Midras Mazmur 104:25: Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Midrash Tanchuma, Bamidbar Rabbah & Midrash Tehillim

(Numb. 19:2:) THIS IS THE STATUTE OF THE TORAH. Blessed be the name of the Supreme King of Kings, the Holy One, who created the world in wisdom and understanding; for his wonders have no limit and his greatness is beyond reckoning.¹Tanh., 6:1; Numb. R. 18:22. (Ps. 33:7:) HE HAS GATHERED THE WATERS OF THE SEA LIKE A MOUND, AND HE HAS PUT THE DEEPS IN STOREHOUSES. Now what is the meaning of HE GATHERS THE WATERS OF THE SEA LIKE A MOUND? When the Holy One created the world, he said to the prince of the sea: Open your mouth and swallow all the waters of creation.²BB 74b. He said to him: Sovereign of the World, it is enough for me to continue with what is <already> mine. Then he began to weep. He kicked him to death, as stated (in Job 26:12): IN HIS POWER HE STILLED THE SEA, AND IN HIS UNDERSTANDING HE STRUCK DOWN RAHAB. [You find that the prince of the sea was named Rahab. What did the Holy One do? He subdued <the waters> and trampled them down;] and so it was that the sea accepted them, as stated (in Amos 4:13): HE TRAMPLES ON THE HEIGHTS³M. Pss. 93:5. Cf. Gen. R. 23:7, according to which the sea (i.e., the Mediterranean) is higher than the whole world. OF THE EARTH; THE LORD [GOD] OF HOSTS IS HIS NAME. So for <the waters> he set sand in place as bar and gates, according to what is stated (in Job 38:8): AND <WHO> BLOCKED OFF THE SEA WITH DOORS…. Moreover, it says (in Jer. 5:22): DO YOU NOT FEAR ME? SAYS THE LORD. [WILL YOU NOT TREMBLE BECAUSE OF ME,] WHEN I HAVE PLACED SAND AS A BOUNDARY FOR THE SEA? And it says (in Job 38: 10–11): <… AND I SET BAR AND GATES IN PLACE,> AND SAID: YOU MAY COME THIS FAR AND NO FARTHER. Then the sea said to him: Sovereign of the World, in that case my sweet waters will be mingled with the salt <waters>! He said to it: No! Each and every one will have a storehouse for oneself, as stated (in Ps. 33:7): AND HE HAS PUT THE DEEPS IN STOREHOUSES⁴See Gen. R. 4:5. If you should say that this is a great wonder for their waters not to mingle, then consider the face,⁵PRTsWP, an adaptation of the Gk.: prosopon. which the Holy One created in the children of Adam. <Although> the <size of> a full sit,⁶According to Rashi on Shab. 106a, a single sit was the distance between the tips of the of the middle and index fingers when held widely apart. A double sit was the distance between the tips of the thumb and index finger when held widely apart. For various definitions, see Jastrow, p. 977, s.v. SYT. it has so many springs (from 'YN); yet they do not mingle with one another. The waters of the eyes 'YN) are salty; the waters of the ears are oily; the waters of the nose are putrid; the waters of the mouth are sweet. For what reason are the waters of the eyes salty? Because when someone weeps for the dead, <doing so> all the time, he would immediately become blind; however, because <tears> are salty, he stops and does not weep. For what reason are the waters of the ears oily? Because when a person hears bad news, if he held it in his ears, it would collect in his heart, and he would die. Because they are oily, <the news> goes in one ear and out the other.⁷Literally: “<a person> discharges <bad news> through one <ear>, while he admits it through the other.” For what reason are the waters of the nose putrid? Because when a person emits a bad odor, if the waters of the nose were not putrid <enough> to stop it, he would soon die. And for what reason are the waters of the mouth sweet? It sometimes happens that someone eats food that does not agree with him, and he vomits. Now if the waters of the mouth were not sweet, he would not recover. Moreover, since he reads the Torah, of which it is written (in Ps. 19:11 [10]): SWEETER ALSO THAN HONEY AND THE DRIPPINGS OF THE COMB, the waters of the mouth are therefore sweet. Now here are the grounds for arguing a fortiori (qal wehomer), that if <something> <the size of> a full sit has so many springs without them mingling with one another, how much the more so in the case of the Great Sea, of which it is stated (in Ps. 104:25): THERE THE {GREAT SEA IS ALSO WIDE} [SEA IS GREAT AND WIDE]…. <This is> to teach that in everything the Holy One accomplishes his mission and that he has not created one thing in vain. Sometimes the Holy One has accomplished his mission by means of [a frog, by means of a gnat,⁸See Lev. R. 22:2-3; Eccl. R. 5:8:2, 4; PRE 49; also Shab. 77b; Exod. R. 10:1. by means of a wasp, or by means of] a scorpion. R. Hanan of Sepphoris said:⁹Cf. Gen. R. 10:7; Lev. R. 22:4; Eccl. R. 5:8:5. There is a story about a certain scorpion that went to carry out <the Holy One's> mission (to sting a certain person) beyond the Jordan; so the Holy One summoned a certain frog for him, and he crossed over upon it. Then that scorpion went and stung <the> person so that he died. <There is> also a story about a certain reaper who stood and reaped in the valley of Beth-Tofah. When burning heat came, he took grass <and> {cut} [tied] it on his head. <When> a certain mighty serpent came at him, he killed it. A certain <snake> charmer passed by him. He saw the slain serpent. He said to him: who killed that serpent? He said to him I <did>. He looked at the grass on his head. He said to him: Will you remove the grass from your head? He told him: Yes. When he had removed it, he said to him: Are you able to remove this snake with this staff? He told him: Yes. He did so. <When> he drew near to it, he had not succeeded in touching it, before he shed his body parts one by one.

(Numb. 19:2:) Blessed be the name of the supreme King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, who created the world in wisdom and understanding; for His wonders have no limit and His greatness is beyond reckoning.¹Numb. R. 18:22. (Ps. 33:7:) “He has gathered the waters of the sea like a mound, and He has put the deeps in storehouses.” Now what is the meaning of “He gathers the waters of the sea like a mound?” When the Holy One, blessed be He, created the world, He said to the ministering angel of the sea, “Open your mouth and swallow all the waters of creation,”²BB 74b. he said [back] to Him, “Master of the world, it is enough for me to continue with what is [already] mine.” Then he began to weep. [So God] kicked him to death, as stated (in Job 26:12), “In His power He stilled the sea, and in His understanding He struck down Rahab.” You find that the ministering angel of the sea was named Rahab. What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He subdued [the waters] and trampled them down; and so it was that the sea accepted them, as stated (in Amos 4:13), “He tramples on the heights³M. Pss. 93:5. Cf. Gen. R. 23:7, according to which the sea (i.e., the Mediterranean) is higher than the whole world. of the earth; the Lord God of hosts is His name.” So for [the waters] He set sand in place as bar and gates, according to what is stated (in Job 38:8, 10), “And [who] blocked off the sea with doors…. and I set bar and gates in place.” Moreover, it says (in Jer. 5:22), “’Do you not fear Me,’ says the Lord; ‘Will you not tremble because of Me, when I have placed sand as a boundary for the sea?’” And it says (in Job 38:11), “And I said, ‘You may come this far and no farther [...].’” Then the sea said to Him, “Master of the world, in that case my sweet waters will be mingled with the salt [waters]!” He said to it, “No! Each and every one will have a storehouse for itself, as stated (in Ps. 33:7), “and he has put the deeps in storehouses.”⁴See Gen. R. 4:5. If you should say that this is a great wonder for their waters not to mingle, then consider the face,⁵PRTsWP, an adaptation of the Gk.: prosopon. which the Holy One, blessed be He, created in people. [Although only] the [size of] a full sit,⁶According to Rashi on Shab. 106a, a single sit was the distance between the tips of the of the middle and index fingers when held widely apart. A double sit was the distance between the tips of the thumb and index finger when held widely apart. For various definitions, see Jastrow, p. 977, s.v. SYT. it has so many springs (from 'yn); yet they do not mingle with one another. The waters of the eyes ('yn) are salty; the waters of the ears are oily; the waters of the nose are putrid; the waters of the mouth are sweet. For what reason are the waters of the eyes salty? Because when someone weeps for the dead, [doing so] all the time, he would immediately become blind; however, because [tears] are salty, he stops and does not weep. For what reason are the waters of the ears oily? Because when a person hears bad news, if he held it in his ears, it would collect in his heart, and he would die. Because they are oily, [the news] goes in one ear and out the other.⁷Literally, “[A person] admits [bad news] through one [ear], and discharges it through the other.” For what reason are the waters of the nose putrid? Because when a person smells a bad odor, if the waters of the nose were not putrid [enough] to stop it, he would soon die. And for what reason are the waters of the mouth sweet? It sometimes happens that someone eats food that does not agree with him, and he vomits. Now if the waters of the mouth were not sweet, he would not recover. Moreover, since he reads the Torah, of which it is written (in Ps. 19:11), “sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the comb,” the waters of the mouth are therefore sweet. Now here are the grounds for arguing a fortiori (qal wehomer), that if [something the size of] a full sit has so many springs [without them mingling with one another], how much the more so in the case of the Great Sea, of which it is stated (in Ps. 104:25), “There the sea is great and wide […].” [This is] to teach that in everything, the Holy One, blessed be He, accomplishes His mission and that He has not created one thing in vain. Sometimes the Holy One, blessed be He, has accomplished His mission by means of a frog, by means of a gnat,⁸See Lev. R. 22:2-3; Eccl. R. 5:8:2, 4; PRE 49; also Shab. 77b; Exod. R. 10:1. by means of a wasp, or by means of a scorpion. R. Hanan of Sepphoris said,⁹Cf. Gen. R. 10:7; Lev. R. 22:4; Eccl. R. 5:8:5. “There is a story about a certain scorpion that went to carry out the Holy One, blessed be He's mission (to sting a certain person) beyond the Jordan; so the Holy One, blessed be He, summoned a certain frog for him, and he crossed over upon it. Then that scorpion went and stung [the] person so that he died. [There is] also a story about a certain reaper who stood and reaped in the valley of Beth-Kuzevah. When burning heat came, he took grass and tied it on his head. [When] a certain mighty serpent came at him, he killed it. A certain [snake] charmer passed by him. He saw the slain serpent. He said to him, ‘Who killed that serpent?’ [So the reaper] said to him ‘I [did].’ He looked at the grass on his head. He [then] said to him, ‘Remove the grass from your head and [then you can brag (if you still have that power)].’ When he did so, [the charmer] drew near. He had not succeeded in touching him, before [the reaper’s] body parts [all] shed.” R. Jannay was sitting as a judge at the gate of his city, [when] he saw a serpent hissing and coming toward the city. When they would secure against it in one place, it would go to another. He said, “It seems to me that this [serpent] is on its way to carry out its mission.” When it entered the city, a rumor spread in the city, “So-and-so ben so-and-so was bitten by a serpent and he is dead.” R. Elazar was strolling by the seashore of Caesarea. He found a femur bone strewn on the path. [So] he removed it from there, but he found it there again; he removed it from there [a second time] and found it there again. He said, “It seems to me that this [bone] is arranged to carry out its mission.” After [some] days, a minister came and fell over it and died. They looked into him and found evil documents against the Jews in his hand. There is a story about two people who were walking on the way. One who could see, and one was blind. They sat down to eat. They reached out their hands for the herbs of the field and ate. The one who could see became blind, and the one who had been blind became sighted. They did not move from there until the former was being supported by the latter whom he had been supporting. There is a story about a certain person who was going from the land of Israel to Babylon.¹⁰Lev. R. 22:4. While he was eating, he saw two birds fighting with each other. One of them killed its companion. Then going to get an herb, [it placed it on its mouth,] and made it live again. That person (the one who saw what had happened) went and took the very herb that had fallen from the bird. Then he went to make the dead live with it. When he arrived at the Ladder of Tyre,¹¹A well-known landing dock four hours north of Tyre. See ‘Eruv. 80a. he found a dead lion lying in the open. He touched the herb to its mouth and made it live. The lion got up and ate him. The proverb says, “Do not do good to the evil, and evil will not happen to you.”¹²Gen. R. 22:8. There is a story of Shihin (a town near Sepphoris) about a certain blind person who went down to bathe in the waters in a cave. He happened upon the well of Miriam, immersed [himself in it], and was healed. Titus the wicked entered the interior of the holy of holies.¹³Git. 56b; Lev. R. 22:3. When he had cursed and blasphemed, he stood up and slashed the veil. Then he took a Torah scroll and brought it out. Next he unrolled it; and bringing two whores, he transgressed upon them. Then he drew his sword to cut up the book. A miracle took place in that blood began to spew forth from it. He began to boast, saying that he had killed himself (i.e. God).¹⁴The author is avoiding too literal a description of the sacrilege and therefore substitutes “himself” for God as a euphemism. He began to become bolder and bolder. When he reached the sea, the sea began to grow stormier and stormier. He said, “The God of these people only has power in the sea. When Pharaoh arose, He drowned him in the sea, and Sisera as well.¹⁵See Pes. 118b. Now if He would, let there be dry land between Him and I. Then let us see who overcomes.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said, “O you wicked one, son of a wicked one, I am sending against you a tiny creature, the least of My creatures, to eradicate you from the world.” A gnat entered his nostril, and stayed in his nostril for three years. When he passed by a place where blacksmiths were working [and the gnat] heard the sound of iron, it was still. Whenever a gentile [blacksmith] would pass him, [Titus] would hire him for four dinars and say to him, “Bang your hammer in front of me the whole day.” And when he would do this the whole day, [Titus] would give him his four dinars. But when a Jewish [blacksmith] passed him, he would say to him, “Take [your hammer] and bang it [here] and I will give you your wage.” And he would bang the whole day. [But] when he was about to leave him and the Jew would say to [Titus], “Give me my wage,” he would answer and say to him, “It is enough for you that you see your enemy like this.” So would he do every day for three years. When he died they split open his head and found that [the gnat had grown] to be like a partridge and a sparrow and its claws were as hard as copper. And he died an unnatural death. Why is it named a base creature? Because it takes in but does not excrete. Moreover, sometimes it is by means of a hornet [that God's will is carried out]. Thus it is written (in Exod. 23:28), “I will send the hornet before you [to drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites from before you].” Our masters have said, “When the Holy One, blessed be He, sent the hornet before Israel to kill the Amorites, see what was written about them (in Amos 2:9), “Yet I destroyed the Amorites [before them, whose stature was like the cedars in height and who were as strong as the oaks].” It entered one's right eye and poured out its poison in it. Then [that person] burst open and dropped dead. This indeed is the way of the Holy One, blessed be He, to carry out His missions by means of small things against all who vaunt themselves against Him. He sends them a small creature to exact punishment from them, in order to inform them that there is no substance to their might. Also in the world to come the Holy One, blessed be He, is going to exact punishment from the [idol-worshiping] peoples of the world by means of small things. It is so stated (in Is. 7:18–19), “And it shall come to pass on that day that the Lord shall whistle for the fly. They all shall come […].”

May the name of the King of kings the Holy One blessed be He be blessed, as He created His world with wisdom and understanding, His wonders are unfathomable, and His greatness is unquantifiable, as it is written: “He gathers the water of the sea like a heap, he places the depths in storehouses” (Psalms 33:7). What is “gathers…like a heap”? When the Holy One blessed be He created His world, He said to the angel of the sea: ‘Open your mouth and swallow all the primordial water.’ He said before Him: ‘Master of the universe, it is sufficient for me if I can withstand my own.’ He began to weep. He kicked him and killed him, as it is stated: “With His power, He calmed the sea, and with His understanding, He crushed Rahav” (Job 26:12). You find that the name of the angel of the sea is Rahav. What did the Holy One blessed be He do? He crushed it and trampled it and the sea received it, as it is stated: “And tramples upon the heights of the earth” (Amos 4:13). He placed sand for them⁸⁶The water in the oceans. as doors and a bar, as it is stated: “Who dammed the sea with doors” (Job 38:8). And it is written: “Will you not fear Me – the utterance of the Lord – will you not tremble before Me? For I set the sand as a boundary for the sea” (Jeremiah 5:22). And it is written: “I said: You shall come this far and not continue” (Job 38:11).
The sea said to Him: ‘If so, my sweet waters will intermingle with the salty.’ He said to it: ‘No, each and every one has a storehouse of its own,’ as it is stated: “He places the depths in storehouses.” If you say that it is a great wonder why all the water on the sea does not intermingle, the face that the Holy One blessed be He created in people is the size of a span; how many founts are in it, but they do not intermingle with one another. Tears of the eyes are salty, excretions of the ears are fatty, mucous of the nose is foul, while the saliva of the mouth is sweet. Why are the tears of the eyes salty? It is because were a person to weep uninterruptedly over the deceased, he would become immediately blinded. Because they are salty, he stops and does not weep. Why are the excretions of the ear fatty? It is so that when a person hears harsh tidings, were he to grasp it directly in his ear, it would be retained and he would die. Because they are fatty, he takes it in in this one and he lets it out with the other. Why is the mucous of the nose foul? It is so that when a person smells a foul odor, were it not for the fact that the mucous of the nose is foul and stops it, he would immediately die. Why is the saliva of the mouth sweet? It is because sometimes one eats food that is objectionable; if the saliva of his mouth was not sweet, his soul would no longer be restored to him. Moreover, it is because he reads in the Torah, in whose regard it is written: “And sweeter than honey” (Psalms 19:11). That is why the saliva of the mouth is sweet. Can the matters not be inferred a fortiori? If in the size of a span there are several founts, all the more so in the vast sea, in whose regard it is stated: “There is the sea, vast and broad; an innumerable swarm is in it” (Psalms 104:25). It is to teach you that the Holy One blessed be He accomplished His mission in all manners, and did not create anything for naught. At times He accomplishes His mission by means of a frog, at times, by means of a hornet, and at times, by means of a scorpion.
Rabbi Ḥanin of Tzipori said: There was an incident involving a certain scorpion who went to perform the mission of the Holy One blessed be He across the Jordan. The Holy One blessed be He appointed for it a certain frog, and it crossed upon it. That scorpion went and stung the person.⁸⁷That was the scorpion's mission. Likewise, there was an incident involving a certain reaper, who was reaping and gathering in the Beit Tofet valley. When the heat of the day came, he took some of the grass and tied it to his head. A large serpent came upon him, and he arose and killed it. A snake charmer passed by him, he saw that he had killed the serpent. He said to him: ‘Who killed that serpent?’ He said: ‘It was I.’ He saw the grass on his head.⁸⁸According to Etz Yosef, the grass on his head protected him from the poison of the snake. He said to him: ‘Would you agree to remove the grass that is on your head? Then you can boast that you killed it.’ He did so, approached it, and he did not manage to touch it before he fell apart, limb by limb.
Rabbi Yannai was sitting and interpreting verses at the entrance of his city. He saw a snake, trembling, and approaching the city. If one would seek to stop it from here, it would go there, and if one would seek to stop it from there, it would go here. He said: ‘This one is going to perform its mission.’ When it entered the city an outcry emerged in the city: ‘So-and-so son of so-and-so, a snake bit him and he died.’
Rabbi Yitzḥak ben Elazar was strolling on the rocky coast of Caesarea. He found a certain femur cast along the road. He would conceal it from here and would find it from there. He said: ‘It seems to me that this is prepared to fulfill its mission.’ Days later, an emissary of the empire passed, stumbled over it, fell, and died. They investigated after him and found in his hand harsh edicts written against the Jews.
There was an incident involving two people who were walking along the road, one sighted and one blind. They sat to eat and extended their hands to the vegetation of the field and ate. The one who had been sighted was blinded, and the one who had been blind became sighted. They did not move from there until the one who had been supported by the other was now supporting him.
There was an incident involving one who was going from the Land of Israel to Babylon. While he was eating bread, he saw two birds fighting one another. One of them killed the other. It went and brought grass and placed it on its mouth, and revived it. That person went and took the grass that had fallen from the bird and went to revive the dead with it. When he reached the Promontory of Tyre, he found a lion cast aside and dead. He placed the grass on its mouth and revived it. The lion stood and ate him. They say a parable: Do not do good to the wicked, and evil will not befall you.
There was an incident in Siḥin in which a certain blind person entered the water to immerse himself. He happened upon Miriam’s well, immersed himself and was cured.
The wicked Titus entered the chamber of the Holy of Holies while he was cursing and blaspheming. He stood and cut the curtain, took a Torah scroll, spread it, brought two prostitutes, and committed a sin with them. He drew his sword and cut the Torah scroll. A miracle was performed and blood began flowing out of it. He began taking credit, saying that he [Titus] had killed Him [God]. He continued exalting himself. When he reached the sea, the sea was gradually growing stormier. He said: ‘The God of these, His strength is only in the sea. If He wishes, let Him climb onto dry land and we will see who prevails.’ The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘Wicked one son of a wicked one, a tiny creature, the least significant of all My creatures, I will send against you to eliminate you from the world.’ A gnat entered his nose and he died an unnatural death. Why is it called a lowly creature? It is because it ingests, but does not egest.
Sometimes it is by means of a hornet, as it is stated: “I will send the hornet before you” (Exodus 23:28). Our Rabbis said: When the Holy One blessed be He sent the hornet before Israel to kill the Emorites, see what is written in their regard: “I destroyed the Emorite from before them, whose height was like the height of cedars and who was strong as the oaks; I destroyed his fruit from above…” (Amos 2:9). It would enter into his right eye and release its poison, and he would be split in two, fall, and die, as this is the way of the Holy One blessed be He, to accomplish his mission by means of the slightest entities. To all those who exalt themselves over Him, he sent a slight creature to exact retribution from them, to inform you that their might is not genuine. In the future, the Holy One blessed be He is destined to exact retribution from the nations by means of slight entities, as it is stated: “It will be on that day that the Lord will whistle for the fly that is at the edge of the rivers of Egypt and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria” (Isaiah 7:18).