THE HOUSE OF THE LORD GOD OF ISRAEL. HE IS THE GOD WHO IS IN JERUSALEM. He has not moved from there. R. Aha said: The Divine Presence has never moved from the West Wall (i.e., the Wailing Wall) of the Sanctuary. Thus it is stated (in Cant. 2:9): THERE HE STANDS BEHIND OUR WALL. Ergo (in Ps. 11:4): THE LORD IS IN HIS HOLY TEMPLE. R. Jannay said: Although they said (in Ps. 11:4): THE LORD IS IN HIS HOLY TEMPLE; THE LORD HAS HIS THRONE IN THE HEAVENS; < nevertheless > (the verse continues), HIS EYES BEHOLD, HIS EYELIDS TEST THE CHILDREN OF ADAM. To what is the matter comparable? To a king who had an orchard⁴⁷Pardes. Cf. the Gk.: paradeisos, i.e., “paradise.” and brought in the workers. Now by the orchard gate there was a certain storehouse full of everything good. The king said: Whoever does his work wholeheartedly will receive his reward from here, but whoever does not do his work wholeheartedly, him I shall return to my palace⁴⁸Lat.: palatium. and judge. Who is this king? This is the Supreme King of Kings, the Holy One. And what is the garden? It is this world. Within it the Holy One has put the children of Adam so that they may observe the Torah. But he has made a stipulation with them and said to them: For everyone who truly observes the Torah, here is paradise < lying > before him; but for everyone who does not truly observe the Torah, here is Gehinnom < lying > before him. The Holy One said: Although I seemed to have removed my Divine Presence from the Sanctuary, still (in Ps. 11:4): MY EYES BEHOLD, <MY EYELIDS TEST THE CHILDREN OF ADAM >.⁴⁹The Masoretic Text of this verse reads “his” for MY in both places. Whom does he test? (According to vs. 5:) THE LORD TESTS THE RIGHTEOUS. And why does he not test the wicked? R. Jannay said: When the flax worker is pounding away and sees that the flax is good, he pounds it a lot; but, when he sees that it is not good, he does not pound on it, lest it be spoiled.⁵⁰Gen. R. 32:3; 34:2; 55:2; Cant. R. 2:16:2. Ergo (in Ps. 11:4:) HIS EYES BEHOLD, HIS EYELIDS TEST THE CHILDREN OF ADAM. [And whom does he test? The righteous, as stated (in vs. 5):] THE LORD TESTS THE RIGHTEOUS.

“The words of the mouth of the wise are grace; but the lips of the fool will swallow him” (Ecclesiastes 10:12).
“The words of the mouth of the wise are grace” – this is Cyrus, king of Persia, who said: “Any among you from His entire people, may his God be with him, and he may go up [to Jerusalem]” (Ezra 1:3). “But the lips of the fool will swallow him” – as he recanted his words and retracted them.⁶⁵Cyrus initially allowed the rebuilding of the Temple, but he is also identified with Artaḥshasta, who ordered that the construction of the Temple be stopped (see Ezra, chap. 4; Esther Rabba 1:3).

... Teach us oh, teacher: once the Ninth of Av has ended, is everything permitted? R’ Chiyah the Great taught like this: once the Ninth of Av has ended, one is permitted to do anything. Why? Because it is like the case of a person whose dead is laid out before him, who is forbidden to eat meat or drink wine. Once the dead is buried, the mourner is permitted to do so. So to on the Ninth of Av one is a mourner – once the day has ended one is permitted to do anything. Even though we are permitted, we must always have a sigh in our hearts until the Holy One returns to her. The Holy One said to them: by your lives! I burnt her, as it says “From above He has hurled fire into my bones…” (Lamentations 1:13) I will build her, as it says “Yet again will I rebuild you, then you shall be built, O virgin of Israel…” (Jeremiah 31:3) Zion said to Him: Behold, I have been sitting thus for many years! I have counted the days from old and I have not been redeemed, therefore I have despaired. She said that my master has abandoned me. And from where do we learn that Zion said this? From that which is written regarding it “And Zion said, ‘The Lord has forsaken me, and the Lord has forgotten me.’” (Isaiah 49:14) ... Another explanation. “And Zion said, ‘The Lord has forsaken me…” (Isaiah 49:14) What is written before this? “Sing, O heavens, and rejoice, O earth, and mountains burst out in song, for the Lord has consoled His people, and He shall have mercy on His poor.” (Isaiah 49:13) Once Zion saw that the prophet recalled His people and His poor, but did not mention Zion or Jerusalem she said ‘the Lord has forsaken me, and the Lord has forgotten me.’ Immediately the Holy One replied and said to her: just as it is impossible for a woman to forget her sucking child, so to I am not able to forget you, “Shall a woman forget her sucking child, from having mercy on the child of her womb?” (Isaiah 49:15) She said to Him: Master of the world! How is that possible? There is no end to the evils I have done! I caused Your Holy Temple to be destroyed and I killed the prophets. R’ Berachia the Kohen said in the name of Rebbe: the Holy One said to her, I will forget your evil but I will not forget your good. “…These too shall forget, but I will not forget you.” (ibid.) I have forgotten “"These are your gods, O Israel…” (Exodus32:4) but “I am the Lord, your God…” (Exodus 20:2) I will not forget.