Midrash sobre Isaías 63:11

Another interpretation (of Eccl. 9:14): THERE WAS A LITTLE CITY, i.e., the desert; WITH FEW PEOPLE IN IT, i.e., the generation of the desert; AND A GREAT KING CAME AGAINST IT, i.e., the Holy One; AND BUILT GREAT SIEGE WORKS AGAINST IT. When? When Israel made the calf. What is written (in Deut. 9:14)? LET ME ALONE, AND I WILL DESTROY THEM. (Eccl. 9:15:) NOW THERE WAS FOUND IN IT A PERSON WHO WAS POOR AND WISE, i.e., Moses the Righteous, as stated (in Prov. 21:22): A WISE ONE WENT UP TO A CITY OF WARRIORS. (Eccl. 9:15, cont.:) WHO DELIVERED⁵The verb is translated in the past tense here and in various English versions. For the translation (used earlier in this section) into the English potential mood, see the new JPSA translation. THE CITY BY HIS WISDOM. Thus it is stated (in Exod. 32:11): < BUT MOSES IMPLORED THE LORD HIS GOD AND SAID >: WHY DOES YOUR WRATH BURN AGAINST YOUR PEOPLE? (Eccl. 9:15, cont.:) BUT NO ONE THOUGHT ABOUT (ZKR) THAT POOR PERSON. The Holy One said: If no one has remembered (ZKR) him, I am remembering (rt.: ZKR) him, as stated (in Is. 63:11): THEN HE REMEMBERED (rt.: ZKR) THE DAYS OF OLD: < THOSE OF > MOSES, {HIS SERVANT} [< THOSE OF > HIS PEOPLE].

“Return us to You, Lord, and we will return; renew our days as of old” (Lamentations 5:21).
“Return us to You, Lord, and we will return.” The congregation of Israel said before the Holy One blessed be He: ‘Master of the universe, it is incumbent upon You to return us.’ He said to them: ‘It is incumbent upon you, as it is stated: “Return to Me and I will return to you, said the Lord” (Malachi 3:7).’ It said before Him: ‘Master of the universe, it is incumbent upon you, as it is stated: “Return us, God of our salvation” (Psalms 85:5).’ That is why it is stated: “Return us to You, Lord, and we will return.”
“Renew our days as of old [kekedem].” Like Adam the first man, just as it says: “He banished the man; He stationed…east [mikedem] of the Garden of Eden” (Genesis 3:24).²⁸Adam repented after being banished from Eden, and his repentance was accepted (Rabbi David Luria). Alternatively, “renew our days as of old.” Just as it says: “The offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasant to the Lord, as in the days of old and as in former years” (Malachi 3:4). “As in the days of old,” this is Moses, as it is written: “He remembered the days of old, Moses, His people” (Isaiah 63:11). “And as in former years,” like the years of Solomon. Rabbi [Yehuda HaNasi] says: “As in the days [kimei] of old,” as in the days of Noah, as it is stated: “For, like the waters of [ki mei] Noah, this is for Me” (Isaiah 54:9). “And as in former years,” like the years of Abel, when there was not yet idolatry in the world.

Similarly, because Moses yearned for the Torah, it is called by his name. Whence do we know that he yearned for the Torah? It is said: And Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights (Exod. 24:18). Where do we find that it is called by his name? It is written: Remember ye the law of Moses My servant (Mal. 3:22). Because he offered to sacrifice his life for Israel, Yet now if thou wilt forgive their sin (Exod. 32:33), they were called by his name: And his people remembered the days of old, the days of Moses (Isa. 63:11). And it is also written: Go, get thee down; for thy people have dealt corruptly (Exod. 32:7). Since He risked his life for the sake of justice, as it is written: Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow? (Exod. 2:13), he fled because of justice and returned because of justice. He executed righteousness, Lord, and his ordinances with Israel (Deut. 33:21). Does not justice, however, belong to God? Indeed! But since he devoted his life to justice, it is called by his name.