Midrash for Proverbs 5:17

(Exod. 26:7:) THEN YOU SHALL MAKE TENT SHEETS OF GOATS' HAIR <FOR A TENT OVER THE TABERNACLE;>…. This text is related (to Mal. 1:2): I HAVE LOVED YOU, SAYS THE LORD.²⁹Tanh., Exod. 7:9. Who spoke this verse? Malachi spoke it. When? When he rebuked Israel. Malachi said to them (in Mal. 3:8): WOULD ANYONE ROB GOD? <YET YOU ARE ROBBING ME.> They answered him (ibid., cont.): HOW ARE WE ROBBING YOU? Our masters have said of the generation of Malachi: He rebuked them, and they answered him. He said to them (ibid.): WOULD ANYONE ROB (QB') GOD? R. Levi said: That (i.e., QB') is an Arabic word.³⁰RH 26ab; M. Pss. 57:2. When an Arab comes to talk with his companion <and> says to him: Are you stealing (GNB) from us? <he says:> Are you robbing (QB') us? (Ibid.:) WOULD ANYONE ROB (QB') GOD. Then he said (ibid., cont.): BUT YOU SAY: HOW ARE WE ROBBING YOU? IN THE TITHE AND THE PRIESTLY SHARE, because they are not collecting them properly. Again he said to them (in Mal. 1:2): IS NOT ESAU JACOB'S BROTHER? And you say (ibid.): HOW HAVE YOU LOVED US? By universal custom, when someone has two sons, one first-born and one younger, who receives the most? The first-born. Esau came out < of the womb> first, as stated (in Gen. 25:25): THE FIRST (i.e., Esau) CAME FORTH RUDDY. It was proper for him to receive two shares, but I did not act in this way. Instead Jacob received two shares, this world and the world to come. Esau said so to Jacob (in Gen. 33:12): LET US GO ON OUR JOURNEY…. Let both of us walk in the world <together>.³¹Gen. R. 78:14; Deut. R. 1:20; Tanna deve Eliyahu Zuta 19; y‘AZ 2:1 (40c); cf. T‘AZ 3:4; PRE 37. Jacob said to him: Take your world and go away. Thus it is stated (in Gen. 33:14): PLEASE LET MY LORD GO AWAY…, UNTIL I COME TO MY LORD IN SEIR. R. Jacob said: I went through all the Scripture <to see> whether Jacob did or did not go to Seir, and I found no < indication that he did so>. Then when is he going <there>? In the Age to come, as stated (in Obad., vs. 21): FOR SAVIORS SHALL GO UP ON MOUNT ZION <TO JUDGE THE MOUNTAIN OF ESAU,>…. Therefore (in Mal. 1:2): YET I HAVE LOVED JACOB. Jacob is a partner with Esau in this world; {I <am a> } [but Esau is no] partner with Jacob in the world to come. Solomon said (in Prov. 5:17): LET IT BE FOR YOU ALONE AND NOT FOR STRANGERS ALONG WITH YOU.

R. Jacob BeRabbi said: I have searched the entire Scripture and have found no statement that Jacob went to Seir. When did he go there? After he departed for the hereafter, as it is said: And a savior shall come up on Mount Zion (Obad. 21); Therefore, And he loved Jacob suggests that though he associates with Esau and partakes of the pleasures of this world, in the world-to-come, He spreadeth abroad his wings, beareth them upon his pinions … the Lord alone did lead him (Deut. 32:11–12). And so, Solomon said: Let them be thine own, and not strangers’ with thee (Prov. 5:17).

10) (Vayikra 18:4) "to walk in them": Make them primary and not secondary. "to walk in them": Your converse should be only in them, not intermixed with any mundane matters. Do not say: I have learned the wisdom of Israel; now I will learn the wisdom of the world. "to walk in them": You are not permitted to depart from them. And thus (Mishlei 5:17) "They shall be ours alone … (Vayikra 6:22) In your going forth, it shall guide you" — in this world; "in your reclining, it shall guard you" — at the time of death; "and when you awake, it shall converse with you" — in the world to come. And (Isaiah 26:19) "Awake and sing, you dwellers in the dust!" And lest you say: "Gone is my hope and my prospect!" It is, therefore, written "I am the L–rd." I am your hope and your prospect and upon Me is your trust. And (Isaiah 46:4) "And until (your) old age, I am He, etc." And (Isaiah 44:6) "Thus said the L–rd, the King of Israel and its Redeemer, the L–rd of hosts, etc." (Isaiah 48:12) "I am He. I am first and I am last." And (Isaiah 41:4) "I, the L–rd, am first, and with the last shall I be,"

Many women have done well (Proverbs 31:29): Adam, the first man, was commanded about six commandments. Noach [was additionally commanded] about [not eating] a limb from a live animal. Avraham about circumcision. Yitschak was educated with [these] eight [commandments]. Yaakov [was additionally commanded] about [not eating] the sciatic nerve. Yehudah about levirate marriage. [The people of] Israel about two hundred and forty-eight positive commandments corresponding to the two hundred and forty-eight limbs in a man - each and every limb says to man, "I plead of you to do this commandment with me" - and three hundred and sixty-five negative commandments corresponding to the three hundred and sixty-five days of the solar [year] - and each and every day says to man, "I plead of you not to do this sin on me." "Grace is false, beauty is illusory" (Proverbs 31:30) - the grace of Noach was false, as it states (Genesis 6:8), "But Noach found grace in the eyes of the Lord." Rabbi Levi said, "Only in his generation [did he find grace]." "Beauty is illusory" - illusory was the beauty of Adam, the first man. Rabbi Shimon ben Manassia said, "The ball of Adam, the first man's heel would dim the sun. And do not wonder - it is customary in the world that when a man makes two salver vessels, one for himself and one for his household, which does he make [nicer], is it not his? So [too], Adam, the first man, was created to serve in front of the Holy One, blessed be He; and the sun was created to make light for the creatures. And if the ball of his heel was such, the contour of his face, all the more so." "A woman that has fear of the Lord, she is to be praised" - this is Moshe. "Give of the fruit of her hand" (Proverbs 31:30) - Rabbi Yose bar Yirmiyah said, "Why did he compare the prophets to women? Rather, just like [a] woman is not embarrassed to claim the needs of the home from her husband, so [too] were the prophets not embarrassed to claim the needs of Israel from in front of the Holy One, blessed be He." The Holy One blessed be He said, "My sons, be involved in Torah [study] day and night, and I will count it for you as if you hold up the heavens and the earth," as it states (Joshua 1:8), "Let not this book of the Torah cease from your mouth, but meditate upon it day and night"; and it states (Joshua 1:9), “Did I not command you, 'Be strong and resolute; do not be terrified or dismayed'"; and it states (Ezra 3:11), "with praise and thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His kindness upon Israel is forever, and the people raised a great shout with praise to the Lord, for the foundation of the House of the Lord had been laid"; (Proverbs 23:23) "Acquire truth"; (Proverbs 5:17) "They will be yours alone"; (Proverbs 9:9) "Give to a wise man, and he will grow wiser"; (Proverbs 9:11) "For through me your days will increase, and years of life be added." Another interpretation: "A woman of valor who can find?" - this is [the meaning] of what the verse states (Psalms 92:15), "In old age they still produce fruit, etc." - corresponding to Avraham and Sarah who were of the same measure concerning charity and acts of kindness; they were a good sign for the world. In this way, He does not prevent proper women from the righteous ones, [but] matches them. As so [too] do we find with the wife of Noach that her actions and his actions were of the same measure - that is why she merited with him and was rescued from the waters of the flood. "Her husband puts his confidence in her" - this is Sarah, our mother, as Avaraham grew rich on her account, as it states (Genesis 12:16), "And he benefited Avraham for her sake." "She bestows good to him, and not bad" - this is Rivkah, our mother, who bestowed [good] to Yitzchak at the time that Sarah, his mother died. "She seeks wool and flax" - this is Leah, our mother, who received Yaakov with a pleasant countenance, as it is written (Genesis 30:16), "And Yaakov came from the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him and said, 'You are to sleep with me, for I have hired you, etc.'" Therefore she merited and kings and prophets came from her. "She is like a merchant fleet" - this is Rachel, our mother, who was embarrassed about [her lack of] children every day. Therefore she merited and a son came from her who was similar to a ship that is filled will all the good [found] in the world - so [was it with] Yosef, that the whole world survived from his merit and he supported the world in the years of famine. "She rises while it is still night" - this is Batya, the daughter of Pharaoh. She was a gentile and became a Jewess and they mentioned her name among the proper [women], since she took care of Moshe. Therefore she merited and entered the Garden of Eden in her lifetime. "She sets her mind on a field and acquires it; [she plants a vineyard from the produce of her hand]" - this is Yocheved, that from her came Moshe who is equivalent to all of Israel, which is called a vineyard, as it states (Isaiah 5:7), "For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the House of Israel." "She girds her loins with strength" - this is Miriam, as before Moshe was born, she said, "In the future, my mother will give birth to the savior of Israel." Once he was born and the yoke upon them became heavier, her father got up and bopped her on the head. He said to her, "Where is your prophecy?" And he got up and spit in front of her face. And nonetheless, she exerted herself about her prophecy, as it is written (Exodus 2:4), "And his sister stood from a distance." "She advises (taamah) that her merchandise is good; [her lamp never goes out at night]" - this is Channah who tasted (taamah) the taste of prayer, as it states (I Samuel 2:1), "And Hannah prayed, 'My heart exults in the Lord, etc.'" Therefore she merited and a son came from her that was the match of Moshe and Aharon, which would bring light to Israel like lamps, as it is written (Psalms 99:6), "Moshe and Aharon among his priests, and Shmuel among the ones that call His name." And it is written about Shmuel (I Samuel 3:3), "The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Shmuel was sleeping in the temple of the Lord." "She sets her hand to the distaff" - this is Yael, who did not kill Sisera with a weapon, but rather with a peg through the force of her hands. And because of what did she not kill him with a weapon? In order to fulfill that which it states (Deuteronomy 22:5), "There shall not be the vessel of a man on a woman." "Her palm she spreads out to the poor" - this is the widowed woman of Tsarfat, who supported Eliyahu with bread and water. "She is not worried for her home because of snow, for her whole home is dressed in crimson" - this is Rachav the prostitute. When Israel came to destroy Yericho, she did not fear from them, because they give her a sign - (Joshua 2:18) "this line of scarlet string." "She makes covers for herself; [her clothing is linen and purple]" - this is Batsheva, that from her came Shlomo, who was adorned with linen and purple and ruled from [one] end of the world to the [other] end. "Her husband is known in the gates," - this is Michal, who saved David from death. "She makes cloth and sells it" - this is the mother of Shimshon, that through him Israel was saved. "Strength and splendor are her clothing; [and she laughs to the last day]" - this is Elisheva, the daughter of Aminadav, who saw four joyful events in one day: her brother [became] a prince; her husband, high priest; the brother of her husband, king; and her two children, young priests. "She opens her mouth with wisdom" - this is the wise woman who said (II Samuel 20:16), “Listen, listen! Please tell Yoav, 'Come over here and I will speak to you,'” who saved the city with her wisdom; and this was Sarach the daughter of Asher. "She oversees the activities of her household" - this is the wife of Ovadiah, who rescued her sons and they did not worship idolatry with Achav. "Her children rise and declare her happy" - this is the Shunamite, who is called a great woman (II Kings 4:8). And because of what? Because she pressed upon Elisha to eat. “Many women have done well, but you surpass them all” - this is Ruth the Moabitess, who came under the wings of the Divine presence. "Grace is false, beauty is illusory" - as she left her mother and her forefathers and her wealth, and came with her mother-in-law and accepted all of the commandments: the domain of Shabbat - "to where you will walk, I will walk" (Ruth 1:16); the prohibition of isolation with a man - "and in that which you will lay, I will lay"; the six hundred and thirteen commandments - "your people is my people"; idolatry - "your God is my God"; the four death penalties of the court - "and in that which you will die, I will die"; "and there will I be buried" - these are the two graveyards arranged for the court, one for the stoned and the burned, and one for the killed and the strangled. Therefore, she merited and David came from her, who gave pleasure with songs and praises to the Holy One, blessed be He. Therefore it is stated, "Give of the fruit of her hand and let her works praise her in the gates." Be strong in ethical behavior, keep the Torah, and be rescued from the evil inclination.

(Devarim, Ibid.) "And you shall speak in them": Make them (words of Torah) primary and not secondary, that your dealings be only in them, that you not intermix other words with them, that you not say: I have learned the wisdom of Israel; I shall now go and learn the wisdom of the Canaanites. It is, therefore, written (Vayikra 18:4) "to walk therein," and not to depart therefrom. And thus is it written (Proverbs 5:17) "Let them be to you alone and not to strangers with you."

Another comment on write thee (Exod. 34:27). Scripture states elsewhere: Let them be thine only, and not a stranger’s with thee (Prov. 5:17). What does this verse refer to? When they made the golden calf, Moses prayed until the Holy One, blessed be He, became reconciled with them. Moses cried out: My Master, restore the law to them just as David proclaimed: Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation (Ps. 51:14). However, the Holy One, blessed be He, responded: How can I return it to them, when only yesterday they said at Sinai: All that the Lord hath spoken we will do (Exod. 24:17), and now, in the very place in which they committed themselves (to observe the law), they debased themselves, as it is said: They made a calf in Horeb (Ps. 106:19)? Despite all the miracles and wonders that I performed in their behalf in Egypt and at the Red Sea, and even though they beheld My Glory at Sinai, where myriads of angels descended and crowned them, as it is said: A beautiful crown upon thy head (Exod. 16:12), they erected a calf at Horeb. Indeed, within the blinking of an eye they forgot Me.

What is more, I preceded them into the desert as a quartermaster would: And the Lord went before them by day (ibid. 13:21). I lowered the high places for them and raised the valleys, I caused bread to rain down from the heavens and the sea to send up quail, as it is said: And brought across quails from the sea (Num. 11:31). Though they lacked nothing at all, they built the golden calf. I cannot restore the tablets to those idolaters. When he continued to plead, He said: Write thou, that is, I shall give the law to you, as it is said: Let them be thine own, and not a stranger’s with thee (Prov. 5:17); that is, not to the idolaters with you. Because He held Moses in the highest esteem, it is said: Remember ye the law of Moses My servant (Mal. 3:22).