Les Psaumes 136:15 Midrash : Aggadat Bereshit, Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael, Midrash Tehillim & Midrash Tanchuma

Chapter 1 of the Torah [1] "And the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth" (Genesis 6:5). Scriptures say: "For there is a time for every experience, including the doom; for a man’s calamity [ Still another term for death; cf. “the time of calamity” for “the hour of death,” 9.12. ] overwhelms him. "(Ecclesiastes 8:6). Because the wicked man angered the Lord, saying, "The Lord swore that He would not bring a flood upon the world again, so we can do whatever we want." And how do we know that the Lord swore not to bring a flood upon the world? It is said, "For this is like the waters of Noah to me; for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah shall no more go over the earth" (Isaiah 54:9). And it is as if He sees the wicked who angers Him and wonders why He swore, saying, "What have I done to swear that I will not bring a flood upon the world?" And so Isaiah says, "And truth is lacking, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey" (Isaiah 59:15), and "And the Lord saw" (Isaiah 59:15), for there is no righteous man in the world who prays before Him to appease Him because of them. And it is evil in His eyes that there is no justice (Isaiah 59:15), to judge their deeds. The Lord said to the wicked, "You say that I swore not to bring a flood upon the world again. Punishments are in store for scoffers And blows for the backs of dullards." (Proverbs 19:29), blows that are tumultuous and tumultuous, for if I swore not to bring a flood of water, I will bring a flood of fire and brimstone and stones, as it is said, "And the Lord caused to rain upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire" (Genesis 19:24). And when the Amorites came upon Joshua, He brought upon them a flood of stones, as it is said, "And it came to pass, as they fled from before Israel, and were in the going down to Beth-horon, that the Lord cast down great stones from heaven upon them unto Azekah, and they died" (Joshua 10:11). Pharaoh, the wicked one, consulted with his advisors and said, "We can find nothing that God has sworn to except a flood of water, in which we can sink them and they will die, as it says 'Every son that is born you shall cast into the river' (Exodus 1:22)." God replied, "You should know that I have the power to judge you in this way, as it is written, 'Then Pharaoh and his army were destroyed in the Red Sea' (Psalm 136:15)." When Sisera came to attack Israel, they judged him only with fire and water, as it says, "From heaven the stars fought, from their courses they fought against Sisera" (Judges 5:20) and "The river Kishon swept them away" (Judges 5:21). Similarly, when Sennacherib came to Jerusalem, God judged him only with a fiery flood, as it says, "Then the angel of the Lord went forth and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and eighty-five thousand" (2 Kings 19:35). Moreover, all generations, if a person sins, they judge him in a manner similar to his sin. If he deserves stoning, he falls from a rooftop, a wall, a tree, an animal, or he is hit by a falling object. If he deserves burning, he falls into fire or boiling water. If he deserves killing, God sends someone to kill him, or he falls upon a knife or a sword, or the knife or sword falls upon him. If he deserves strangulation, he falls into a sea, a river, or a pit. Therefore, Solomon said, "To every purpose there is a time and a judgment" (Ecclesiastes 8:6), for what caused all these judgments is that the evil of man is great upon him.

R. Yossi b. Chalafta says: "And Amalek came": He came with counsel. We are hereby apprised that he gathered all the nations together and said to them: Come and help me against Israel. They replied: We cannot stand up against him. Pharaoh could not withstand them, for the Holy One Blessed be He drowned them in the Red Sea, viz. (Psalms 136:15) "And He threw out Pharaoh and his hosts in the Red Sea" — How can we stand up against them? Amalek: Come and I will counsel you: If they defeat me, flee; and if not, come and help me against Israel. Thus, "And Amalek came" — he came with counsel.

(Exodus 17:14) "And the L–rd said to Moses: Write this as a remembrance in the book and place it in the ears of Joshua": The early elders said: So is it with all the generations. The rod with which Israel is smitten, in the end, will be smitten itself. Let all men learn from Amalek, who came to smite Israel, and whom the Holy One Blessed be He "smote" out of this world and the world to come. As it is written (Ibid.) "for blot out will I blot out the remembrance of Amalek." And thus, the wicked Pharaoh, who subjugated Israel — the Holy One Blessed be He drowned him in the Red Sea, viz. (Psalms 136:15) "And He shook out Pharaoh and his hosts in the Red Sea." And thus, every people and kingdom that arises to harm Israel will be harmed in the same manner. "As one metes it out, so is it meted out to him," viz. (Exodus 18:11) "for (they were destroyed) by the (very) thing (water) whereby they devised evil against them."