Talmud zu Schoftim 1:38

Rebbi Joshua ben Levi said, why is it called drawing festivity? For from there one was drawing the holy spirit, following you shall draw water in rejoycing from the fountains of salvation¹³Is. 12:3. Babli 50b.. An illustration¹⁴The following (up to Note 21) is from Gen. rabba 98(16) (M. Sokoloff, The Genizah fragments of Bereshit Rabba, Jerusalem 1982, p. 187 l. 21–30). There the statements of RR. Levi and Joḥanan are interchangend.. Rebbi Levi and Jehudah bar Naḥman were taking two tetradrachmas to assemble the congregation before Rebbi Joḥanan. Rebbi Levi went and preached, Jonah ben Amittai was from the tribe of Asher, for it is written¹⁵Jud. 1:31., Asher did not disinherit the inhabitants of Acco and the inhabitants of Sidon. And it is written¹⁶1K. 17:9. This quote presupposes that Jonah ben Amittai was the son of the widow from Sarepta., arise and go to Sarepta which belongs to Sidon. Rebbi Joḥanan came and preached, Jonah ben Amittai was from the tribe of Zevulun, as it is witten¹⁷Jos. 19:10., the third lot fell to the sons of Sevulun according to their families, and it is written¹⁸Jos. 19:13. The verse shows that Gat-Ḥepher belonged to Zevulun., from there it turned eastward to Gat Ḥepher and Et Qaṣin. And it is written¹⁹2K. 14:25., following the word of the Eternal, the God of Israel, which He spoke through His servant, Jonah ben Amittai the prophet from Gat Ḥepher. On the next Sabbath Rebbi Levi said to Jehudah bar Naḥman: you take the two tetradrachmas and go²⁰In Gen. rabba R. Levi gives the money to Jehudah bar Naḥman so that the latter lets him go and give the sermon, to harmonize his statement with R. Joḥanan’s. assemble the congregation before Rebbi Joḥanan. He went and said before them, Rebbi Joḥanan did teach us well, his mother from Asher and his father from Zevulun. And his hip from Sidon²¹Gen. 49:13, from Jabob’s blessing of Zevulun. The one prophet from the tribe of Zevulun came from a mother from Sidonian territory, which was Asher territory., the hip from which he came was from Sidon. And it is written²²Jonah 1:3. The following argument is the reason the preceding Midrash was quoted here, in connection with the water-drawing festivities., he descended to Yafo, when it should have been “he descended to Acco²³As a Galilean he could have used the nearest port.”! Rebbi Jonah said, Jonah ben Amittai belonged to the pilgrims²⁴Who came to Jerusalem in Jehudah, avoiding the Northern sanctuaries in Bethel and Dan., came to the water-drawing festivity and the holy spirit rested on him, to teach you that the holy spirit only rests on a happy heart²⁵Babli Šabbat 30b.. What is the reason? It was when the musical instrument played, God’s spirit was on him²⁶2K. 3:15.. Rebbi Benjamin bar Levi said, it is not written here “it was when he played on the musical instrument”, but it was when the musical instrument played, God’s spirit was on him²⁷This refers to a statement of R. Levi in Berakhot 1:1 (Note 97), that Elisha used David’s Aeolian lyre which played by itself in the wind..

Rebbi Simon and Rebbi Abbahu were sitting. He said, is it not written (Jud. 1:18) “Jehudah conquered Gaza and its territory”? Include Gaza⁶¹This refers to the question of tithes due from the territory conquered by the twelve tribes under Joshua even if they could not hold onto their conquests, as argued by R. Ismael ben R. Yose. For this opinion, all that is described in the Torah and the book of Joshua is subject to tithes. The commentators translate ליתי עזה by “this is not Gaza”, meaning that Gaza town is not the Gaza mentioned in the verse. But the Yerushalmi uses לית only as “no; not”, never as “not being”; the latter is always spelled out לא אית; ליתי as verbal form can be derived only from אתי “to come”, not from אית “to be”.. “Ascalon and its territory”, include Ascalon. If it is so, what about the brook of Egypt⁶²Jos. 15:4. Num. 34.9, identified by R. Saadia Gaon as Wadi el-‘Arish.? Include the brook of Egypt.

If they intended to appoint Elders, from where do they appoint? From Tiberias or from the South³²⁴The main Academy was at Tiberias in Galilee. There were minor centers of learning in the South, at Lydda and at Kefar Darom, in the plain which in Second Temple times was part of Judea. The question was which center of learning should be the first to propose candidates for ordination by the Patriarch.? Rebbi Simon said, Jehudah shall go first³²⁵Jud. 1:2. R. Simon came from the South.. Rebbi Mana said to him, this refers to war. But for ordination, those who see the face of the king, sitting first in government³²⁶Esther 1:14. The preeminent rabbis at this time were in Tiberias..

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: When I know that the Temple is going to be built again between the territories of Judah and Benjamin, I will go and prepare the fields of Jericho. And who ate the produce of those fields during all those years? The Kenites, the descendants of Moses’ father-in-law, as says (Judges 1:16), “And the Kenites, the descendants of Moses’ father-in-law, went up from the City of Palms.”
He also said: When the Holy Blessed One removed His Presence, He promised to give a great reward in the future to Jethro and his descendants. [How do we know] that the descendants of Jethro were supported from charity in the meantime? Because of what it says (I Chronicles 2:55), “The families of the tribes that dwelled at Jabez,” and then (I Chronicles 4:23), “They were the potters, who dwelled in the plantations.” (They were great men, owners of houses, fields, and vineyards. And because of the work of the King of all kings, the Holy Blessed One, they dwelled there) in the king’s service. So then where did they go? They went to Jabez to study Torah, and there they became a people of God. (At that time) Jabez was a good and righteous man, a man of truth and piety, and he would sit and teach Torah, as it says (I Chronicles 4:10), “And Jabez called out to the God of Israel, saying [if You bless me…and God granted his request].”