Midrasch zu Bereschit 35:8

[(Gen. 24:1:) NOW ABRAHAM WAS OLD.] This text is related (to Ps. 25:10): ALL THE PATHS OF THE LORD ARE STEADFAST LOVE AND TRUTH. The beginning of Torah is steadfast love, its middle is steadfast love, and its end is steadfast love.²See above, 4:1 & 4; Eccl. R. 7:2:2. Its beginning is steadfast love in that he has rendered steadfast love to bridegrooms and brides. He rendered steadfast love to Adam and Eve, as stated (in Gen. 2:22): THEN GOD BUILT THE RIB < WHICH HE HAD TAKEN FROM THE MAN INTO A WOMAN >. R. Abbahu said: In Arabia they call the plaited coiffure a "building."³Cf. Ber. 61a; Shab. 95a; Erub. 18a; Nid. 45b; ARN, A, 4; Gen. R. 18:1; M. Pss. 25:11. The Holy One adorned Eve and brought her to Adam.⁴Cf. Gen. R. 8:13. Do you suppose that he brought her to him under an olive tree? Or under a fig tree? Our masters have said: The Holy One made thirteen bridal canopies for Adam and Eve, as stated (in Ezek. 28:13): YOU WERE IN EDEN, THE GARDEN OF GOD; < EVERY PRECIOUS STONE WAS YOUR COVERING: CARNELIAN, CHRYSOLITE, AMETHYST, BERYL, LAPIS LAZULI, JASPER, SAPPHIRE, TURQUOISE, EMERALD, AND GOLD >. And the least of them is gold; for so it is written: EMERALD, AND GOLD (i.e., with gold in last place). Thus < there were > thirteen bridal canopies which were made for Adam and Eve.⁵Since Ezek. lists only nine stones plus gold, according to BB 75a there were only ten canopies; or perhaps eleven, with EVERY PRECIOUS STONE representing the extra one. Lev. R. 20:2 explains the tradition of thirteen by having EVERY PRECIOUS STONE represent three canopies. Similarly Gen. R. 18:2; Eccl. R. 8:1:2; PRK 4:4; PR 14:10. R. Levi said in the name of R. Hama bar Hanina: The Holy One adorned Eve with twenty-four ornaments. And not only that, but he took her by the hand and brought her to Adam. R. Abbin Berabbi the Levite said: Blessed is a provincial who has seen this: the king taking < his bride > by the hand and bringing her to the house for him.⁶Gen. R. 18:3. Thus it is stated (in Gen. 2:22, cont.): AND BROUGHT HER TO ADAM. Ergo (in Ps. 25:10): ALL THE PATHS OF THE LORD ARE STEADFAST LOVE AND TRUTH. Thus the beginning of Torah is steadfast love. Its middle also is steadfast love. Where is it shown? Where it is stated (in Gen. 35:8): THEN REBEKAH'S NURSE, DEBORAH, DIED. When she had died, what is written (ibid.)? AND ITS NAME (i.e., the name of her burial place) WAS CALLED WEEPING OAK, for Jacob was sitting there and weeping over her. The Holy One said: Jacob is sitting and grieving. He appeared to him visibly, as stated (in vs. 9): NOW THE LORD APPEARED UNTO JACOB AGAIN… < AND BLESSED HIM >.⁷Eccl. R. 7:2:3; see Gen. R. 8:13; 82:1. And its end is steadfast love, < as seen in the case > of Moses; for, when he passed away, he buried him. Thus it is stated (in Deut. 34:6): AND < THE LORD > BURIED HIM IN THE VALLEY IN THE LAND OF MOAB. Ergo (in Ps. 25:10): ALL THE PATHS OF THE LORD ARE STEADFAST LOVE AND TRUTH.⁸Cf. M. Pss. 25:11, which derives from the verse that the Holy One adorns brides (Gen. 2:22), visits the sick (Gen. 18:1), and buries the dead (Deut. 34:6). Abraham persisted in clinging to a measure of steadfast love. The Holy One said to him: This measure was mine and you have taken it. By your life, I am making you < old > like me. Where is it shown? Where it is stated (in Dan. 7:9): AS I LOOKED, THRONES WERE SET IN PLACE, AND THE ANCIENT OF DAYS TOOK HIS SEAT. HIS GARMENT WAS AS WHITE AS SNOW, < AND THE HAIR OF HIS HEAD WAS LIKE PURE WOOL >.⁹See Gen. R. 58:9. What is written elsewhere on the matter (in Gen. 23:19)? THEN AFTERWARDS ABRAHAM BURIED HIS WIFE SARAH.¹⁰In doing so, Abraham showed his steadfast love. He persisted in clinging to her. The Holy One said to him. You deserve a crown. Thus it is stated (in Gen. 24:1): NOW ABRAHAM WAS OLD (i.e., with a crown of white hair).

It is written: “The Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skin, and clothed them” (Genesis 3:21). We have found that the Holy One blessed be He performs acts of kindness: He adorns brides, blesses grooms, visits the ill, buries the dead, and comforts the mourners. He adorns brides, as it is written: “The Lord God built [the rib that he took from the man into a woman, and He brought her to the man]” (Genesis 2:22). Rabbi Yoḥanan says: He built her, adorned her, and showed her to him [Adam]. Rabbi Abbahu said: Perhaps you will say that He showed her to him from behind a carob tree or from behind a sycamore tree; rather, He adorned her with twenty-four types of jewelry and then He showed her to him, as it is stated: “And He brought her to the man” (Genesis 2:22).³¹Although she was made from his rib, and would naturally have been right next to him, the verse states that God brought her to him. This implies that He took her to another location to adorn her and then brought her to Adam (Midrash HaMevo’ar). He blesses grooms, as it is stated: “God blessed them” (Genesis 1:28). He visits the ill, as it is stated: “The Lord appeared to him in the plains of Mamre” (Genesis 18:1). He buries the dead, as it is written: “He buried him in the valley” (Deuteronomy 34:6). He comforts the mourners, as it is written: “He called its name Alon Bakhut” (Genesis 35:8). Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: What is Alon Bakhut? While he was observing the mourning for Deborah, his nursemaid, tidings reached him that his mother Rebecca had died, and he wept two weepings [bekhiyot]; that is why it is stated [that Jacob called that place] Alon Bakhut. And [the verse] states regarding Jacob: “[And God appeared to Jacob again…] and blessed [him]” (Genesis 35:9) – He blessed him with the blessing of the mourners.

(Deut. 25:17:) REMEMBER WHAT AMALEK (Esau's grandson) DID TO YOU. This verse is related (to Ps. 109:14): MAY THE INIQUITY OF HIS FATHERS BE REMEMBERED BEFORE THE LORD…. Were the fathers of Esau wicked?¹⁵Tanh., Deut. 6:4; PRK 3:1; cf. 12:4; PR 12:4. In note 16 on PR 12:4, W. G. Braude, Pesikta Rabbati (“Yale Judaica Series”; New Haven; Yale, 1968) p. 221, n. 16, suggests that the verse was understood as referring to Esau, because vs. 17 in the psalm identifies him as one who DID NOT FIND PLEASURE IN A BLESSING. And were they not righteous? His grandfather was Abraham. His father was Isaac. Yet are you saying (in Ps. 109:14): MAY THE INIQUITY OF HIS FATHERS BE REMEMBERED! <The verse is> simply <referring to> a sin that he sinned against his fathers.¹⁶The Hebrew of Ps. 109:14 can also be understood in this sense. And how did he sin against his fathers?¹⁷Above, Tanh. (Buber), Gen. 6:3; Gen. R. 63:12. You find that Isaac got his vitality from Abraham; yet he lived a hundred and eighty years, while Abraham <only>¹⁸The “only” is found in the parallel account of Tanh., Deut. 6:4. lived a hundred and seventy-five years.¹⁹The Tanh. parallel adds here: “Why so? Because he did not foresee Esau’s shame.” Rabbi Levi said: During the five years that were withheld from Abraham's life, Esau committed two serious transgressions. He violated a betrothed maiden, and he took a life. The one is what is written about (in Gen. 25:29): THEN ESAU CAME FROM THE FIELD, AND HE WAS EXHAUSTED. Now FIELD can only be a reference to a BETROTHED MAIDEN [of whom it is stated (in Deut. 22:25): IF IN THE FIELD THE MAN FINDS A MAIDEN WHO IS BETROTHED, <AND THE MAN SEIZES HER AND LIES WITH HER….>] Moreover, EXHAUSTED can only be a reference to a murderer, of whom it is stated (in Jer. 4:31): WOE TO ME, NOW! FOR MY LIFE IS EXHAUSTED BEFORE THOSE WHO KILL. Rabbi Zakkay [the Elder] said: He also stole, as stated (in Obad. 5): IF THIEVES HAVE COME TO YOU.²⁰The Midrash, of course, is identifying the Edom of Obadiah with Esau. The Holy One said: I had already promised my beloved Abraham (in Gen. 15:15): YOU SHALL GO UNTO YOUR ANCESTORS IN PEACE; YOU SHALL BE BURIED <AT A GOOD OLD AGE>. But now he would see his grandson, when he was robbing with violence, practicing seduction, and shedding blood. At that time he was a good grandfather; <so> it was better for him as a righteous man to be gathered (to his ancestors) in peace, as stated in Ps. 63:4 [3]): FOR STEADFAST LOVE IS BETTER THAN LIFE. And what sin did he commit against his father? He caused his eyes to become dim during his lifetime. Hence they have said: Whoever produces a wicked son or a wicked disciple causes his eyes to grow dim during his lifetime. A wicked son came from Isaac, as written (in (Gen. 27:1): <AND IT CAME TO PASS THAT WHEN ISAAC WAS OLD> AND HIS EYES WERE TOO DIM TO SEE. [Why? Because he produced Esau the Wicked.] In regard to a wicked disciple, <there was a disciple> from Ahijah the Shilonite, as stated (in I Kings 14:4): NOW AHIJAH {THE SHILONITE} COULD NOT SEE, BECAUSE HIS EYES WERE DIM FROM OLD AGE. Why? Because he produced a wicked disciple in Jeroboam. [(Ps. 109:14:) AND LET NOT THE SIN OF HIS MOTHER BE BLOTTED OUT.] But how had he sinned against his mother? R. Judah, R. Nehemiah, and <our> masters <differ>. R. Judah says: When he left his mother's belly, he severed her uterus²¹Metrin: Gk.: metra; cf. Lat.: matrix. {i.e., placenta}, with the result that she would not bear <any more children>. This is what is written (in Amos 1:11): BECAUSE HE (i.e., Edom, which is Esau) PURSUED HIS BROTHER WITH THE SWORD AND DESTROYED HIS WOMB.²²I.e., the womb from which he had been born. The Masoretic text here reads WOMB in the plural. As such, an idiomatic reading of the text would be rendered: BECAUSE HE PURSUED HIS BROTHER WITH THE SWORD AND REPRESSED ALL PITY. Moreover, R. Berekhyah says: You should not say <this> in reference to when he had left <his mother's uterus>.²³Gen. R. 63:6. Rather, as he was leaving his mother's uterus, his zerta'²⁴The Aramaic word means “fist” or “hand,” as the bracketed explanation correctly translates. The reason for this rather unusual word here is to play on the word zoru from Ps. 58:4, which he is about to cite. {i.e., fist} was stretched out against him (i.e., against his brother Jacob). What is the reasoning? (Ps. 58:4 [3]:) THE WICKED GO ASTRAY (zoru) FROM THE WOMB. R. Nehemiah says: He was the cause of her not producing twelve tribes, since Rav Huna has said: Rebekah was worthy of producing twelve tribes, as stated (in Gen. 25:23): AND THE LORD SAID TO HER: TWO NATIONS ARE [IN YOUR WOMB.²⁵See above, Tanh. (Buber), Gen. 12:16. Here] are two. (Ibid., cont.:) AND TWO PEOPLES. Here are four. (Ibid., cont.:) AND ONE PEOPLE SHALL BE STRONGER THAN THE OTHER. Here are six. (Ibid., cont.:) AND THE ELDER SHALL SERVE THE YOUNGER. Here are eight. (vs. 24:) AND BEHOLD THERE WERE TWINS IN HER WOMB. Here are ten. (vs. 25:) THE FIRST CAME OUT RUDDY. [Here are eleven.] (vs. 26:) AND AFTERWARD HIS BROTHER CAME OUT. Here are twelve. There are also some who apply a passage to her (from vs. 22): AND SHE SAID: IF SO, WHY AM I HERE (ZH)? By gematria²⁶Gk.: geometria. Z (=7) + H (=5) <for a total of> twelve. But <our> masters have said: He was the cause of her bier not going forth publicly <to her funeral>. You find that when Rebekah died, they were saying: Who will go before her? Abraham is dead. Isaac's eyes are dim, and he is sitting at home. Jacob has gone to Paddan-aram. Should Esau the Wicked go before her? Then people would say <in Aramaic>:²⁷Much of this paragraph is in Aramaic. Cursed be her breasts for suckling this man {i.e., <in Hebrew>: cursed be the breasts that have suckled one like this man}. What did they do? They brought out her bier at night. R. Jose bar Hanina said: Because they brought out her bier at night, the text only explained about her obliquely. Thus it is written (in Gen. 35:8): THEN REBEKAH'S NURSE, DEBORAH, DIED <AND WAS BURIED UNDER THE OAK BELOW BETHEL> [AND ITS NAME WAS CALLED WEEPING OAK (Allon-bacuth)]. What is the meaning of Allon-bacuth? Two weepings.²⁸Bacuth, of course, means “weeping,” and allon can be understood as a Greek adjective in the neuter that means “other” or “another.” Thus the name can be read as “another weeping” and imply a second weeping. So PRK 3:1; Gen. R. 81:5; cf. Eccl. R. 7:2:3. While Jacob was seated in observance of mourning for {his} [her] nurse, the news about his mother came to him. This is related (to Gen. 35:9): NOW GOD APPEARED UNTO JACOB AGAIN […,] AND BLESSED HIM. With what blessing did he bless him? He blessed him with the blessing <of consolation given to> mourners.²⁹The blessing informed Jacob that his mother was dead. The Holy One said: Did his father pay him (i.e. Esau) back with evil? Did his mother pay him back with evil? Did his brother pay him back with evil? Did his grand[father] pay him back with evil? Did you pay him back with evil? So should I pay him back with evil? When you mention his name below, I shall blot out his name above. (Ps. 109:15:) LET THEM (the iniquity against his fathers and the sin against his mother) ALWAYS BE BEFORE THE LORD. Whatever he has done, he has done against me. Thus it is stated (ibid., cont.): AND MAY HE HAVE THEIR MEMORY CUT OFF FROM THE EARTH. [Ergo] (in Deut. 25:17): REMEMBER WHAT AMALEK (Esau's grandson) DID TO YOU.

(Deut. 25:17:) “Remember what Amalek (Esau's grandson) did to you.” This verse is related (to Ps.109:14), “May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord […].” Were the fathers of Esau wicked?¹¹PRK 3:1; cf. 12:4; PR 12:4. In note 16 on PR 12:4, W. G. Braude, Pesikta Rabbati (“Yale Judaica Series”; New Haven; Yale, 1968) p. 221, n. 16, suggests that the verse was understood as referring to Esau, because vs. 17 in the psalm identifies him as one who DID NOT FIND PLEASURE IN A BLESSING. And were they not righteous? His grandfather was Abraham. His father was Isaac. Yet are you saying (in Ps. 109:14), “May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered?” [The verse is] simply [referring to] a sin that he sinned against his fathers.¹²The Hebrew of Ps. 109:14 can also be understood in this sense. And how?¹³Above, Tanh. (Buber), Gen. 6:3; Gen. R. 63:12. You find that Isaac got his vitality from Abraham; yet he lived a hundred and eighty years, while Abraham only lived a hundred and seventy-five years. Why so? So he would not see Esau’s shame. Abraham had [Isaac] when he was a hundred years [old]. (Gen. 25:26-27:) “And Isaac was sixty years old when they were born. And the lads grew.” Both of them went to the elementary school, and both of them were equal until the age of fifteen. R. Levi said, “To what were they comparable? To a myrtle and a thorny plant. As long as they are small, no one [can] distinguish one from the other. After they have grown up, the one gives off its pleasant smell, but the other brings forth its thorns. Thus, so long as Esau and Jacob were small, no one distinguished between them. After they were grown up (in Gen. 25:26, cont.), ’Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the outdoors; but Jacob was a mild man who stayed in camp.’” And Esau would go out and rob and extort, and people would maledict him. And during the five years [that were withheld from Abraham's life], Esau committed two serious transgressions: He violated a betrothed maiden, and he took a life. The one is what is written about (in Gen. 25:29), “then Esau came from the field, and he was exhausted.” Now field can only be a reference to a betrothed maiden [of whom it is stated (in Deut. 22:25), “If in the field the man finds [a maiden who is betrothed, and the man seizes her and lies with her…].” Moreover, exhausted can only be a reference to a murderer, of whom it is stated (in Jer. 4:31), “woe to me, now; for my life is exhausted before those who kill.” Rabbi Zakkay said, “He also stole, as stated (in Obad. 1:5), ‘If thieves have come to you.’”¹⁴The Midrash, of course, is identifying the Edom of Obadiah with Esau. The Holy One, blessed be He, said, “I had already promised my beloved Abraham (in Gen. 15:15), ‘And you shall go unto your ancestors in peace; [you shall be buried at a good old age].’ But now he would see his grandson go to bad culture and hear what people say about his grandson; [that he was] transgressing sexual prohibitions and shedding blood. He would [then] wonder and say, ‘Are these the stipulations that the Holy One, blessed be He, being fulfilled with me?’ And he would voice a complaint, ‘And this is not “a good old age.”’ What should I do for him?” [So] He gathered him from the world. It is better for the righteous man to be gathered (to his ancestors) in peace, as stated in Ps. 63:4), “For Your steadfast love is better than life.” Behold, he [thus] sinned against his grandfather. He sinned against his father, as he caused his eyes to become dim during his lifetime. Hence they have said, “Whoever produces a wicked son or a wicked disciple causes his [own] eyes to grow dim during his lifetime.” From where [in Scripture] do you learn [this]? A wicked son, from Isaac, as stated (in (Gen. 27:1), “And it came to pass that when Isaac was old [and his eyes were too dim to see].” [In regard to] a wicked disciple, [we learn] from Ahijah, as it is written (in I Kings 14:4), “now Ahijah could not see, because his eyes were dim from old age.” Why? Because he produced a wicked disciple in Jeroboam. [(Ps. 109:14:) “And let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.”] But how had he sinned against his mother? R. Judah, R. Nehemiah, and [our] masters [differ]. R. Judah says, “When he left his mother's belly, he severed her uterus,¹⁵Metrin: Gk.: metra; cf. Lat.: matrix. with the result that she would not bear [any more children]. This is what is written (in Amos 1:11), ‘because he (i.e., Edom, which is Esau) pursued his brother with the sword and repressed his pity (rachamiv),’ as it is written, ‘his uterus (rechemo).’”¹⁶I.e., the womb from which he had been born. The Masoretic text here reads WOMB in the plural. As such, an idiomatic reading of the text would be rendered: BECAUSE HE PURSUED HIS BROTHER WITH THE SWORD AND REPRESSED HIS PITY. Moreover, R. Berekhyah says, “You should not say [this] in reference to when he had left [his mother's uterus].¹⁷Gen. R. 63:6. Rather, as he was leaving his mother's uterus, his zerta'¹⁸The Aramaic word means “fist” or “hand,” as the bracketed explanation correctly translates. The reason for this rather unusual word here is to play on the word zoru from Ps. 58:4, which he is about to cite. [i.e., fist] was stretched out against him (i.e., against his brother Jacob).” What is the reasoning? (Ps. 58:4:) “The wicked go astray (zoru) from the womb.” R. Nehemiah says, “He was the cause of her not producing twelve tribes.” As Rav Huna has said, “Rebekah was worthy of producing twelve tribes, as stated (in Gen. 25:23), ‘And the Lord said to her, “Two nations are [in your womb].”¹⁹See above, Tanh. (Buber), Gen. 12:16. Here are two. (Ibid., cont.:) “and two peoples.” Here are four. (Ibid., cont.:) “And one people shall be stronger than the other.” Here are six. (Ibid., cont.:) “And the elder shall serve the younger.”’ Here are eight. (Vs. 24:) ‘And behold there were twins in her womb.’ Here are ten. (Vs. 25:) ‘The first came out ruddy.’ That is eleven. (Vs. 26:) ‘And afterward his brother came out.’ Here are twelve.” And there are some who bring this [idea] from here (vs. 22); “and she said, ‘If so, why am I here (zh)?’” By gematria²⁰Gk.: geometria. z (=7) + h (=5) [for a total of] twelve. But [our] masters have said, “He caused her bier to not go forth publicly [to her funeral]. You find that when Rebekah died, they were saying, ‘Who will go before her? Abraham is dead. Isaac's eyes are dim, and he is sitting at home. Jacob has gone to Paddan-Aram. Should Esau the wicked go before her? Then people would say [in Aramaic],²¹Much of this paragraph is in Aramaic. “Cursed be her breasts for suckling this man.”’ What did they do? They brought out her bier at night, so that Esau not go out in front of her, and all say, ‘Cursed are the breasts suckled this evil man.’” R. Jose bar R. Hanina said, “Because they brought out her bier at night, the text only explained about her obliquely. Thus it is written (in Gen. 35:8), ‘Then Rebekah's nurse, Deborah, died [and she was buried under the oak below Bethel] and its name was called Weeping Oak (Allon-Bacuth)],’ as they wept two weepings (bekhiot).”²²Bacuth, of course, means “weeping,” and allon can be understood as a Greek adjective in the neuter that means “other” or “another.” Thus the name can be read as “another weeping” and imply a second weeping. So PRK 3:1; Gen. R. 81:5; cf. Eccl. R. 7:2:3. While Jacob was seated in observance [of mourning] for her nurse, the news about his mother came to him, as stated (to Gen. 35:9), “Now God appeared unto Jacob again […,] and blessed him.” With what blessing did He bless him? He blessed him with the blessing of [consolation given to] mourners.²³The blessing informed Jacob that his mother was dead. The Holy One, blessed be He, said, “Did his father pay him (i.e. Esau) back with evil? Did his mother pay him back with evil? Did his brother pay him back with evil? Did his grandfather pay him back with evil? Did you pay him back with evil? I shall pay him back with evil, as his children destroyed My house. You and I shall rise against him, as stated (Obad. 1:1), “Rise, and we shall rise up against her for war.” Israel said to him, “Master of the world, we cannot [overcome] him.” [So] the Holy One, blessed be He, says to them, “You mention his name below, and I shall blot out his name above, as stated (Ps. 109:15) ‘Let them (the iniquity against his fathers and the sin against his mother) always be before (neged) the Lord.’ Whatever he has done, he has done against (neged) Me.” [Therefore] (ibid., cont.), “and may He have their memory cut off from the earth.” Ergo (in Deut. 25:17), “Remember what Amalek (Esau's grandson) did to you.”

Another interpretation (of Cant. 5:16): HIS PALATE (i.e., what he says) IS MOST SWEET: If a king of flesh and blood has a friend, he loves him. So, if that friend becomes ill,⁷⁵Heb.: HLH, a word that can also be pointed to mean “sweeten.” he sends away to inquire after his health. Then, if he loves him even more, he goes to visit him. < But > if he went out into lodgings,⁷⁶Gk.: xenia. is it thinkable that the king would go out with him? However, < it was > the Supreme King of Kings, the Holy One, < who > loved Jacob, as stated (in Mal. 1:2): YET I HAVE LOVED JACOB. When Deborah⁷⁷Instead of DEBORAH (Rebekah’s nurse) Yalqut Shim‘oni, Cant., 991, reads, “Rebekah” here. died (in Gen. 35:8), < the Holy One > came to visit him; and, when he went out into lodgings, he was with him. It is so stated (in Gen. 28:15): AND SEE, I AM WITH YOU. When he returned, he was with him, as stated (in Gen. 31:3): THEN GOD SAID UNTO JACOB: < RETURN UNTO THE LAND OF YOUR ANCESTORS WHERE YOU WERE BORN >, AND I WILL BE WITH YOU.

(Gen. 35:9:) NOW GOD APPEARED UNTO JACOB AGAIN…. This text is related (to Eccl. 7:2): IT IS BETTER TO GO UNTO A HOUSE OF MOURNING < THAN UNTO A HOUSE OF FEASTING >…. R. Simeon bar Abba said: There are two ways to be charitable, to be charitable with a bride and with the dead. If both of these < opportunities > should present themselves to you, you would not know which of them to seize first. Solomon came and explained (in Eccl. 7:2): IT IS BETTER TO GO INTO THE HOUSE OF MOURNING < THAN UNTO A HOUSE OF FEASTING >…. We have found that, when people have gone to the house of feasting, their names were not specified; but, when people have gone to the house of mourning, they have been excluded from Gehinnom, their names have been specified, and they have prophesied through the Holy Spirit.⁷⁵Eccl.R. 7:2:4. So who were those who entered the house of feasting? It is written (in Gen. 21:8): SO THE CHILD (Isaac) GREW AND WAS WEANED, AND ABRAHAM MADE A GREAT FEAST. What is the meaning of GREAT? It teaches that Shem, Eber, and Abimelech were there; but their names were not specified.⁷⁶Cf. Gen. R. 53:10. However, the names of those who went to the house of mourning {Job and his friends} were excluded from Gehinnom and the Holy Spirit rested upon them, i.e., upon Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. And the Holy Spirit rested upon them, in that it is stated (in Job 4:1): THEN ANSWERED ELIPHAZ THE TEMANITE. Now he would only have answered in the language of prophecy. Thus it is stated (in Exod. 19:19): MOSES SPOKE, AND GOD ANSWERED HIM IN THUNDER.⁷⁷See also ySot. 7:2 (21c). Ergo: IT IS BETTER TO GO INTO THE HOUSE OF MOURNING < THAN INTO A HOUSE OF FEASTING >…. And who was the first to show his face [as a mourner]. See, the Holy One says < when >. When? When Deborah died, as stated (in Gen. 35:8): THEN < REBEKAH'S NURSE > DEBORAH DIED < AND WAS BURIED UNDER THE OAK BELOW BETHEL; AND ITS NAME WAS CALLED WEEPING OAK >. And it is written (in vs. 9): NOW GOD APPEARED UNTO JACOB AGAIN … < AND BLESSED HIM >.⁷⁸According to below, 8:26; Eccl. 7:2:3, the Holy One blessed him with a benediction for mourners.

[(Gen. 35:9, 11:) NOW GOD APPEARED UNTO JACOB AGAIN < .. > AND GOD SAID TO HIM:] < I AM GOD ALMIGHTY >. This text is related (to Deut. 28:6): BLESSED SHALL YOU BE IN YOUR COMING; < AND BLESSED SHALL YOU BE IN YOUR GOING AWAY >. When Jacob went away from his father's house, he went away with a blessing, as stated (in Gen. 28:3): MAY GOD ALMIGHTY BLESS YOU. Also, when he came from Paddan-Aram, he came with a blessing, as stated (in Gen. 35:9): NOW GOD APPEARED UNTO JACOB AGAIN < … > AND BLESSED HIM. How did he bless him? R. Levi said: He blessed him with a benediction for mourners. What is written above on the matter (in Gen. 35:8)? THEN < REBEKAH'S NURSE > DEBORAH DIED < AND WAS BURIED UNDER THE OAK BELOW BETHEL; AND ITS NAME WAS CALLED WEEPING OAK >. R. Samuel bar Nahman said: While Jacob was observing the mourning for his nurse, news < about the death > of his mother came, as stated (ibid.): AND ITS NAME WAS CALLED WEEPING OAK (Allon Bakhut). R. Samuel bar Nahman said: The language is Hellenistic. What is the meaning of Allon < in Greek >? "Another."⁸⁵I.e., another occasion for weeping, namely the occasion of the death of Rebekah. So Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, Gen. 35:8; Gen. R. 81:8; PRK 3:1. The Holy One said: How long will this righteous one remain in grief? R. Jonathan bar Il'ay said: The Holy One said: It is right that I show him a friendly face, as stated (in Gen. 35:9): NOW GOD APPEARED UNTO JACOB AGAIN….