Midras Ayub 12:8: Midrash Tanchuma, Vayikra Rabbah, Bamidbar Rabbah & Sifrei Devarim

(Numb. 28:1–2:) “Then the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, ‘Command the Children of Israel, [and say unto them], “My offering, My bread for My fire offering….”’” Let our master instruct us: Regarding the meal offerings that were offered upon the altar, how were they offered? Thus have our masters taught (in Men. 5:1–2):³³See above, Lev. 1:7. All meal offerings were offered unleavened except the leavened [cakes] in the thank offering and the two loaves (of Pentecost) which were offered leavened. R. Meir says, “The leaven is separated from its own [dough], and [it is from this that] they are leavened.” R. Judah says, “Even that is not the best [method]; one should bring the leaven, put it into the [measure], and fill the measure [with flour].” [The sages] said to him, “Even that [method] resulted in too little or too much.” All meal offerings were kneaded in lukewarm water and one watched them lest they become leavened; and if the remnants of it became leavened, one transgressed a negative commandment, as stated (in Lev. 2:11), “No meal offering which you offer to the Lord shall be made with leaven.” Thus one may become culpable in the kneading of [leaven], in rolling it, and in baking it. There is nothing more pleasing for you than the offerings. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses, “Say to those Israelites, ‘I did not tell you to offer me sacrifices because I have a need for them, since the whole world is Mine, and I created the animal from which you offer a sacrifice in front of Me.’”³⁴Numb. R. 21:16; see Men. 110a; PRK 6:1; PR 16:1; 48:3; Tanh., Exod. 8:14. Thus it is stated (in Ps. 50:12), “If I am hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and everything in it belong to Me.” R. Judah bar Simon said, “It is not that I require to eat anything which I commanded you to offer as My offering, My bread; as there is not eating or drinking in front of Me.” R. Simon said, “There are thirteen attributes of mercy that are written about the Holy One, blessed be He, as stated (in Exod. 34:6), ‘And the Lord passed over his face….’ Is there a merciful one that delivers his victuals to a cruel one?” Ergo (in Ps. 50:12), “If I am hungry, I would not tell you.” R. Judah bar Simon said, “The Holy One, blessed be He, said, ‘I have delivered ten [kinds of] clean animals to you (for food).³⁵See also PR 16:1; Numb. R. 20:5; 21:16. Three are in your possession, and seven are not in your possession. Now these are those which are in your possession (according to Deut. 14:4), “the bull, the sheep, and the goat.” And these are those which are not in your possession (according to Deut. 14:5), “The deer, the gazelle, the roebuck, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope, and the mountain sheep.” I did not burden you to have you seek them in the mountains and the hills, in order to bring Me a sacrifice from those [which are not in your possession]. Rather [your sacrifices come] from those which are in your possession, which grew up at your feeding trough.’” Ergo (in Ps. 50:12), “If I am hungry, I would not tell you.” R. Isaac said, “It is written (in Numb 28:2), ‘My offering, My Bread, for My burnt offering.’ Is there eating and drinking in front of Me? And if you say there is eating and drinking in front of Me, [you should] learn from the ministering angels, as stated (in Ps. 104:4), ‘His servants flaming fire.’” From what are they [then] sustained? R. Judan said in the name of R. Isaac, “They are nourished from the radiance of the Divine Presence, as stated (in Prov. 16:15), ‘The light of the king’s face is light.‘” R. Simeon ben Laqish said, [Regarding (Numb. 28:6),] “The regular burnt offering done at Mount Sinai,” “And did they do it at Mount Sinai? It is simply that if you will say that that there is eating and drinking in front of Him, learn from Moshe, our teacher. Observe what is written about him (in Exod. 34:28), ‘And he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water.’ If there was eating and drinking in front of Me, he would have eaten and drank from what I eat and drink. And if Moses who [only] fulfilled the errand of God, ‘neither ate bread nor drank water,’ all the more so is it true of the Holy One, blessed be He.” Ergo (in Ps. 50:12), “If I am hungry, I would not tell you.” R. Hiyya bar Abba said, “So did the Holy One blessed be He say: ‘My [other] creatures do not need My creatures (people). In your days have you heard one saying, “Let this vine produce wine,” and it produces much wine, [or] “Let this olive tree produce oil,” and it produces much wine. My creatures do not need My creatures and I should need My creatures?’” R. Jannai said, “It is customary that when a man is walking by a river, it is impossible for him not to drink two or three log. Now all the water that is in the world would fill the hollow of My hand, as stated (in Is. 40:12), ‘Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand?’ But [yet] I have written about your log (in Numb. 28:7), ‘to be poured in the sacred precinct as an offering of fermented drink to the Lord,’ which is an expression of drinking, an expression of satiation, an expression of inebriation.” I have created one animal in My world, and you are not able to support its victuals. And which is it? That is (in Psalms 50:10), “the behemoths on a thousand mountains.” R. Johanan, R. Joshua ben Levi and the Sages [disagreed about this]. R. Johanan said, ‘It was one animal crouching on a thousand mountains and it would pasture on a thousand [different] mountains each day, as stated, (in Job 40:20), ‘The mountains yield him produce.’” R. Joshua ben Levi says, “It was one animal crouching on a thousand mountains and a thousand mountains would produce many types of food, for the righteous to eat in the future to come, as stated (in Is. 65:10), ‘Sharon shall become a pasture for flocks, And the Valley of Achor a place for cattle to lie down.’” And the Sages say, “It crouches upon the thousand mountains, and the thousand mountains produce animals every day and it eats [them].” What is the explanation? As it states (in Job 40:20, cont.), “and all the beasts of the field play there.” Is it possible for a grazing animal to eat a grazing animal? R. Tanchuma says, “Great is the work of our God and how great are His acts.” And from where does it drink? R. Joshua ben Levi and the Sages [disagreed about this]. R. Joshua ben Levi says, “It drinks up with one swallow all that the Jordan produces in six months, as stated (in Job 40:23), ‘He can restrain the river from its rushing; [he is confident the Jordan will gush at his command].’ [And the sages say, “Twelve months….”]³⁶See Numb. R. 21:18. But it only has a moistening of the mouth [from it].” And [so] from where does it drink? R. Shimon ben Gamliel taught (form Gen. 2:10), “’A river issues from Eden to water the garden’ and its name is Yuval, as stated (in Jer. 17:8), ‘sending forth its roots by a stream (yuval),’ and it drinks from it.” R. Chiya taught in the name of R. Meir (from Job 12:7), “’But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the sky, they will tell you’: ’But ask the beasts,’ this is the behemoth; ‘the birds of the sky,’ this is the ziz of the Omnipresent (a giant bird). (Job 12:8:) ‘Or speak to the earth, it will teach you; the fish of the sea, they will inform you’: ‘Or speak to the earth,’ this is the Garden of Eden; ‘The fish of the sea,’ that is the leviathan. (Job 12:9:) ‘Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this?’” You have one king and his name was Solomon, as stated (about the lavishness of his meals in I Kings 5:2-3), “Solomon’s daily provisions consisted of thirty kor of semolina, and sixty kor of [ordinary] flour, ten fattened oxen….” R. Yehuda bar Zvidah said, “Solomon had a thousand wives and each and every one would make him like this every day, as she thought he would eat with her. [And] Nehemiah the governor did not [even] have the ability to reckon his meal, as stated (in Neh. 5:18), ‘And although what was prepared for each day came to one ox….’ The Holy One, blessed be He, said, ‘My children, it is not because there is eating and drinking in front of Me. Rather it is because of the smell, that you shall be pleased and give the pleasant smell in front of Me.’”

Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai began: “He stood and assessed the earth” (Habakkuk 3:6). The Holy One blessed be He assessed all the nations and did not find a nation that was worthy of receiving the Torah other than [the Israelites in] the generation of the Wilderness.⁴Some assert that the text should read: The Holy One blessed be He assessed all the nations and did not find a nation that was worthy of receiving the Torah other than the Israelites. The Holy One blessed be He assessed all the generations and did not find a generation worthy of receiving the Torah other than the generation of the Wilderness (Yefe Toar; Etz Yosef). The Holy One blessed be He assessed all the mountains and did not find a mountain that was worthy for the Torah to be received upon it other than Sinai. The Holy One blessed be He assessed all the cities and did not find a city in which the Temple should be built other than Jerusalem. The Holy One blessed be He assessed all the lands and did not find a land worthy to be given to Israel other than the Land of Israel. That is what is written: “He stood and assessed the earth. He saw and disbanded [vayater] [nations. Endless mountains exploded; eternal hills were laid low. The ways of the world are His]” (Habakkuk 3:6). Rav said: He permitted [hitir] the blood of the Canaanites and permitted [seizure of] their property. He permitted their blood: “You shall not allow a soul to remain alive” (Deuteronomy 20:16). He permitted their property, as it is stated: “You shall consume the spoils of your enemies” (Deuteronomy 20:14). Rabbi Huna said: He removed [hitir] their weapon belts, as it is written: “He loosened the bonds of kings” (Job 12:18).
Ulla Bira’a said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai: This is analogous to one who went out to the threshing floor and his dog and his donkey were with him. He loaded five se’a onto his donkey and two se’a onto his dog. The donkey was walking and the dog was collapsing. He took one from it and placed it upon the donkey. Nevertheless, [the dog] was collapsing. He said to it: ‘When you are loaded, you collapse [and even] when you are not loaded you collapse.’ So too, when the descendants of Noah were unable to bear even the seven mitzvot that they received , He arose and unloaded them to Israel.⁵God removed the seven mitzvot from the nations of the world, such that, even if they perform them, they receive reward only as one who is not commanded, which is less than the reward for one who fulfills a mitzva he is commanded to fulfill. Now, only Israel has the status of those commanded to fulfill mitzvot (Bava Kamma 38a).
Rabbi Tanḥum bar Ḥanilai said: This is analogous to a doctor who entered to visit two ill people, one [with a prognosis] to live and one [with a prognosis] to die. To the one [with a prognosis] to live, he said: ‘Eat this, do not eat that.’ Of the one [whose prognosis] was not to live, he said: ‘Give him anything that he wants.’ So too, of the idolaters, who are not destined for life in the World to Come, it is written: “Like green vegetation I have given you everything” (Genesis 9:3). But for Israel, who are destined to life in the World to Come: “This is the animal that you may eat” (Deuteronomy 14:4).

I created an animal in My world, but no man can bear providing its sustenance. Which is this? It is “the animals [behemot] of one thousand hills” (Psalms 50:10). Rabbi Yoḥanan, Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish, and the Rabbis:²⁵In Vayikra Rabba 20:10, Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish is quoted as saying what the Rabbis say here. Rabbi Yoḥanan said: It is one animal that lies on one thousand mountains, and one thousand mountains grow all kinds of food for it, as it is food for the righteous in the future, as it is stated: “The Sharon will be a pasture for flocks, and the Akhor Valley for the lying of cattle, [for My people, who sought Me]” (Isaiah 65:10). The Rabbis say: It is one animal that lies on one thousand mountains, and one thousand mountains grow animals each day and it eats. What is the source? “All the beasts of the field will frolic there” (Job 40:20). Is it possible that there is an animal that eats an animal?²⁶The Hebrew term behema, translated as animal, refers to animals that graze, not to animals that eat meat. Rabbi Tanḥuma said: Great are the works of our God; how numerous are His works.
From where does it drink? Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: Everything that passes through the Jordan in six months,²⁷Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi emphasizes the word “exploits” as an indication that the animal does not swallow the entire river but only enough for six months. it swallows in one gulp, as it is stated: “Behold, it can exploit a river, it need not rush; it is secure, even if the Jordan rushes into its mouth” (Job 40:23). The Rabbis say: Everything that passes through the Jordan in a year,²⁸The Rabbis emphasize the word “rushes” as an indication that it swallows the entire river, which is sufficient for one year. it swallows in one gulp, as it is stated: “It is secure, even if the Jordan rushes into its mouth,” and that is sufficient to wet its mouth. Rav Huna said in the name of Rav Yosef: It is not even sufficient to wet its mouth. From where does it drink? Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai taught: “And a river emerges from Eden” (Genesis 2:10), and its name is Yuval, as it is stated: “And by a stream [yuval] it will spread its roots” (Jeremiah 17:8), and it drinks from there.
It is taught in the name of Rabbi Meir: “But ask animals now, and they will teach you, and birds of the heavens, and they will tell you” (Job 12:7). “Ask animals now” – this is the animal; “and the birds of the heavens” – this is “the large fowl of the field” (Psalms 50:11); “or converse with the earth, and it will teach you” (Job 12:8) – this is the Garden of Eden; “and the fish of the sea will relate to you” (Job 12:8) – this is the leviathan. “Who does not know, among all these, that the hand of the Lord has done this?” (Job 12:9).