Talmud zu Ijow 1:21

But the sages²³⁶In the Babli (60b) this is ascribed to R. Tanḥum, the following statement of R. Yudan bar Pelaiah is attributed to “rabbis”. say (Ps. 116:13): “I lift the cup of salvation, I call on the Name of the Eternal, trouble and sorrow I will find, but on the Name of the Eternal I shall call.” Whatever may happen to me, I shall call on the Name of the Eternal. Rebbi Yudan bar Pelaya²³⁷A late Amora, student of R. Jonah, whose name is frequently corrupted in Talmud and Midrashim. said: This is what Job said (Job 1:21): “The Eternal gave, and the Eternal took, may the Name of the Eternal be praised!” When He gave, He gave in mercy; when He took, He took in mercy. In addition, when He gave, He did not consult anybody, but when He took, He consulted His Court²³⁸The proof is in the next sentence. The text is elliptic and one has to add: “As R. Eleazar said” (three generations before R. Yudan; otherwise the homilies are arranged chronologically.) The court is the Heavenly Court of Law.. Rebbi Eleazar said, everwhere it says “and the Eternal” it means Him and His Court. The paradigm²³⁹Literally “Father’s building.” The theory behind this expression is that each word in the Torah has a unique meaning. If the meaning of a term is clear in one verse, “this built a father for all occurrences of this word,” one of the hermeneutical rules of R. Ismael for the understanding of the Torah. Its validity is extended to all of the Bible as rule #8 of the 32 rules of R. Eliezer, son of R. Yose the Galilean. of this is (1K. 22:23): “And the Eternal spoke woe over you²⁴⁰The prophecy of Michaihu starts with his vision of the Eternal surrounded by all the Hosts of Heaven..”

When Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai’s son died, his students came in to comfort him. Rabbi Eliezer came in and sat before him and said: My master, if you please, may I say something? He said: Speak. So he said: Adam the first person had a son who died and he accepted comfort. And how do we know that he accepted comfort? For it says (Genesis 4:25), “And Adam knew his wife again.” So you, too, should accept comfort. He replied: Is it not enough that I have my own pain but that you need to remind me of Adam’s pain as well?
Rabbi Yehoshua came in and said to him: If you please, may I say something before you? He said: Speak. So he said: Job had sons and daughters, and they all died on the same day, and he accepted comfort. So you, too, should accept comfort. And how do we know that Job accepted comfort? For it says (Job 1:21), “The Eternal has given, and the Eternal has taken away. Blessed is the name of the Eternal.” He replied: Is it not enough that I have my own pain but that you have to remind me of Job’s pain as well?
Rabbi Yosei came in and sat before him and said: My master, if you please, may I say something? He said: Speak. So he said: Aaron had two older sons and they both died on the same day, and he accepted comfort, as it says (Leviticus 10:3), “And Aaron was silent,” and silence always indicates comfort. He replied: Is it not enough that I have my own pain but that you have to remind me of Aaron’s pain as well?
Rabbi Shimon came in and said: My master, if you please, may I say something? He said: Speak. So he said: King David had a son who died, and he accepted comfort. So you, too, should accept comfort. And how do we know that David accepted comfort? For it says (II Samuel 12:24), “David comforted his wife Bath Sheba, and he came to her and lay with her, and she gave birth to another son, and called him Solomon.” So you, too, should accept comfort. He replied: Is it not enough that I have my own pain but that you have to remind me of King David’s pain as well?
Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah came in. When [Rabbi Yohanan] saw him, he said to his steward: Take this vessel, and follow me to the bathhouse, because this is a great man, and I will not be able to withstand him.¹Going to the bathhouse might indicate that Rabbi Yohanan’s mourning is about to end, as Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah will surely find a way to provide solace. So [Rabbi Elazar] came in and sat before [Rabbi Yohanan] and said: Let me give you a parable. To what can this be compared? [It can be compared] to a person to whom the king gave a deposit to hold. Every day he would cry and scream and say, Oy, when will I be free of this deposit? So it is with you, Rabbi. You had a son who read from the Torah, the Prophets and the Writings; the Mishnah; Halakhah; and Aggadah; and then was taken from the world free of sin. [Must you, then, accept consolation when you have returned a deposit whole?] He said: Rabbi Elazar, my son, you have comforted me as people are supposed to.
When they all left, Elazar said: I am going to Damasit, a beautiful place with good, sweet water. They said: We will go to Yavneh, a place where there is an abundance of scholars who love the Torah. So he went to Damasit, the beautiful place with good, sweet water, and his reputation in Torah study diminished. And they went to Yavneh, the place where there was an abundance of scholars who all loved the Torah, and their reputations in Torah study grew.