יֵ֣שׁ אֶחָד֩ וְאֵ֨ין שֵׁנִ֜י גַּ֣ם בֵּ֧ן וָאָ֣ח אֵֽין־ל֗וֹ וְאֵ֥ין קֵץ֙ לְכָל־עֲמָל֔וֹ גַּם־עיניו [עֵינ֖וֹ] לֹא־תִשְׂבַּ֣ע עֹ֑שֶׁר וּלְמִ֣י ׀ אֲנִ֣י עָמֵ֗ל וּמְחַסֵּ֤ר אֶת־נַפְשִׁי֙ מִטּוֹבָ֔ה גַּם־זֶ֥ה הֶ֛בֶל וְעִנְיַ֥ן רָ֖ע הֽוּא׃
Está un hombre solo y sin sucesor; que ni tiene hijo ni hermano; mas nunca cesa de trabajar, ni sus ojos se hartan de sus riquezas, ni se pregunta: ¿Para quién trabajo yo, y defraudo mi alma del bien? También esto es vanidad, y duro trabajo.
Devarim Rabbah
Another matter: “Hear Israel” (Deuteronomy 6:4) – this is what the verse said: “Fear the Lord, my son, and the king…” (Proverbs 24:21). What is “and the king”? Abraham, who feared Me, did I not crown him king over the world, as it is stated: “To the valley of Shaveh, which is the valley of the king” (Genesis 14:17). Joseph, who feared Me, as it is written: “I fear God” (Genesis 42:18), did I not crown him king over the world? “Joseph was the ruler over the land” (Genesis 42:6).70Thus, the midrash understands the verse to mean “fear the Lord…and you will be a king.”
Another matter: “Fear the Lord, my son, and the king [vamelekh]” (Proverbs 24:21) – and rule [umlokh] over your inclination. There was an incident involving Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar who went to a certain city in the South, and he entered a synagogue and asked a scribe; he said to him: ‘As you live, is there wine for sale here?’ He said to him: ‘Rabbi, this city is [inhabited by] Samaritans, and they do not prepare wine in ritual purity in the way that my ancestors would prepare it.’ [Rabbi Shimon] said: ‘If you have any extra [wine] of your own, give it to me, and I will purchase it from you.’71Rabbi Shimon did not believe the scribe’s claim that the wine in town was not ritually pure, and he offered to buy any wine that the scribe had (Matnot Kehuna; cf. Etz Yosef). He said: ‘If you are master of your desires do not taste it.’ Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar said: ‘I am the master of my desires.’ That is, “and the king [vamelekh]” – rule [umlokh] over your inclination.
Another matter: “Fear the Lord, my son, and the king [vamelekh]” (Proverbs 24:21) – what is vamelekh? But not Molekh [ve’al lamolekh], as it is stated: “You shall not give of your offspring to pass to Molekh” (Leviticus 18:21). Alternatively, what is vamelekh? Crown Him King [hamlikhehu] over you.
“Do not mix with those who are different [shonim]” (Proverbs 24:21) – do not mix with those who say there is a second [sheni] god. Rabbi Yehuda bar Simon said: “It will be in all the land, the utterance of the Lord, that two portions [pi] of it will be eliminated and expire” (Zechariah 13:8) – the mouths [piyot] that say that they are two authorities will be eliminated and expire. Who is destined to survive? “And the third will remain in it” (Zechariah 13:8) – this is Israel, who are called “threes” because they are tripartite – priests, Levites, and Israelites; and they are from three patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Alternatively, because they laud the Holy One blessed be He with three sanctifications: “Holy, holy, holy” (Isaiah 6:3). Rav Aḥa said: The Holy One blessed be He became angry at Solomon when he said this verse.72The verse in Proverbs (24:21) cited above. He said to him: Is it proper to express a matter of sanctity with an obscure expression: “Do not mix with those who are different”? He73Solomon, who wrote Ecclesiastes after having written Proverbs (see Shir HaShirim Rabba 1:1:10). immediately came and stated the matter explicitly: “There is one and no other, without even a son or a brother” (Ecclesiastes 4:8) – [God] has no brother or son; rather, “hear, Israel: the Lord is our God, the Lord is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4).
Another matter: “Fear the Lord, my son, and the king [vamelekh]” (Proverbs 24:21) – and rule [umlokh] over your inclination. There was an incident involving Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar who went to a certain city in the South, and he entered a synagogue and asked a scribe; he said to him: ‘As you live, is there wine for sale here?’ He said to him: ‘Rabbi, this city is [inhabited by] Samaritans, and they do not prepare wine in ritual purity in the way that my ancestors would prepare it.’ [Rabbi Shimon] said: ‘If you have any extra [wine] of your own, give it to me, and I will purchase it from you.’71Rabbi Shimon did not believe the scribe’s claim that the wine in town was not ritually pure, and he offered to buy any wine that the scribe had (Matnot Kehuna; cf. Etz Yosef). He said: ‘If you are master of your desires do not taste it.’ Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar said: ‘I am the master of my desires.’ That is, “and the king [vamelekh]” – rule [umlokh] over your inclination.
Another matter: “Fear the Lord, my son, and the king [vamelekh]” (Proverbs 24:21) – what is vamelekh? But not Molekh [ve’al lamolekh], as it is stated: “You shall not give of your offspring to pass to Molekh” (Leviticus 18:21). Alternatively, what is vamelekh? Crown Him King [hamlikhehu] over you.
“Do not mix with those who are different [shonim]” (Proverbs 24:21) – do not mix with those who say there is a second [sheni] god. Rabbi Yehuda bar Simon said: “It will be in all the land, the utterance of the Lord, that two portions [pi] of it will be eliminated and expire” (Zechariah 13:8) – the mouths [piyot] that say that they are two authorities will be eliminated and expire. Who is destined to survive? “And the third will remain in it” (Zechariah 13:8) – this is Israel, who are called “threes” because they are tripartite – priests, Levites, and Israelites; and they are from three patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Alternatively, because they laud the Holy One blessed be He with three sanctifications: “Holy, holy, holy” (Isaiah 6:3). Rav Aḥa said: The Holy One blessed be He became angry at Solomon when he said this verse.72The verse in Proverbs (24:21) cited above. He said to him: Is it proper to express a matter of sanctity with an obscure expression: “Do not mix with those who are different”? He73Solomon, who wrote Ecclesiastes after having written Proverbs (see Shir HaShirim Rabba 1:1:10). immediately came and stated the matter explicitly: “There is one and no other, without even a son or a brother” (Ecclesiastes 4:8) – [God] has no brother or son; rather, “hear, Israel: the Lord is our God, the Lord is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4).
Aggadat Bereshit
[3] Another interpretation: "And God tested [Abraham]." (Genesis 22:1) "I am always mindful of your commandments and do not delay in keeping your commandments" (Psalms 119:60). This refers to Avraham, who quickly obeyed God's command to sacrifice his son Yitzhak. Unlike Lot, his nephew, who lingered and hesitated. (Genesis 19:16) As soon as God said to Abraham, "Take your son" (Genesis 22:2), Abraham got up early in the morning and immediately set out on his journey. He doesn't see He saw nothing the first day and continued on his way. He woke up early the second day and saw nothing. It was not until the third day that he saw the divine presence standing on the mountain, as it is said, "On the third day Avraham looked up and saw the place afar off." (Genesis 22:4) Here it says "from afar" and elsewhere it says, "From afar Hashem appeared to me" (Jeremiah 31:2). Why did God wait until the third day to reveal the place to Abraham? So that the nations of the world would not say that Avraham sacrificed his son brazenly, but that he had thought about it and done it out of love for God. When God revealed himself to Avraham, his fear overwhelmed him and he lost his mind. But he went ahead and sacrificed his son. If he had waited even an hour, he wouldn't have done it. That is why God said he would suffer for three days so that everyone would know that he had acted out of love and not fear. As it says, "On the third day." (Genesis 22:4) When Avraham was about to slaughter his son, God's grace overcame him, and he cried out: "Do not raise your hand against the son." (Genesis 22:12) Rabbi Avin said in the name of Rabbi Helkiya: "It is foolishness for liars to say that God has a son. If the son of Avraham, when he saw that he had to be sacrificed, and could not bear to see it, immediately cried out." Lay not your hand upon the son, etc. (Genesis 22:12), for if God had had a son, He would have allowed him [His son] to be sacrificed. He would not have turned the world into chaos and emptiness. That is why Solomon says "[God] is one, and there is no other, neither has he son or brother." (Ecclesiastes 4:8) And for the love of Israel they are called sons, as it is said, 'My firstborn son, Israel.' (Exodus 4:22)
Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer
Esau said to Jacob: Divide all that my father has left into two portions, and I will choose (first), because I am the elder. || Jacob said: This wicked man has not satisfied his eye with wealth, as it is said, "Neither are his eyes satisfied with riches" (Eccles. 4:8). What did Jacob do? He divided all that his father had left as the one part, and the other part was to be the land of Israel and the Cave of Machpelah. What did Esau do? He went to Ishmael in the wilderness in order to consult him, as it is said, "And Esau went unto Ishmael" (Gen. 28:9). Ishmael said to Esau: The Amorite and the Canaanite are in the land, and Jacob trusts (in God) that he will inherit the land, therefore take all that thy father has left, and Jacob will have nothing.