Midrasch zu Jirmejahu 26:78

We are taught in a Baraitha that R. Eliezer b. Jose said: "All acts of charity and benevolence done by Israel in this world are great peacemakers and intercessors between Israel and their Heavenly Father; as it is said (Jer. 26, 5) For thus hath said the Lord, Enter not into the house of mourning, neither go to lament nor to condole with them; for I have taken away My peace from this people, saith the Lord, yea, kindness and mercy. Kindness means benevolence, and mercy means charity (i.e., because those two were taken away, therefore has also peace been taken away)." We are taught in another Baraitha that R. Juda said: "Great is charity which brings the redemption nearer, as it is said (Is. 56, 1) Thus hath said the Lord, 'Keep ye justice and do zedaka (charity), for near is My salvation to come and My righteousness to be revealed." He also used to say: "Ten things were created in the world. Rock is hard, but iron cuts it; iron is hard, fire fuses and softens it; fire is strong, water extinguishes it; water is heavy, yet the clouds bear it; clouds are strong, the winds scatter them; the wind is strong, the body endures it; a body is strong, fear shatters it; fear is strong, wine dispels it; wine is strong, sleep dispels it; death is stronger than all of these; however, righteousness delivers from death, as it is said (Prov. 10, 2)… . but (tzedaka) righteousness will deliver from death."

And it shall be if you listen to listen (Deuteronomy 28:1): If you listened a little, your end will be to listen much. Another interpretation: You will make your studies heard in front of the Holy One, blessed be He. When will you make your studies heard? Rabbi Yehudah says, "At the time that he comes to part from the world, as it is stated (Ecclesiastes 12:13), 'The end of the matter, everything is heard.'" And Rabbi Meir says, "until he completes his soul, as stated (Job 10:22), 'gloom and not arranged,' as he arranges his study." Another interpretation: "If you surely listen," your prayer will be heard, like Choni the Circle-maker. At the time that Israel required rain, they went into him and said to him, "Pray for us, as we need rain." Immediately, he drew a circle and stood inside it, to fulfill that which is stated (Habakuk 2:1), "I will stand on my watch." The rain began to drizzle. He said, "This is not what I requested, but rains of desire, blessing and freewill." The rain [then] began to fall in its accustomed way. What caused him to be one who prays, such that the Holy One, blessed be He listens to his prayers? [It was] because he listened to the words of the Torah. Another interpretation: If you listen in this world, you will listen [to it] in the world to come from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be He. Rabbi Yonah the father of Rabbi Manna said in the name of Rabbi Levi who said in the name of Rabbi Abba, "The Torah was not supposed to have been given to Israel in this world. Why? Because everyone will learn it from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be He, in the future, in the world to come. [So] why was it given to them in this world? So that when the Holy One, blessed be He, comes to teach them in the world to come, everyone will know in what section He is occupied." Therefore, if you listen in this world, you will listen in the world to come from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be He. Another interpretation: If you merited to listen to words of the Torah that were given with many voices, you will merit to hear that voice about which it is written (Jeremiah 7:34), "the voice of gladness and the voice of joy." Another interpretation [of] "if you listen to listen": If you have listened to the voice of your teacher, your end is that others [will] listen to you. "To guard to do" (Deuteronomy 28:1). You should only study in order to do. Rabbi Yochanan said, "Anyone who studies [Torah] but does not do [what he studied], it would have been better had his placenta turned over his face (died in the womb). But if you merited to guard and to do, 'the Lord your God will set you high above (elyon)' (Deuteronomy 28:1)." Rabbi Levi said, "What is [the meaning of] elyon? It is like this thumb (alyon). If you merited, behold you will be above the four fingers, 'and the Lord your God will set you high above,' on condition. But if not, 'the stranger that is in your midst will rise higher and higher' (Deuteronomy 28:43)." "Blessed shall you be in your coming" (Deuteronomy 28:6), on condition [that it is] in your coming to the synagogues and study halls; "and blessed shall you be in your going," from the synagogues and study halls. "You shall be blessed in the city and you shall be blessed in the field" (Deuteronomy 28:3). It should have said, "You shall be blessed in the field and you shall blessed in the city," as it is from what he brings in from the field that he is blessed in the city. Rather what do we learn to say [from,] "You shall be blessed in the city and you shall be blessed in the field?" If you have come to the commandment in the city, do not say, "I was only commanded in the field to extract the priestly tithes and the [other] tithes outside." The Holy One, blessed be He, said, "Open your hand [to give tithes] also in the city." Another interpretation: "You shall be blessed in the city," with the commandments that you do in the midst of your house in the city, such as sukkah, mezuzah and parapet. "You shall be blessed in the field," [with the commandments that you do in the field], such as [leaving] gleanings, forgotten sheaves, and the corner [of the field]. Another interpretation: A man should not say, "If the Holy One, blessed be He, had given me a field, I would have extracted tithes from it. [But] now that I do not have a field, I will not give anything." The Holy One, blessed be He, says [in response], "See what I have written in My Torah, 'You shall be blessed in the city,' for those living in the city; 'and you shall be blessed in the field,' for those that have fields." "Blessed shall be your basket" (Deuteronomy 28:5). These are the first-fruits that you you bring up to Jerusalem, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 26:4), "And the priest shall take the basket from your hand." "And your kneading bowl" (Deuteronomy 28:5), that is the challah tithe. "[Blessed shall be...] the calving (shegar) of your herd" (Deuteronomy 28:4). Rabbi Yehudah bar Shalom said, "That they shall be moving (shegurin) and coming out [effortlessly] like [from] the mouth of a box; 'and the lambing (ashterot) of your flock' (Deuteronomy 28:4), that they should be as strong as boulders (ashterot)." Another interpretation: "You shall be blessed in the city," this [refers to] Jerusalem, which is called a city, as it is stated (Lamentations 2:15), "Is this the city that they said was the perfection of beauty?" "And you shall be blessed in the field," this [refers to] Zion, as it is stated (Jeremiah 26:18), "Zion shall be plowed for a field." And when will the Holy One, blessed be He, show this blessing to Israel? When Jerusalem is rebuilt and the exiles are returned within her, as it is stated (Psalms 133:3), "As the dew of Hermon which runs down on the mountains of Zion, for there the Lord commanded the blessing, life forever." [May it happen] speedily in our day, Amen!

“For Mount Zion, which is desolate; foxes walk on it” (Lamentations 5:18).
“For Mount Zion, which is desolate.” It happened that Rabban Gamliel, Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya, Rabbi Yehoshua, and Rabbi Akiva were entering Rome, and they heard the sound of the multitudes of Rome from Puteoli, from a distance of one hundred and twenty mil. They began weeping and Rabbi Akiva was laughing. They said: ‘Akiva, we are weeping and you are laughing?’ He said to them: ‘And you, why are you weeping?’ They said to him: ‘Shall we not weep? The nations engage in idol worship and prostrate themselves to the idols, and they sit in security, tranquility, and calm, while the footstool of our God was burned in fire and is a dwelling place for the beasts of the field; shall we not weep?’ He said to them: ‘That is why I am laughing. If it is so for those who anger Him, all the more so for those who perform His will.’
On another occasion they were ascending to Jerusalem. When they arrived at Mount Scopus, they rent their garments. When they arrived at the Temple Mount, they saw a fox emerging from the place of the Holy of Holies. They began weeping, and Rabbi Akiva was laughing. They said to him: ‘Akiva, you always astonish us, we are weeping and you are laughing.’ He said to them: ‘Why are you weeping?’ They said to him: ‘Shall we not weep? The place in whose regard it is written: “And the non-priest who approaches shall be put to death” (Numbers 1:51), behold, a fox emerges from it. The verse stated of it: “For Mount Zion, which is desolate; foxes walk on it,” has been fulfilled!’ He said to them: ‘It is for this reason that I am laughing. Behold, it says: “I had trustworthy witnesses testify for Me: Uriya the priest and Zechariah, son of Yeverekhyahu” (Isaiah 8:2). What does Uriya have to do with Zechariah? Uriya was in the First Temple and Zechariah was in the Second Temple. Rather, what did Uriya say? “So said the Lord of hosts: Zion will be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem will be heaps” (Jeremiah 26:18). What did Zechariah say? “So said the Lord of hosts: Old men and old women will again sit in the squares of Jerusalem, each man with his staff in his hand, due to advanced age” (Zechariah 8:4). And it is written thereafter: “The city squares will be filled with boys and girls playing in its squares” (Zechariah 8:5). The Holy One blessed be He said: I have these two witnesses. If the words of Uriya are realized, the words of Zechariah will be realized, and if the words of Uriya are void, the words of Zechariah are void. I was joyful that the words of Uriya were realized, and ultimately the words of Zechariah are destined to be realized.’ They said to him in these words: ‘Akiva, you have comforted us. May you be comforted by the feet of the herald.’²⁵The herald of redemption; see Isaiah 52:7, Nahum 2:1.

Rabbi Tanḥuma and Rabbi Menaḥama were relating these incidents. There was an incident involving a certain man who was standing near a river. He saw a frog laden with a scorpion and taking it across the river. He said: This one is certainly prepared to fulfill its mission. It took it across, and it fulfilled its mission.⁴⁷It bit a person. And it took it back to its place. The sound of a cry was heard in the city: So-and-so, a scorpion bit him and he died.
Rabbi Pinḥas [said] in the name of Rabbi Ḥanin of Tzippori: There was an incident involving a certain man who was reaping in the valley of Beit Tofat. He saw a shrub and crafted [it into] a wreath for his head. A certain snake came and he struck it and killed it. A certain man⁴⁸Apparently, he was a snake charmer. came and stood and examined the snake. He said: ‘I wonder, who was it who killed the snake?’ That man said: ‘I killed it.’ He saw the shrub on his head [and] said to him: ‘Can you remove that wreath from your head?’⁴⁹The second man understood that the first man was protected from the snake’s venom only due to the wreath he was wearing on his head. He said: ‘Yes.’ He said to him: ‘Can you come here [and touch] this snake with this staff?’ He said to him: ‘Yes.’ When he approached that snake, immediately his limbs fell off.
Rabbi Yannai was sitting and teaching at the entrance to the city and saw a certain snake that was agitated and was approaching. [When] he would pursue it from here, it would return from here, from that side. He said: This one is certainly prepared to fulfill its mission. Immediately the sound of a cry befell the city: So-and-so was bitten by a snake and died.
Rabbi Elazar was sitting in the bathroom; a certain Roman came and made him stand up and [the Roman] sat down [in his stead]. [Rabbi Elazar] said: This did not happen gratuitously. Immediately, a snake came and bit [the Roman], and he died. [Rabbi Elazar] read this verse in his regard: “I will place men [adam]in your stead” (Isaiah 43:4), [which he read as:] I will place Edom in your stead.⁵⁰The Sages identify Rome as Edom.
Rabbi Yitzḥak ben Rabbi Elazar was strolling on a crag over the sea at Caesarea. He saw a femur bone rolling and coming. He buried it, but it rolled [out]; he buried it, and it rolled [out again]. He said: This is prepared to fulfill its mission. Several days later, a messenger from the kingdom passed and it rolled between his feet and he stumbled, fell, and died. They went and checked in his bag, and found that it was filled with evil edicts against the Jews of Caesarea.
Rabbi Shimon ben Ḥalafta was a researcher. He had an orchard in which there was a tree stump. A hoopoe went and made a nest on it. Rabbi Shimon rose and dismantled it. What did he do? He brought a board and a nail to the entrance [to the nest] and affixed it. What did the hoopoe do? It went and brought a shrub, placed it on that nail and destroyed it. What did Rabbi Shimon do? He said: It would be best for me to conceal that [shrub] so thieves will not go and do as it did and bring destruction upon the people. Rabbi Yannai’s female donkey ate the shrub and was blinded. It ate a different shrub and recovered its sight.
There was an incident involving two men who were coming on the paths of Tiberias, one blind and one sighted, with the sighted leading the blind. They sat to rest on the way, and it happened that they ate of the shrub. The one who was blind recovered his sight, and the one who was sighted went blind. They did not move from there until the one who had been blind led the one who had been sighted.
There was an incident involving a man who ascended from Babylon.⁵¹He was travelling from Babylon to the Land of Israel. He sat to rest on the way and saw two birds fighting with each other, and one killed its counterpart. The other went and brought a shrub and placed it on the dead one and revived it. He said: It would be good for me to take this shrub and revive with it the dead in the Land of Israel. He ran and ascended; he saw a fox that was dead and cast on the way. He said: It would be good for me to test it on this fox. He placed it on it and revived it. He was walking until he reached the Ladder of Tyre. When he reached the Ladder of Tyre, he saw a lion that had been killed and cast on the way. He said: Let me test it on this one. He placed it on it and revived it. It rose against him and ate him. This is what people say: Do not perform good for the evil, and evil will not befall you. If you perform good for the evil, you have performed evil.
Rabbi Tanḥuma said: Even with water, the Holy One blessed be He accomplishes His mission. There was an incident involving one who was afflicted with boils who descended to immerse in the sea of Tiberias, and it happened that at that moment the spring of Miriam⁵²This was a spring of water that traveled with the Israelites in the wilderness and provided water for them. rose and he bathed and was cured.
Where is the spring of Miriam? Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said: It is written: “And overlooks the surface of the wasteland [hayeshimon]” (Numbers 21:20), as anyone who climbs Mount Yeshimon sees a small sieve-like item in the sea of Tiberias, and this is the spring of Miriam. Rabbi Yoḥanan said: The Rabbis calculated it, and it is aligned opposite the middle gate of the ancient synagogue of Serongeya.
Rabbi Huna bar Pappa said: The children of Israel sacrificed offerings on prohibited makeshift altars in the wilderness [the way they did] before the Tabernacle was established. We learned: Before the Tabernacle was established, makeshift altars were permitted and the sacrificial service was by the firstborn. Once the Tabernacle was established, the makeshift altars were prohibited and the sacrificial service was by the priests. The Israelites would violate the prohibition of makeshift altars in the wilderness, and punishments would eliminate them. The nations of the world would say: They worship in His name and He kills them in the wilderness. Therefore, the Holy One blessed be He said to Moses: “Any man of the house of Israel who slaughters a bull or sheep.… and to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting [does not bring it]…[that man shall be cut off from among his people]” (Leviticus 17:3–4).⁵³In order to prevent them from slaughtering consecrated animals outside the Tabernacle, God commanded them to refrain from slaughtering even non-sacred animals.

And Cain spoke unto Abel, his brother (Gen. 4:8). What did he say to him? He said: “Let us divide the world between us, but since I am the eldest, I shall take twice as much.” Abel replied: “Perhaps.” “If we do this,” Cain continued, “I want my share to include the place at which your sacrifice was accepted.” Abel replied: “That, you cannot have.” Thereupon, they began to quarrel, as it is said: And it came to pass while they were in the field that Cain arose (ibid.), and it says elsewhere: Zion shall be plowed as a field (Jer. 26:18).³²There are many explanations of the reason for the struggle. See Bereshit Rabbah 22:7, Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer 21, Aggadat Shir ha-Shirim 31:17, Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews 1:108. As a consequence of Cain’s action Zion will be destroyed.

R. Jochanan said again in the name of R. Simon b. Jochai: "What is the meaning of the passage (Jer. 27, 1) In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim … The beginning of the reign of Zedekiah. Were there not rulers before them? This signifies that the Holy One, praised be He! was about to return the world to vanity and chaos because of Jehoiakim. But when He looked upon his generation who were righteous, the Lord reconsidered it. And the opposite was the case with Zedekiah. He wanted to destroy the world because of his genaration, but when He looked upon him, He reconsidered it. But is it not written concerning Zedekiah (II Kings 24, 19) And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord? [Hence he was wicked.] This is because he should have protested against their deed but did not do so."

Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin began in the name of Rabbi Levi: “Woe, those who join house to house” (Isaiah 5:8). Rabbi Yoḥanan and Reish Lakish: Rabbi Yoḥanan said: “Woe, those who join house to house” – one who lends another on his house or lends another on his field in order to repossess it.⁶¹The reference is to one who loans another money in order to have a lien on the borrower’s house or field with the intention of repossessing it. The Holy One blessed be He says: What do you think, that you will inherit the land, that “you alone will be settled in the midst of the land” (Isaiah 5:8)? “In my ears, the Lord of hosts: If many houses will not be for desolation, great and excellent, without inhabitant” (Isaiah 5:9). Reish Lakish said: Like one who screams in the ear of another, not in one but in two, so, “in my ears, the Lord of hosts.”
Reish Lakish said: “Woe, those who join house to house” (Isaiah 5:8) – you have caused the first destruction to affect the second destruction. Just as in the first destruction, “Zion will be plowed like a field” (Jeremiah 26:18), so too, in the second destruction, “Zion will be plowed like a field.” “Until there is no room” (Isaiah 5:8) – what caused the place to be destroyed? It was because they did not leave any place where they did not engage in idol worship. Initially, they would worship it clandestinely. That is what is written: “He said to me: Have you seen, son of man, [what the elders of the house of Israel] are doing in the dark?” (Ezekiel 8:12). Since no one reprimanded them, they began doing so behind the door, as it is stated: “And behind the door and the doorpost you placed your commemoration” (Isaiah 57:8).⁶²Your idol Since no one reprimanded them, they began doing so on the roofs, as it is stated: “Those who prostrate themselves on the roofs to the hosts of the heavens” (Zephaniah 1:5). Since no one reprimanded them, they began doing so in the gardens, as it is stated: “Sacrificing in the gardens” (Isaiah 65:3). Since no one reprimanded them, they began doing so on the mountaintops, as it is stated: “They slaughter sacrifices on the mountaintops, and they burn incense on the hills” (Hosea 4:13). Since no one reprimanded them, they began doing so in the fields, as it is stated: “Their altars, too, will be as heaps on the furrows of the field” (Hosea 12:12). Rabbi Yudan, Rabbi Aivu, and Rabbi Tavi said in the name of Rabbi Yoshiya: On each and every furrow they would place an idol. Rabbi Pinḥas and Rabbi Ḥilkiya said in the name of Rabbi Hoshaya: Each of them would plow his field on a diagonal and place the idol in the center so that all of the heads of the furrows would point to it.
Since no one reprimanded them, they began doing so at the crossroads, as it is stated: “At every crossroad you built your shrine” (Ezekiel 16:25). Since no one reprimanded them, they began doing so in the squares, as it is stated: “You built for you a platform, and made for you a shrine in every square” (Ezekiel 16:24). Since no one reprimanded them, they began doing so in the cities, as it is stated: “For like the number of your cities were your gods, Judah…” (Jeremiah 2:28; 11:13). Since no one reprimanded them, they began doing so in the streets, as it is stated: “And like the number of streets of Jerusalem you placed altars to the shame” (Jeremiah 11:13).
How far did they go? It was to the extent that they introduced it into the Holy of Holies, as it is stated: “This image of infuriation babia” (Ezekiel 8:5). What is babia? Rabbi Aḥa said: Woe, woe [biya biya] to the lodger because of the Homeowner. Rabbi Berekhya said: “For the mat is too short for stretching” (Isaiah 28:20) – what is “for stretching [mehistare’a]”? For holding [shetaria] a woman [isha], her husband, and her counterpart [vere’ah]. “And the cover [masekha] is too narrow [tsara] for covering [kehitkanes]” (Isaiah 28:20) – you made a cast image [masekha] as a rival [tsara] to the One of whom it is written: “He gathers together [kones] the water of the sea like a mound” (Psalms 33:7). When they sinned they were exiled. When they were exiled, Jeremiah began lamenting over them, eikha.

(Bamidbar 11:6) "And now, our souls are dry. There is nothing": R. Shimon said: They said: It (the manna) will burst our bowels. Can a mortal ingest and not expel! They said to R. Shimon: And how do you explain (Devarim 23:14) "And you shall have a spade along with your other implements" (to cover your excrement)? He answered: What the Canaanite merchants sold them they expelled, but the manna, never. As it is written (Psalms 78:25) "Man ate the bread of abirim" — (bread) which was absorbed in the eivarim (the limbs). "Only to the manna is our eyes. (7) The manna was (round) like coriander seed, and it looked like crystal.": You think that he who said this ("Only to the manna, etc.") said that ("The manna was round, etc."?) This is not so. Israel said "Only to the manna is our eyes," and the L-rd "pacified" all future generations and said to them: Come and see what they are grumbling to Me about — "The manna was like coriander seed — it looked like crystal!" viz. (Bereshit 2:12) "And the gold of that land is good. There is the crystal and the onyx stone." Similarly, (i.e., another instance of "split referrent") (Ibid. 38:25) "And Judah recognized (them) and said: 'She is right. It is by me'" (that she is with child). And Scripture (and not Judah) states that "he did not live with her again." Similarly, (Devarim 25:18) "and you (Israel) were faint and weary," "and (he, Amalek) did not fear G-d." Similarly, (Judges 5:28) "Why is his (Sisra's) chariot delayed in coming?" — This was stated by Sisra's mother, (29) "The wisest of her ladies answer her, etc." — This was said by his wife and her daughters-in-law. (Ibid.) "She, too, returns her words to her" — there was revealed to her what was said to Devorah by the Holy Spirit — Don't wait any longer for Sisra. (Ibid. 31) "So will all of Your foes go lost, O L-rd." Similarly, (I Samuel 4:8) "Woe to us! Who will save us from the hand of this mighty G-d" — This was stated by the righteous (among them). But the wicked said: "This is the G-d who smote the Egyptians with every plague in the desert." Their intent was: He had only ten plagues (in His arsenal) and He brought them all on the Egyptians — He has no plagues left. The L-rd responded: You say I have no plague left? I will bring upon you a plague the like of which the world has never seen. One of you will be sitting (and defecating) and a mouse will rise from the depths and will scoop out his innards and return to the depths! And thus is it written (Ibid. 5:6) "And the hand of the L-rd was heavy against the Ashdodites … and He struck them with hemorrhoids." Similarly, (Jeremiah 26:16-25) "Then the officers and all the people said to the Cohanim: … This man (Jeremiah) does not deserve to die … And there arose men of the elders of the land and they said to the entire assemblage of the people: Michah the Monashite prophesied … Did Chizkiyahu king of Judah put him to death? …" Until here, the words of the righteous. But the wicked among them said: "There was also a man who prophesied in the name of the L-rd, Uriah the son of Shemayahu … And King Yehoyakim heard … and the king wanted to put him to death…. And King Yehoyakim sent men to Egypt … and they took Uriah out of Egypt …" They said: Just as Uriah was killed, so Jeremiah must be killed. "But Achiram son of Shafan protected Jeremiah not to hand him over to the people to be put to death." Similarly, (Ruth 2:13) "As the L-rd lives, lie (here) until the morning." Because the yetzer hara (the evil inclination) sat and aggrieved him (Boaz) the whole night, saying: You are single and need a wife, and she (Ruth) is single and needs a husband, and you know that a woman is acquired (as a wife) by intercourse — Arise and live with her and let her be your wife — he swore to his yetzer hara "As the L-rd lives," I will not touch her. And to the woman he said: "Lie (here) until the morning." Here, too, "Only to the manna is our eyes." Do you think that he who said this said that ("The manna was like coriander seed, etc.")? (No!) Israel said "Only to the manna is our eyes!" and the L-rd "pacified" and said to them: Come and see about what they are railing against Me: "The manna was like coriander seed and it looked like crystal," viz. (Bereshit 2:12) "The gold of that land is good. There is crystal and the shoham stone."