Midras Mazmur 10:14: Esther Rabbah, Aggadat Bereshit & Midrash Tehillim

It is written: “You have seen, for You behold mischief and spite; to requite is in Your hand: the helpless man commits himself to You; You are the helper of the orphans” (Psalms 10:14). The congregation of Israel said before The Holy One blessed be He: ‘Master of the Universe, You saw that Esau the wicked came, and is destined to destroy the Temple, exile Israel from its land, and shackle them in collars – “You behold…to requite is in Your hand” – yet you rested Your Divine Presence upon Isaac, who said to him [Esau]: “Behold, the fat of the earth shall be your dwelling, and from the dew of the heavens from above” (Genesis 27:39). “The helpless man commits himself to You” – the next day he [Esau/Rome] comes and takes orphans and widows and incarcerates them in prison, and says to them: Will He about whom it is written: “The father of orphans and the judge of widows” (Psalms 68:6), come and rescue you from me? Rather, You helped his [Esau’s] orphan. Two orphans who remained from him, that is Remus and Romulus, you allowed the wolf to nurse them, and ultimately, they arose and constructed two great towers in Rome.’
Another matter: “You have seen, for You behold mischief and spite…” the congregation of Israel said before The Holy One blessed be He: ‘Master of the Universe, You saw Nebuchadnezzar the wicked, who came and destroyed the Temple, and exiled Israel, and shackled them in collars. “To requite is in Your hand” – yet You rested Your Divine Presence on Jeremiah, who said to us: “All the nations will serve him [Nebuchadnezzar] and his son and his son's son...” (Jeremiah 27:7). “The helpless man commits himself to You” – the next day he comes and takes Ḥananya, Mishael, and Azarya and puts them in the fiery furnace, and says to them: “Who is the God who will save you from my hands?” (Daniel 3:15). Rather, it is not, “You are the helper of the orphans,” but one orphan girl remained from him [Nebuchadnezzar] and you made her an empress in a kingdom that was not hers, and who was that? Vashti.’

[3] Another interpretation: "Listen to me, Jacob." Those who are killed and called by his name, as it is said "For thy sake are we killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter" (Psalms 44:23). And Job says, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him" (Job 13:15). Those who call upon me every year, as it is said, "I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord" (Psalms 116:13), "I find trouble and sorrow" (Psalms 116:3). These generations said to him, "Lord of the Universe, the earlier generations had the patriarchs as their fathers, and they have the merit of their fathers; we are orphans and have no father to stand up for us." But you wrote and said, "In you the fatherless find mercy" (Hosea 14:4), "You have seen it, for You have taken note of trouble and grief, to requite it with Your own hand" (Psalms 10:14). You gave many commandments in the Torah to look after the orphans: "When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corner of your field, neither shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor, and for the stranger: I am the Lord your God" (Leviticus 23:22). "When you beat your olive tree, you shall not go over the boughs again: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow" (Deuteronomy 24:20). And we are orphans, have mercy upon us, as it is written, "In you the fatherless find mercy" (Hosea 14:4). Obadiah was blessed in his household when his sons became orphans. When was Isaac blessed? After Abraham's death, as it is said, "And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac" (Genesis 25:11). The tribes said, "And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation" (Exodus 1:6). And "the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly" (Exodus 1:7). "Your eyes are on the orphans, who will have compassion on you? God said to them, "Repent and I will heal your backslidings." He said, "Until they repent, I have stopped healing them." As it is said, "Return, you backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings" (Jeremiah 3:22). And it is also written, "I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely" (Hosea 14:4). Love that never ceases, I love you. Isaac called Esau his firstborn, and I call Jacob my firstborn (Exodus 4:22). The birthright of Isaac was voided and fulfilled in Jacob. Isaac loved Esau, as it is said, "And Isaac loved Esau" (Genesis 25:28), and I love Jacob. His love for Esau was voided and fulfilled in his love for Jacob. How much difficulty have they caused to try to instill hatred between us, and they cannot nullify it, as it is said, "Many waters cannot quench love" (Song of Songs 8:7). These nations are compared to water, as it is said, "Woe to the multitude of many people who make a noise like the noise of the sea" (Isaiah 17:12) Moreover, how many times were the Israelites killed for the sake of returning them to God, and the Assembly of Israel says to them "I cannot remain silent about Him. My soul became aroused in His presence." (Song of Songs 5:6) "My soul went forth [when he spoke]." (ibid. 5:16) "When He spoke on Sinai, my soul heard [His voice]." (ibid. 6:2) "But my heart is sick with love for Him." (ibid. 5:8) They said to her, "What is your beloved more than another beloved?" (ibid. 5:9) She said to them, "I will extol His praises and relate His greatness to you. And you will know that I do not pursue Him in vain." (ibid. 5:16) "My beloved is pure and ruddy." (ibid. 5:10) "Pure for Israel, ruddy for Esau." (Rashi on Song of Songs 5:10) "Why are your clothes red?" (Isaiah 63:2) "Dignified from among the myriads" (Song of Songs 5:10), for there are none among the exalted multitudes like Him. "His head is as fine gold" (ibid. 5:11), which is the Torah, as it is written "More desirable than gold, than much fine gold" (Psalms 19:11). "His locks are bushy, and black as a raven" (Song of Songs 5:11), this is the script. Alternatively, "black" refers to the Assembly of Israel, as it is written "I am black" (Song of Songs 1:5), "His eyes are like doves" (Song of Songs 5:12), this is the sun and moon. "His hands are like rods of gold" (ibid.), this is the rainbow. "His body is like polished ivory, inlaid with sapphires" (ibid. 5:14), this is the air. "His legs are like pillars of marble set on sockets of fine gold" (ibid.), these are the mountains, founded on the adonai of fine gold, these are the foundations of the Temple. "His appearance is like Lebanon" (ibid. 5:15), this is the Temple. "Choice as the cedars" (ibid.), which refers to walking with the righteous, as it is written "And I will walk among you" (Leviticus 26:12). "Awaiting the delight [of his beloved]," this refers to the time of the giving of the Torah, and "altogether desirable," when He receives the penitent. The nations of the world said to them, "Since He receives penitents, where is your beautiful Beloved?" (Song of Songs 5:17) Said the Holy One, blessed be He, "The nations hate Me because of My children, and My children love Me despite all these nations. I give them one hundred worlds filled with the love that I have for My children, as it is said, 'If a man would give all the wealth of his house for love, they would utterly despise him' (Song of Songs 8:7)." This is from the Midrash Aggadah on Genesis.

A prayer for Moses, the man of God. As it is written (Proverbs 15:8), "The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord." This refers to Balaam and Balak. When Balaam said to Balak (Numbers 23:1-29), "Build me seven altars," the Lord said to him, "I do not accept sacrifices from the wicked." (Ecclesiastes 4:6) "Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind." This means that the handful of fine flour that the Israelites bring before me as a regular offering is better than all the sacrifices you offer me, which are an abomination to me. And why do I desire the prayer of the righteous? As it is written (Proverbs 15:8), "The prayer of the upright is His delight." This refers to Israel. Therefore, let us pray to Moses. The Rabbis and Rabbi Judah ben Simon said that there are four parts to prayer, and they arranged words before the Lord. Jeremiah said (Jeremiah 32:16), "Then I prayed to the Lord," and he said after giving the deed of purchase. By arranging words, what is written above them is elevated (Jeremiah 24:1), "Behold, the baskets of figs came to the city." And Habakkuk arranged a prayer, as it is written (Habakkuk 3:1), "A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet." What is written above this matter? (Habakkuk 1:3) "Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong?" David also said, as it is written (Psalm 17:1), "A prayer of David. Hear a just cause, O Lord." What is written above this matter? (Psalm 10:1) "Why, O Lord, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?" And so Moses arranged a prayer, as it is written (Deuteronomy 9:26), "So I prayed to the Lord, and said: 'O Lord God.'" What is written above this matter? (Exodus 32:11) "Why should your anger burn against your people?" Rabbi Judah ben Simon said, "In the middle of their prayer, they should place a cantor's name." Jeremiah said (Jeremiah 32:16), "Then I prayed to the Lord." And what does it mean when it says (Psalm 17:1), "A prayer of David. Hear, O Lord, my righteous plea; listen to my cry. Give ear to my prayer-- it does not rise from deceitful lips."? David also said (Psalm 17:14), "By your hand save me from such people, Lord, from those of this world whose reward is in this life. May what you have stored up for the wicked fill their bellies; may their children gorge themselves on it, and may there be leftovers for their little ones." Moses said (Deuteronomy 9:26), "I prayed to the Lord and said, 'Sovereign Lord, do not destroy your people, your own inheritance that you redeemed by your great power and brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand.'" And what is meant by (Exodus 32:10), "Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation." But God responded, "I have forgiven them, as you asked" (Numbers 14:20). Rabbi Helbo said that Moses wrote thirteen copies of the Torah on the day he left the world, one for each tribe, and one was placed in the ark, so that if Israel should ever forge one of them, they would not be able to do so. And he did not bless the tribe of Shimon because of what they did in Shittim. Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin said in the name of Rabbi Levi, "Nevertheless, Judah was preferred with them, as it says (Joshua 19:9), 'From the portion of the children of Judah was the inheritance of the children of Simeon.'" Simeon is compared to a bull whose dealings were evil, so they tied a lion to his tail, but he still had strength. Thus, Judah was compared to a lion, as it says (Genesis 49:9), "Judah is a lion's cub." Therefore, they were preferred with him. Rabbi Yudan said, "He did not establish a judge," and similarly it says (Judges 3:31), "After Ehud came Shamgar son of Anath, who struck down six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad. He too saved Israel." He did not establish a king, and similarly it says (1 Kings 16:15), "In the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, Zimri reigned in Tirzah seven days." And Moses said eleven psalms in response to the eleven tribes.