Midrash sur Isaïe 65:22

“I said in my heart: Come now, I will experiment in joy, and see goodness; and, behold, it too is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 2:1).
“I said in my heart: Come now, I will experiment in joy” – Rabbi Pinḥas and Rabbi Ḥizkiyya in the name of Rabbi Simon bar Zavdi: Rabbi Pinḥas said: “I will experiment [anasekha]” and I will experiment;¹The midrash is interpreting the word anasekha to mean anaseh ko, I will experiment with this, and when experimenting one generally investigates different options (Matnot Kehuna). I will try matters of Torah and I will try matters of heresy. I will flee [anusa] from matters of heresy to matters of Torah, “and see goodness,” the goodness of Torah. “And, behold, it too is vanity” – the verse should have said only: “And behold, it too is joy,”²As the verse states “I will experiment in joy.” and you say: “And, behold, it too is vanity”? Rabbi Ḥizkiyya said in the name of Rabbi Simon bar Zavdi: All the Torah that you study in this world is vanity relative to the Torah in the World to Come, as in this world, a person studies Torah and forgets. But, regarding the World to Come, what is written there? “I placed My Torah in their midst” (Jeremiah 31:32).
And the Rabbis say: The evil inclination will melt before the good inclination.³They interpret the word anasekha to mean “will melt” [yinatekh] (Matnot Kehuna). “And see goodness” – the goodness of the World to Come. Rabbi Yona in the name of Rabbi Simon bar Zevid: Any serenity that a person sees in this world is vanity relative to the serenity of the World to Come, as in this world, a person dies and bequeaths his serenity⁴His prosperity, which facilitates his serenity in this world. to another, but regarding the World to Come it is written: “They will not build and another inhabit” (Isaiah 65:22).

The tana, Rabbi Shimon son of Yochai: From where [is it] that a man must not say "a burnt offering (olah) to Hashem", "to Hashem as a meal-offering (minchah)", "a peace offering (shelamim) to Hashem"? We have learned to say: [When any one of you brings] an offering (qorban) unto Hashem (Leviticus 1:2). See! The words are an a fortiori (qal vechomer) inference: If when one is going to dedicate [an offering] the Torah says: he should not cause the name of Heaven to be associated [with anything besides a qorban], then they who revile and blaspheme and engage in idolatry, how very greatly they will be erased from the world! The rabbis said: flesh and blood builds a building, and when the building rises under his hand, he widens it as it rises, and if not, he widens it from below and makes it narrow at the top. But the Holy One, blessed be He does not act this way; rather [he created] "the heavens", heavens which rose by His thought, "and the earth" which rose by his thought. Rav Huna in the name of Rabbi Eliezer the son of Rabbi Yose the Galilean said: "even those about which it is written: "Now behold, I create a new heaven" (Isaiah 65:17); already these were created since the six days of creation. This is what is written: "For as the new heavens and the new earth [which I will make, shall remain before Me] (Isaiah 66:22), here "new" (hadashah) is not written, but rather "the new" (hachadashah).

“And the earth abides forever” (Ecclesiastes 1:4). Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korḥa said: The verse should have said only: “The earth passes and the earth comes, but the generation abides forever.”²⁸This would indicate that the earth is transient, and the people last forever. Which was created for the sake of the other, was the earth created for the sake of the generation, or was the generation created for the sake of the earth? Was it not the earth [that was created] for the sake of the generation? Rather, because the generation did not perform the duties [assigned to it by] the Holy One blessed be He; therefore, it wastes away. The earth, because it performs the duties [assigned to it by] the Holy One blessed be He; therefore, it does not waste away.
Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai said: It is written: “For like the days of the tree will be the days of My people” (Isaiah 65:22). Tree means nothing other than Torah, as it is stated: “It is a tree of life for those who grasp it” (Proverbs 3:18). Which was created for the sake of the other; the Torah for the sake of Israel, or Israel for the sake of the Torah? Was it not the Torah [that was created] for the sake of Israel? Rather, the Torah that was created for the sake of Israel exists for ever and ever; Israel, for whose sake [everything] was created, all the more so. Rabbi Yitzḥak said: A kingdom enters and a kingdom leaves, but Israel stands forever; that is: “The earth abides forever.” Rabbi Shmuel in the name of Rabbi Pelatya of Naveh derived it from this verse: “Yehonatan son of Gershom son of Menashe, he and his sons were priests for the tribe of Dan until the day of the exile of the land” (Judges 18:30). Does a land go into exile or wander? Rather, these are Israel, who are called land, as it is stated: “All nations will praise you; as you will be a land of delight” (Malachi 3:12) – you will be called a land of delight.
Rabbi Berekhya said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish: Everything that the Holy One blessed be He created in man, He created its parallel for the earth. Man has a head and the earth has a head [rosh], as it is stated: “[He had not yet made earth and fields, or] the beginning [rosh] of the dust of the world” (Proverbs 8:26). Man has eyes [einayim] and the earth has eyes, as it is stated: “They will cover the face [ein] of the earth” (Exodus 10:5). A person has ears and the earth has ears, as it is stated: “Listen, earth” (Isaiah 1:2). Man has a mouth and the earth has a mouth, as it is stated: “The earth opened its mouth” (Numbers 16:32). Man eats and the earth eats, as it is stated: “A land that consumes its inhabitants” (Numbers 13:32). Man drinks and the earth drinks, as it is stated: “[But the land]…by the rain of the heavens it drinks water” (Deuteronomy 11:11). Man vomits and the earth vomits, as it is stated: “So the land will not vomit [you out]” (Leviticus 18:28). Man has hands and the earth has hands [yadayim], as it is stated: “The land is spacious [raḥavat yadayim]” (Genesis 34:21). Man has thighs and the earth has thighs [yerekhayim], as it is stated: “I will gather them from the ends [miyarketei] of the earth” (Jeremiah 31:8). Man has a navel [tabbur] and the earth has a navel, as it is stated: “Dwellers in the middle of [betabbur] the earth” (Ezekiel 38:12). Man has nakedness and the earth has nakedness, as it is stated: “To see the nakedness of the land you have come” (Genesis 42:9). Man has feet and the earth has feet, as it is stated: “And the earth abides [omadet] forever” (Ecclesiastes 1:4).²⁹The term omadet literally means standing, implying that it has feet.
What is omadet? Ma’amedet. Rabbi Aḥa and the Rabbis, Rabbi Aḥa said: It fulfills [ma’amedet] its duties. The Rabbis said: It produces [ma’amedet] its food. Rabbi Shimon ben Yosei ben Lakoneya said: Because in this world a person builds a building and another spends time in it, [a person] plants a sapling and another eats [its produce]. But in the future, they will not build and another will settle, they will not plant and another will eat, as it is stated: “For like the days of the tree will be the days of My people, and My chosen will outlive their handicraft” (Isaiah 65:22).