Eclesiastés 8:5 Midrash: Midrash Tanchuma, Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition) & Bamidbar Rabbah

(Lev. 9:1) “And it came to pass on the eighth day….” This text is related to [the verse] (in Eccl. 8:5), “Whoever observes a commandment shall not know anything evil.” Who is this?¹Cf. Tanh. (Buber), Gen. 2:4. Aaron, of whom it is said (in Lev. 8:33, 35), “And you (i.e., you and your sons) shall not go out from the door of the tent of meeting for seven days […]. And you shall remain at the door of the tent of meeting day and night for seven days.” Moses said to them, “Observe mourning for seven days, before it comes to you.” (Lev. 8:35, cont.) “And you shall observe the charge of the Lord.” Moses said to them, “Observe the charge of the Lord, for so did the Holy One, blessed be He, observe seven days of mourning before He brought the flood.” Where is it shown that He mourned [before the flood]? Where it is stated (in Gen. 6:6), “Then the Lord regretted that He had made humanity on the earth, and He was grieving in his heart.” [The expression] “He was grieving” can only mean, He mourned. For so it says concerning David (in II Sam. 19:3), “And the victory [on that day] was turned into mourning for all the people because [on that day they heard it being said,] ‘The king was grieving over his son.’”²Tanh. (Buber), Gen. 2:4; Gen. R. 27:4. So also Ezra said to Israel when they were weeping, each one for his brother and each one for his child (in Neh. 8:10), “Go, eat choice foods and drink sweet drinks…. Do not be grieving, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” It is therefore stated (in Gen. 6:6), “and He was grieving in his heart.” At that time the Holy One, blessed be He, observed the seven days of mourning, before He brought the flood. Thus it is stated (in Gen. 7:10), “And it came to pass after seven days [that the waters of the flood came upon the earth].” And so Moses was saying to Aaron the priest and to his sons, “Just as the Holy One, blessed be He, mourned over His world before He brought the flood, so [you are to] observe the [required] mourning before it touches (i.e., harms) you.” So they observed [the mourning], but they did not know for what reason they were observing it. Why? (Eccl. 8:5:) “Whoever observes a commandment shall not know anything evil.” (Eccl. 8:5, cont.:) “And a wise heart shall know [there is] a time of judgment.” This is Moses, to whom the Holy One, blessed be He, had already said (in Exod. 29:43), “And there I will meet with the Children of Israel, and there shall be sanctification³This translation leaves in doubt who or what is sanctified. A more traditional translation would read, “It (i.e., the door of the Tabernacle) shall be sanctified.” through My glory.” [In other words,] I (the Holy One, blessed be He,) will be sanctified there through My glory. Now Moses ministered during the seven days of priestly ordination, but he was afraid, saying, “Perhaps divine judgment will strike him (i.e., Aaron).” Thus it is stated (ibid.), “and there shall be sanctification through My glory.” Still he did not act, but said to Aaron, “Observe seven days of mourning.” [Aaron] said to him, “Why?” [Moses] said to him, “For so the Holy One, blessed be He, has told me – (in Lev. 8:35) “for so I have been commanded.” When they had observed the seven days of mourning and [when] the eighth day had come, Nadab and Abihu went in to make an offering (rt.: qrb). Divine judgment struck them, and they were destroyed by fire. It is so stated (in Lev. 10:2), “So fire came forth from before the Lord and consumed them, so that they died before the Lord.” Moses came and said to Aaron (in Lev. 10:3), “This is what the Lord spoke, ‘Through those who are near (rt.: qrb) to Me, I will be sanctified.” Where did he speak? In the Sinai Desert. (Exod. 29:43), “And there I will meet with the Children of Israel, and there shall be sanctification through My glory.” And so did Moses say to Aaron, “The time that He said to me, ‘Through those who are near to Me, I will be sanctified,’ I thought that He would strike me or you. But now I know that they are greater than I and than you.” (Lev 9:3:) “And Aaron was silent” – the thing was consolation for him. Ergo (Eccl. 8:5), “Whoever observes a commandment shall not know anything evil.”

(Lev. 9:1:) AND IT CAME TO PASS ON THE EIGHTH DAY…. This text is related (to Eccl. 8:5): WHOEVER OBSERVES A COMMANDMENT SHALL NOT KNOW ANYTHING EVIL. Who is this?¹Tanh., Lev. 3:1; cf. above, Tanh. (Buber), Gen. 2:4. Aaron, of whom it is said (in Lev. 8:33, 35): AND YOU (i.e., you and your sons) SHALL NOT GO OUT FROM THE DOOR OF THE TENT OF MEETING FOR SEVEN DAYS < …. > AND YOU SHALL REMAIN AT THE DOOR OF THE TENT OF MEETING DAY AND NIGHT FOR SEVEN DAYS. Moses said to them: Observe mourning for seven days. (Ibid., cont.:) AND YOU SHALL OBSERVE THE CHARGE OF THE LORD. Moses said to them: Observe THE CHARGE OF THE LORD, for so did the Holy One observe seven days of mourning before he brought the flood. Where is it shown that he mourned? Where it is stated (in Gen. 6:6): THEN THE LORD REGRETTED THAT HE HAD MADE HUMANITY ON THE EARTH, [AND HE WAS GRIEVING IN HIS HEART]. HE WAS GRIEVING can only mean "he mourned," for so it says concerning David (in II Sam. 19:3): AND THE VICTORY [ON THAT DAY] WAS TURNED INTO MOURNING FOR ALL THE PEOPLE BECAUSE [ON THAT DAY THEY HEARD IT BEING SAID:] THE KING WAS GRIEVING OVER HIS SON.²Above, Tanh. (Buber), Gen. 2:4; Gen. R. 27:4. So also Ezra said to Israel, when they were weeping, each one for his brother and each one for his child (in Neh. 8:10): GO, EAT CHOICE FOODS AND DRINK SWEET DRINKS…. DO NOT BE GRIEVING, FOR THE JOY OF THE LORD IS YOUR STRENGTH. It is therefore stated (in Gen. 6:6): AND HE WAS GRIEVING IN HIS HEART. At that time the Holy One observed the seven days of mourning, before he brought the flood. Thus it is stated (in Gen. 7:10): AND IT CAME TO PASS AFTER SEVEN DAYS [THAT THE WATERS OF THE FLOOD CAME UPON THE EARTH]. And so Moses was saying to Aaron the Priest and to his sons: Just as the Holy One mourned over his world before he brought the flood, so < you are to > observe the < required > mourning before he touches (i.e., harms) you. So they observed < the mourning >, but they did not know for what reason they were observing it. Why? (Eccl. 8:5:) WHOEVER OBSERVES A COMMANDMENT SHALL NOT KNOW ANYTHING EVIL; AND A WISE HEART SHALL KNOW < THERE IS > A TIME OF JUDGMENT.

(Deut. 26:16:) “This day the Lord your God is commanding you to perform.” This text is related (to Ps. 95:6), “Come, let us bow down and bend, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker!” But is not bending included in bowing down; and bowing down in bowing? So what does the instruction mean by “let us bow down and bend and kneel down?” Moses simply foresaw that the Temple was going to be destroyed and that the firstfruits were going to cease. He arose and arranged for Israel to pray three times on every day, because prayer is more pleasing to the Holy One, blessed be He, than all of the good works and all of the sacrifices. It is so written (Ps. 141:2), “Take my prayer as an offering of incense, my upraised hands as an evening sacrifice.” And when it was decreed for Moses not to enter the land in spite of all of his good works, he began to pray, and he said (in Deut. 3:25), “Please let me cross over and see [the good land].” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him (in vss. 26-27), “Enough from you; do not ever speak unto Me on this matter again. Go up to the top of Pisgah.” It is therefore stated (in 26:16), “[This day] the Lord your God is commanding you to perform….”¹I.e., to obey the command to go up to the top of Pisgah. Although the midrash understands the performance in reference to this one command, the simple understanding of the biblical text is that it is speaking about performing statutes and ordinances. What is written above the matter (in vs. 15)? “Look down from Your holy dwelling, [from the heavens and bless Your people].” R. Abbahu said in the name of R. Jose bar Hanina, “How spoiled and how great a pretext are given to those who perform the commandments [for doing so]: If someone has business with the empire, there are times when he gives some money, until they have him reach the king. When he does reach the king, he has doubts whether he will fulfill his request or not. The Holy One, blessed be He, however, is not like that. Rather when one goes down into his field [and] sees a [grape] cluster that has ripened early, a fig that has ripened early, a pomegranate that has ripened early, he puts it in a basket, goes to Jerusalem and enters and stands in the [Temple] courtyard; he [then] asks mercy for himself, for Israel, and for the land of Israel. Thus it is stated (in Deut. 26:15), ‘Look down from your holy dwelling, [from the heavens and bless your people].’ And not only that, but he would say, “I am not moving from here until You perform my requirements this day,’ as it is written next to it (in vs. 16), ‘This day the Lord your God is commanding you to perform.’” Resh Laqish said, “A heavenly voice (bat qol) comes forth and says, ‘You shall do it again on this day in the coming year.’ [He is] like one who gives fresh fruit to his friend, and [the friend] says to him, ‘Would that you would do this again, and give me some next year.’” R. Hiya bar Abba said, “How spoiled are those who perform the commandments in front of the Holy One, blessed be He. As the Holy One blessed be He, enacts a decree and the righteous ones annul it. As it is stated (Eccl. 8:4), ‘Inasmuch as a king’s command is authoritative, and who can say to him, “What are you doing.”’ Who is it [that can say it]? (Eccl. 8:5:) ‘One who obeys commandments will not know a bad thing,’ he can object to the Holy One, blessed be He.” And so with David, he said (II Sam. 23:3), “The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spoke about me, ‘He that rules over men must be righteous, ruling in the fear of God.”¹See Moed Katan 16b, where this verse is explained as saying that the righteous one rules over God. [(Deut. 26:16:) “This day the Lord your God is commanding you to perform…].” What is the meaning of this day? Had the Holy One, blessed be He, not given a command to Israel until now? And was not this the fortieth year (since they left Egypt), as stated (in Deut. 1:3), “And it came to pass in the fortieth year….” Then what is the meaning of the words, “this day?” Simply that Moses spoke to Israel as follows, “On each and every day, let the Torah be dear to you, as if you had received it this day from Mount Sinai.” Moreover, it is written in another place (i.e., in Deut. 4:9), “make them known to your children….” Then it is written (in vs. 10), “The day that you stood before the Lord [your God at Horeb].” (Deut. 26:16, cont.:) “These statutes,” these are the midrashic commentaries; “and these ordinances,” these are the court decisions. Another interpretation (of Deut. 26:16), “these statutes and these ordinances: [They are meant] to include light and heavy [commandments], inferences from analogy, and fine points of scribal exegesis. (Deut. 26:16, cont.:) “So you are to be diligent in doing them.” R. Johanan said, “When anyone performs a single commandment truthfully, Scripture ascribes it to him as if it had been given [to him] from Mount Sinai, as stated (Deut. 26:16), ‘So you are to be diligent in doing.’” Then what is the meaning of (in Lev. 25:18), “and you shall do (which can also be read as, make) them?” Rather, anyone that observes the Torah and does it truthfully, it as if he arranged it and gave it from Mount Sinai. And R. Johanan also said, “Anyone who does [what is written in] the Torah truthfully, Scripture ascribes it to him as if he had made himself; as stated (in Deut. 4:14), ‘At that time the Lord commanded me to impart [to you laws and rules to make you do].’ It does not say, ‘to do them,’ but “to make you, do them.’ From here [we learn] that Scripture ascribes it to him as if he made and created himself.” (Deut. 26:16, cont.:) “With all your heart.” Behold Scripture warns Israel and says to them, “When you pray to the Holy One, blessed be He, you shall not have two hearts, one in the presence of the Holy One, blessed be He, and one for something else.”²See Ben Sira 1:28 (25).