Jeremías 4:22 Midrash: Bamidbar Rabbah, Eikhah Rabbah, Shemot Rabbah & Vayikra Rabbah

Another matter: “Ish ish” – that is what is written: “I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your residence…” (Genesis 17:8).
“I will give to you” (Genesis 17:8) – that is what is written: “As the Lord your God walks [in the midst of your camp]” (Deuteronomy 23:15). That is what is written: “Now, children, listen to me.… Distance your way from her.… lest you give [your glory] to others.… lest strangers be sated with your strength” (Proverbs 5:7–10). What is, “Now, children, listen to me”? It is speaking of the ten tribes and the tribe of Judah and Benjamin, as all Israel are called children, as it is stated: “You are children to the Lord your God…” (Deuteronomy 14:1). “Listen to me” – he cautioned them to fulfill the obligation to heed. “Do not depart from the sayings of my mouth.” (Proverbs 5:7) – he cautioned them to fulfill the performance [of mitzvot] as they accepted upon themselves at Sinai. “Everything the Lord has spoken we will perform and we will heed” (Exodus 24:7) – it was for the transgression of both of them that they were exiled, as it is stated: “The king of Assyria exiled Israel.… because they did not heed the voice of the Lord…and they did not heed and did not perform” (II Kings 18:11–12).
“Distance your way from her” (Proverbs 5:8) – he cautioned them to distance harlotry from them. “And do not approach the entrance of her house” (Proverbs 5:8) – he cautioned them regarding forbidden relations, in whose regard it is stated: “Any man of you shall not approach his kin to uncover nakedness” (Leviticus 18:6). “Lest you give your glory [hodekha] to others” (Proverbs 5:9) – they will lose their kingdom, and it will be exalted for the nations. Hodekha is nothing other than kingdom, just as it says: “Upon whom the glory [hod] of kingdom was not placed” (Daniel 11:21). “And your years to the cruel” (Proverbs 5:9) – they gave their years to a cruel angel, as their days and years drew near to being eliminated, just as it says: “You brought your days near and came to the end of your years…” (Ezekiel 22:4). “Lest strangers be sated with your strength” (Proverbs 5:10) – they were exiled from their land, and foreigners settled in their place and consumed their strength and exertion. “Your strength” is nothing other than the strength of their land, as it is stated: “When you work the ground [it will no longer give its strength to you]” (Genesis 4:12). Likewise you find that when the king of Assyria exiled the ten tribes, he settled foreigners in their land, as it is stated: “The king of Assyria brought from Babylon, from Kuta, from Ava, and from Ḥamat, [and Sefarvayim, and he settled them in the cities of Samaria in place of the children of Israel” (II Kings 17:24). That is, “lest strangers be sated with your strength.” “And your toils [vaatzavekha] be in the house of a stranger” (Proverbs 5:10) – toils [atziva] are nothing other than children, just as it says: “In pain [be’etzev] you shall bear children” (Genesis 3:16).
Another matter: “Vaatzavekha” (Genesis 3:16) – this is toil of the land, saying that they will eat with toil everything that they eat in the foreign land, just as it says: “With toil [be’itzavon] you shall eat of it…” (Genesis 3:17). And likewise it says: “The king of Assyria exiled Israel to Assyria…” (II Kings 18:11).
All this befell the ten tribes because they were steeped in harlotry with married woman. It was over that that their sentence was sealed, as it is stated in their regard: “Who lie on beds of ivory, and sprawl [usruḥim] on their couches…” (Amos 6:4); they would sully their beds with semen that was not theirs, as they would swap their wives with one another. What is written thereafter? “Therefore, now they will be exiled at the head of the exiles, and the revelry of the sprawled [seruḥim] will be discontinued” (Amos 6:7). At that time the rejoicing of the seruḥim will be removed. Likewise, Micah prophesied in their regard: “The women of My people you banish [tegareshun] from the house of her delight; from their young children, you take My grandeur forever” (Micah 2:9). The verse relates that they would violate men’s wives and render them forbidden to their husbands, and they would divorce [megareshin] them. That is, “the women of My people you banish [tegareshun] from the house of her delight”; this is the house of her husband, in which she would delight. What is, “from their young children, you take My grandeur forever”? The only grandeur I had in this world was from the young children, as it is stated: “From the mouths of young children and suckling babes You founded strength” (Psalms 8:3). And I am glorified through them, just as it says: “In the multitude of people is the glory of a king” (Proverbs 14:28). But you have rendered them mamzerim; you have voided that glory of mine, as I do not want mamzerim, as it is written: “A mamzer¹¹A mamzer is a child born of a forbidden union punishable by karet, e.g., between a married woman and a man other than her husband. shall not enter the congregation of the Lord…” (Deuteronomy 23:3).
What is written thereafter? “Arise and go, as this is not the resting place; because it was defiled it will destroy you, and it will be an intense destruction [veḥevel nimratz]” (Micah 2:10). The Holy One blessed be He said to them: For the rest of the transgressions I would have shown you forbearance. Because you have spread to adultery, “arise and go….” What is “veḥevel nimratz”? I said: “For the portion of the Lord is His people, Jacob the allotment [ḥevel] of His inheritance” (Deuteronomy 32:9). I took Jacob as My inheritance. He was My portion, because his descendants were all similar to a rope [ḥevel], which is intertwined one with another, as the descent of all of them was traceable to their ancestors, There was no offspring that was not theirs that interrupted between them, as they guarded themselves from adultery and there was no mamzerut there. How so? It is written: “Elazar begot Pinḥas, Pinḥas begot Avishua” (I Chronicles 5:30), and the same is true for all of them. The lineage continued in that manner. But you entered with the wife of another and defiled the inheritance. How can he enumerate: So-and-so, my son, and he is not his son, as he is a mamzer; you severed the rope. That is ḥevel nimratz. What is nimratz? Adulterer [noef], mamzer, wicked one [rasha], oppressor [tzorer].¹²Nimratz is spelled with the first letters of noef, mamzer, rasha, tzorer. You learned that regarding the ten tribes, their sentence was sealed only due to the iniquity of adultery.
From where is it derived that regarding the tribe of Judah and Benjamin, their sentence was sealed only due to the iniquity of adultery? It is as Jeremiah screams before God: ‘During the days of Menashe, Israel performed wickedness greater than them [of my generation], but You did not destroy them, but rather in my days.’ That is what is written: “My innards, my innards, I shudder, the walls of my heart, [my heart sighs to me]” (Jeremiah 4:19). The Holy One blessed be He said to him: During the days of Menashe, even though they angered Me, the children were the children of their fathers. Now they are the children of lewdness. That is what is written: “For My people are foolish…” (Jeremiah 4:22). What is written at the end of the passage? “They were lustful horses rising early; each would neigh to his neighbor’s wife” (Jeremiah 5:8). Even though they transgressed all the mitzvot and denied the Holy One blessed be He, just as it is stated: “They denied the Lord” (Jeremiah 5:12), He displays forbearance. It is only for the adultery that their sentence was sealed, as, indeed, it is written thereafter: “Will I not reckon for these, the utterance of the Lord…” (Jeremiah 5:9). The Holy One blessed be He said: For everything I will restrain myself, but for lewdness I am angry. I will deliver them to the kingdoms. That is what is written thereafter: “Enter within its walls…” (Jeremiah 5:10). “Lest strangers be sated with your strength” (Proverbs 5:10).
Likewise Moses said to Israel: When you go out to war, be careful that there will not be among you the iniquity of adultery, as if there is the iniquity of lewdness in your midst, the Holy One blessed be He, who wages war on your behalf, will turn away from you, and you will be delivered into the hand of your enemies. That is what is written: “For the Lord your God walks [in the midst of your camp to deliver you and to deliver your enemies before you and your camp shall be holy], and He shall not see a shameful matter among you and turn away from you” (Deuteronomy 23:15). What is, “for the Lord your God”? Moses said to Israel: Know that the Holy One blessed be He associates His name with Israel, as He is called, “your God,” only when “your camp shall be holy.” At that time, He rests His Divine Presence in your midst, and He rescues you from the hands of your enemies and delivers your enemies to you. That is what is written: “Walks in the midst of your camp to deliver you…”
From where is it derived that Israel is called holy when they protect themselves from adultery and lewdness? It is as it is written: “You shall sanctify yourselves, and you shall be holy, as I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 20:7). From here, when they are holy, He is God to them. What is written thereafter? “You shall observe My statutes, and perform them; I am the Lord who sanctifies you” (Leviticus 20:8). When does the Holy One blessed be He sanctify Israel? It is when they observe His statutes. What are the statutes? These are the forbidden relations, as adultery with a married woman is written first, as it is stated: “A man who will commit adultery [with a married woman]” (Leviticus 20:10). What did it see that led it to have cursing one’s father or mother interpose between sanctification and adultery? It is because initially it is written: “For each man who shall curse his father” (Leviticus 20:9). What causes the son to curse his father? It is adultery. It is because he believes that his mother’s husband is his father and he honors him, and he believes that the adulterer is not his father and he curses him.
Similarly, you say: “One who strikes his father or his mother.… One who abducts a man and sells him.[… One who curses his father or his mother…]” (Exodus 21:15–17). What did it see that led it to have one who abducts a person interpose between one who strikes and one who curses? Would it not have been appropriate not to interpose between them, as both are stated regarding a punishment generated by his father and his mother? Why did it do so? It is to teach you that it is for this that one who abducts an Israelite person incurs liability, because he [the person abducted] strikes his father and his mother and curses them because he did not grow up with them and does not know them. Here too, this is why cursing one’s father interposes between sanctification and harlotry. It is because anyone who consorts with one of the forbidden relations stated in the Torah, at times he begets a son and causes the mamzer to curse his father.
Why does it mention the cursing of the mother; does he not recognize his mother? When does he recognize his mother? When the mamzer is from adultery with a married woman, as the adulteress attributes him to her husband. However, regarding all other unmarried forbidden relations, they cast their child in the streets due to the shame, and others raise them. Those mamzerim recognize neither their father nor their mother. Even a mamzer from a married woman occasionally recognizes neither his father nor his mother. When? It is when she committed adultery while her husband was in lands overseas and she casts him away. That is why the Torah punishes one who consorts with a married woman or with forbidden relations with court-imposed execution and karet. That is why it is stated: “And your camp shall be holy” (Deuteronomy 23:15).
Another matter: “And your camp shall be holy” (Deuteronomy 23:15) – we learned there: One need not investigate from the altar¹³Priests and beyond, from the platform¹⁴Levites and beyond, nor from the Sanhedrin and beyond. Anyone whose ancestors were public officials or charity collectors may marry into the priesthood, and there is no need to investigate them. Rabbi Yosei says: The same is true of one who had signed as a witness in the old court of Tzippori. Rabbi Ḥanina ben Antigonus says: The same is true of one who was written in the army roster of a Jewish king.¹⁵Kiddushin 76a. The midrash is stating that one can rely on all these individuals’ presumptive status of unflawed lineage.
It is written: “You shall place a king over you…” (Deuteronomy 17:15). I have derived only a king of Israel; from where is it derived to include public officials, charity collectors, judges’ scribes, and floggers with the strap? The verse states: “From among your brethren you shall place a king over you” (Deuteronomy 17:15) – anyone whom you place over you, shall be only from among your brethren, from the select of your brethren. Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman says in the name of Rabbi Yonatan: From where is it derived that those going out to war need that no mamzerim be in their midst? It is as it is written regarding the descendants of Asher: “Their lineage for military service” (I Chronicles 7:40) – the merit of their lineage stands for them in war.
To this point it is from the texts of tradition;¹⁶Prophets and Writings. from the words of the Torah, from where is it derived? It is as it is written: “One with crushed […testicles]…shall not enter [into the assembly of the Lord]. A mamzer shall not enter.… An Amonite shall not enter.… Do not despise an Edomite.… [Sons born to them of the third generation may enter…]” (Deuteronomy 23:2–4, 8–9). What is written thereafter? “When a camp shall go out against your enemy” (Deuteronomy 23:10); that is why it is written: “And your camp shall be holy…” (Deuteronomy 23:15), that there shall not be in their midst mamzerim and not those who are born not in sanctity, because the Holy One blessed be He does not associate His name with them and does not aid them in war. So, the Holy One blessed be He said to Abraham our patriarch: “I will give to you and to your descendants after you the land of your residence” (Genesis 17:8) – to those descendants whose descent will be traced back to you, I will give them “the land of your residence…as an eternal possession” (Genesis 17:8), and I will be their God. But mamzerim, whose descent is not traced back to you, as their forebears are not distinguishable, I will not be their God, as I do not associate My name with them and I will not give them a portion in the land.

Rabbi Ḥanina bar Pappa began: “A wise man judged with a foolish man, he is wrathful or amused, but there is no satisfaction” (Proverbs 29:9) – Rabbi Simon said: Anyone who judges [dan] the fool, he himself is judged.⁴¹Many interpret the term dan here to mean rebukes, such that the sentence means: Whoever rebukes a fool is deserving of rebuke. That is what is written: “A wise man judged”; it is not written “judges,” but rather “judged.”
Another matter: “A wise man judged” (Proverbs 29:9) – this is the Holy One blessed be He, as it is stated: “He is wise of heart and mighty of power” (Job 9:4). “With a foolish man” (Proverbs 29:9) – this is Israel, as it is stated: “My people is foolish” (Jeremiah 4:22). “He is wrathful or amused” (Proverbs 29:9) – I have been wrathful but there is no satisfaction; I have been amused, but there is no satisfaction. I have been wrathful at you during the reign of Pekaḥ ben Remalyahu, as it is stated: “Pekaḥ ben Remalyahu killed [in Judah a hundred and twenty thousand in one day]” (II Chronicles 28:6). I have been amused with you during the reign of Amatzyahu,⁴²This means that God was happy with them and therefore allowed them to destroy their enemies. as it is stated: “Amatzyahu took courage, and led his people, and went to the Valley of Salt” (II Chronicles 25:11). What is the Valley of Salt? It is beneath the boulders [kefei] of salt [melaḥ], [or] into the throes [kefuyei] of battle [milḥama]. “The children of Judah captured ten thousand alive, and brought them to the top of the rock, and cast them [from the top of the rock, and all of them were broken]” (II Chronicles 25:12) – at that moment, the Holy One blessed be He said: I decreed death for the descendants of Noah only by sword, and these “brought them to the top of the rock, and cast them…and all of them were broken”? “But there is no satisfaction” – at that moment, the Holy One blessed be He said: What are these doing here? Let them be exiled. When they sinned they were exiled. When they were exiled, Jeremiah began lamenting over them, eikha.

Another matter, “behold, I will rain down bread for you.” That is what is written: “He will dwell On High…[his bread is given, his waters assured]” (Isaiah 33:16). That is what is written: “He raises the poor from dust” (I Samuel 2:8), these are Israel, who were sunken in mortar and bricks in Egypt, and the Holy One blessed be He took them out with their heads held high, as it is stated: “I led you out with your heads held high” (Leviticus 26:13), that is, “He raises the poor from dust.”
The Holy One blessed be He set limits for Jacob and said to him: “Your descendants shall be like the dust of the earth” (Genesis 28:14). When your descendants reach the dust of the earth, at that moment: “You shall spread westward and eastward” (Genesis 28:14), that is, “He raises the poor from dust.” The Holy One blessed be He elevated them above everything, as it is stated: “The Lord your God [will set you above all the nations of the world]” (Deuteronomy 28:1). See what is written: “In the wilderness where you saw that the Lord your God bore you” (Deuteronomy 1:31). He said to them: ‘I have elevated you above the entire world. If you will fulfill My will, I will place you in what I created before the world was created, namely the Temple, as it is stated: “Throne of glory, exalted from the beginning is the place of our Temple” (Jeremiah 17:12), there I will elevate you, as it is stated: “And He will bequeath them the throne of glory” (I Samuel 2:8). At that time, I will provide you with the delicacies of the Garden of Eden, as it is stated: “How great is the goodness You have in store for those who fear You”’ (Psalms 31:20). That is why it said: “He will dwell On High” (Isaiah 33:16).
Another matter, “He will dwell On High,” that is what is written: “For the Lord your God is bringing you to a good and expansive land” (Deuteronomy 8:7),¹⁵The verse actually states “a good land” without “and expansive.” The phrase “a good and expansive land” is found in Exodus 3:8. to see a table that is set in the Garden of Eden, as it is stated: “I walk before the Lord in the land of the living” (Psalms 116:9). As it were, He is reclining above the patriarchs, and the patriarchs and all the righteous are in His midst [betokho], as it is stated: “They sit [tuku] at Your feet” (Deuteronomy 33:3), and He distributes portions to them. If you are astonished by this matter, did He not, in this world, recline for them between the two cherubs, as it is stated: “He will lie between my breasts” (Song of Songs 1:13), all the more so in the Garden of Eden. He brings them fruit from the Garden of Eden and He feeds them from the Tree of Life.
Who recites the blessing first? Everyone defers to the Holy One blessed be He that He should designate the one to recite the blessing, and the Holy One blessed be He says to Mikhael: ‘Recite the blessing.’ He says to Gavriel,¹⁶Mikhael tells Gavriel to recite the blessing. and Gavriel to the patriarchs of the world,¹⁷Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. and they defer to Moses and Aaron, and they to the elders. They defer to David and say: ‘Let the king on earth bless the King in Heaven.’ They give David the cup, and he says: “I will lift a cup of salvation, and I will call in the name of the Lord” (Psalms 116:13). In their regard,¹⁸With regard to those who deferred to him. David praised and said: “How great is the goodness You have in store for those who fear You” (Psalms 31:20). That is, “for the Lord your God is bringing you” (Deuteronomy 8:7). In that regard it is stated: “He will dwell On High.”
Another matter, “He will dwell On High,” that is what is written: “The wing of the songbird beats joyously [are its pinions and plumage of a stork?] For it leaves its eggs on the earth [and warms them on dust. And it forgets that a foot may crush it or a beast of the field trample it]. It is harsh to its young, as though they are not from it [its toil is in vain without fear. For God deprived it of wisdom and did not allot understanding to it]. In time, it will soar on high [and scoff at the horse and its rider]” (Job 39:13–18). This is analogous to a stork that would lay her eggs on the dust of the earth, and the passersby trampled it and destroyed it. What caused it? It is because it would lay its eggs on the ground. But if it would ascend on high and lay its eggs there, no creature would harm it, but rather, it would scoff at everything.
So too Israel, “the wing of the songbird [renanim] beats joyously [ne’elasa].” “Wing” – “I will spread My wing over you” (Ezekiel 16:8).¹⁹This verse, stated regarding Israel, indicates that the term “wing” in the verse in Job also refers to Israel. ” “The songbird [renanim]” – “rejoice in the Lord, righteous ones” (Psalms 33:1). “Joyously [ne’elasa]” – “let us delight [nitalsa] ourselves in lovemaking” (Proverbs 7:18). “Are its pinions [evra]” – “I said: Would that I had wings [ever] like a dove” (Psalms 55:7). “Stork” – “Even the stork in the heavens knows its appointed times” (Jeremiah 8:7). “For it leaves [taazov] its eggs on the earth” – “I have abandoned [azavti] My house” (Jeremiah 12:7). “And warms them on dust” – “Our soul is prostrated to the dust” (Psalms 44:26). “And it forgets that a foot may crush it” – “You forgot the Lord, your Maker” (Isaiah 51:13). “Or a beast of the field trample it,” these are the idolaters, as it is stated: “He rendered them like dust to be trampled” (II Kings 13:7). “It is harsh to its young [baneha], as though they are not from it” – “they are foolish children [banim]” (Jeremiah 4:22). “Its toil [yegia] is in vain” – “I am weary [yagati] with my groaning” (Psalms 6:7). “Without fear” – “they did not fear” (Jeremiah 36:24). “For God deprived it of wisdom” – “For My people is stupid, they do not know Me; they are foolish children, and they have no understanding; they are wise to perform evil” (Jeremiah 4:22). “And did not allot understanding to it” – “and they have no understanding” (Jeremiah 4:22).
Why all these?²⁰Why are all these negative things stated concerning Israel? It is because they have forsaken the Holy One blessed be He. However, when they repent and direct their eyes On High, just as it says: “To You, enthroned in Heaven, I lift my eyes” (Psalms 123:1), then “in time, it will soar on high” – “To place the lowly On High” (Job 5:11). “And scoff at the horse and its rider” – “these on chariots and those on horses, but we invoke the name of the Lord our God” (Psalms 20:8). That is, “He will dwell On High.”
Another matter, “He will dwell On High,” this is the Holy One blessed be He, as it is stated: “Exalted and holy I will dwell” (Isaiah 57:15). “Rocky citadels are His stronghold” (Isaiah 33:16), this is David, as it is stated: “The Lord is my rock and my fortress” (Psalms 18:3). “His bread is given” (Isaiah 33:16), this is Abraham, as it is stated: “I will take a piece of bread” (Genesis 18:5). “His water assured,” this is the Torah, as it is stated: “Ho, everyone thirsty, go to water” (Isaiah 55:1).
Another matter, “his bread is given,” this is the Holy One blessed be He, as it is stated: “He gives bread to all flesh, for His kindness is forever” (Psalms 136:25). “His water assured,” as it is stated: “He covers His upper chambers with water” (Psalms 104:3).
Another matter, “his bread is given,” this is the manna, as it is stated: “Behold, I will rain down bread for you from the heavens.” “His water assured,” as it is stated: “Rise, well, call to it” (Numbers 21:17).
Another matter, “his bread is given, his water assured,” this is the Holy One blessed be He, who orders those well-versed in Torah: ‘Do not say regarding what you have not heard, I heard.²¹Do not claim to have heard from your teacher something that you did not hear from him. Do not prohibit for others and permit for yourself. Rather, let [your words] emerge from your mouth truthfully, just as they emerged from Moses’s mouth, and I will show you beauty face to face,’ as it is stated: “Your eyes will behold a king in his beauty” (Isaiah 33:17). Israel said: ‘How can we see Your face? Did you not deliver us into the hand of Edom, of whom it is stated: “Fearsome, terrifying”’ (Daniel 7:7).²²In Daniel’s vision, Edom is represented by a terrifying beast. [God] said to them: ‘Do not fear them, as you are destined to say to Me: Where are they?’ That is what is written: “You will not see a daring people” (Isaiah 33:19), and you will see the rejoicing of Zion, as it is stated: “Look upon Zion, city of our festivals; your eyes will see Jerusalem, a tranquil abode” (Isaiah 33:20).