יֻחַ֤ן רָשָׁע֙ בַּל־לָמַ֣ד צֶ֔דֶק בְּאֶ֥רֶץ נְכֹח֖וֹת יְעַוֵּ֑ל וּבַל־יִרְאֶ֖ה גֵּא֥וּת יְהוָֽה׃ (ס)
Patutkah orang fasik dikasihani, padahal ia tidak belajar keadilan? Di negeri kelurusan ia berbuat curang, dan ia tidak memandang keagungan Yang Mahakekal.
Devarim Rabbah
“To observe, to perform all His commandments” – Rabbi Shimon ben Ḥalafta said: Anyone who studied matters of Torah but does not fulfill them, his punishment is harsher than one who did not study at all. To what is the matter comparable? It is to a king who had an orchard and he introduced two sharecroppers into it. One would plant trees and chop them down, and one did not plant at all and did not chop them down. At whom was the king angry? Is it not to the one who would plant and chop them down? So, anyone who studied matters of Torah but does not fulfill them, his punishment is harsher than one who did not study at all. From where is it derived? “Grace will be granted to the evil one who did not study righteousness” (Isaiah 26:10), but if one studied but did not fulfill, he will not be granted grace. That is, “to observe, to perform all His commandments.”
Shemot Rabbah
Another interpretation: “This month shall be for you” – that is what is written: “[He brought out His people with joy and his chosen ones with gladness.] He gave them lands…so that they would observe His statutes” (Psalms 105:43–45). God brought the plagues upon the Egyptians: “He sent darkness, and it was dark” (Psalms 105:28); He gradually lowered [the darkness] until it reached Egypt. “Egypt rejoiced at their departure” (Psalms 105:38) – it is analogous to a king whom everyone honored. To what degree did they honor him? To the extent that they would bring him gifts and would present their gods with them. So, Pharaoh ruled from one end of the world to the other end, and they would bring him gifts and present their gods with them. Then Moses and Aaron came, as it is stated: “Then Moses and Aaron came…” (Exodus 5:1). He took out his lists29Lists of the names of all the gods. and searched them but did not find this [God’s] name.30See Exodus 5:2: “Pharaoh said: Who is the Lord, that I should heed His voice to send forth Israel? I do not know the Lord, and I also will not send forth Israel.” This is analogous to a servant who was walking with his master…as cited above.31Shemot Rabba 5:14
But the Holy One blessed be He is living and everlasting, as it is stated: “But the Lord God is the true God, He is the living God, and the eternal King” (Jeremiah 10:10). It is analogous to a poor person who was in the city and stood before the king [to ask for assistance], but he was indifferent [to the poor person’s suffering]. When the affliction affected his own body he said: There is nothing like this. So, the Holy One blessed be He brought plagues upon the Egyptians, but Pharaoh was indifferent. When it afflicted his body, he was affected and began screaming: “The Lord is righteous, and I and my people are wicked” (Exodus 9:27).
Could the Holy One blessed be He not have rescued Israel from the hand of Egypt with the first plague? Rather, it was to fulfill what is stated: “He exalts the nations and eliminates them” (Job 12:23), and it is written: “He removes the heart of the leaders of the people of the land” (Job 12:24). Why did he say: “The Lord is righteous?” When the plagues came, they came only in the land of Egypt. Even if a plague was introduced there and entered like [the size of] an almond, the plague would fill all of it but would not touch another field [outside of Egypt]. About this it is stated: “For when Your judgments are on the earth, [the inhabitants of the world] learn righteousness” (Isaiah 26:9). To what was the congregation of Israel comparable? To a king who had a beloved daughter, who was located across the river; the king extended his hand and brought her over and seated her in his chariot, as it is stated: “How beautiful are your steps” (Song of Songs 7:2); “I did not know myself; he placed me on the chariots of my noble people” (Song of Songs 6:12); “He rained meat upon them like dust” (Psalms 78:27); “He led them through the depths” (Psalms 106:9); “the Lord was going before them by day” (Exodus 13:21).32All these verses express ways that God expresses his care for Israel. All this was due to the merit of Abraham, as it is stated: “For He remembered His holy word unto Abraham His servant; He took out His people with gladness…and He gave them the lands of the nations” (Psalms 105:42–44). Why? “So they would observe His statutes and keep His laws” (Psalms 105:45).
But the Holy One blessed be He is living and everlasting, as it is stated: “But the Lord God is the true God, He is the living God, and the eternal King” (Jeremiah 10:10). It is analogous to a poor person who was in the city and stood before the king [to ask for assistance], but he was indifferent [to the poor person’s suffering]. When the affliction affected his own body he said: There is nothing like this. So, the Holy One blessed be He brought plagues upon the Egyptians, but Pharaoh was indifferent. When it afflicted his body, he was affected and began screaming: “The Lord is righteous, and I and my people are wicked” (Exodus 9:27).
Could the Holy One blessed be He not have rescued Israel from the hand of Egypt with the first plague? Rather, it was to fulfill what is stated: “He exalts the nations and eliminates them” (Job 12:23), and it is written: “He removes the heart of the leaders of the people of the land” (Job 12:24). Why did he say: “The Lord is righteous?” When the plagues came, they came only in the land of Egypt. Even if a plague was introduced there and entered like [the size of] an almond, the plague would fill all of it but would not touch another field [outside of Egypt]. About this it is stated: “For when Your judgments are on the earth, [the inhabitants of the world] learn righteousness” (Isaiah 26:9). To what was the congregation of Israel comparable? To a king who had a beloved daughter, who was located across the river; the king extended his hand and brought her over and seated her in his chariot, as it is stated: “How beautiful are your steps” (Song of Songs 7:2); “I did not know myself; he placed me on the chariots of my noble people” (Song of Songs 6:12); “He rained meat upon them like dust” (Psalms 78:27); “He led them through the depths” (Psalms 106:9); “the Lord was going before them by day” (Exodus 13:21).32All these verses express ways that God expresses his care for Israel. All this was due to the merit of Abraham, as it is stated: “For He remembered His holy word unto Abraham His servant; He took out His people with gladness…and He gave them the lands of the nations” (Psalms 105:42–44). Why? “So they would observe His statutes and keep His laws” (Psalms 105:45).
Midrash Tanchuma Buber
(Gen. 27:36:) THEN HE SAID: HAVE YOU NOT RESERVED ME]98See above, 5:6, n. 25; 6:1, n. 1. A BLESSING?99With the word BLESSING, Buber is able to follow his Oxford MS again. Resh Laqish said: This is one of three children of Adam who came with a legal circumvention against the Holy One.100Sanh. 101a (bar.) names Cain, Esau, and Manasseh as the three. Esau said to him: If both of us are righteous, does not your God have < enough > blessings to bless both of us? The Holy One said to him: May your mouth be stopped up! Look, Jacob is blessing twelve tribes, and it is not a case of him blessing one as he blesses another. Even so he was filled with compassion for him. He came to bless him, but the Divine Presence departed from him. He began to pray and say (in the words of Is. 26:10): LET THE WICKED BE SHOWN FAVOR.101Gen. R. 67:5. He said to him (ibid., cont.): HE WILL NOT LEARN RIGHTEOUSNESS. He said to him: Do you desire to bless this one? He is going to destroy my house and confuse lands102‘Aratsot. Perhaps the text should read ‘otsarot (“treasures”) here. See MS 1240 of the De Rossi library in Parma. and riches. Thus it is stated (ibid., cont.): IN A LAND OF INTEGRITY HE WILL ACT UNJUSTLY. Isaac said to him: Give to him in this world, AND (ibid., cont.) HE SHALL NOT SEE THE MAJESTY OF THE LORD in the world to come because he would compel103Gk.: anangke. me to repay him the glory with which he honored me. Esau immediately raised his eyes upward and wept, as stated (in Gen. 27:38): AND ESAU LIFTED UP HIS VOICE AND WEPT. The Holy One said: Although he is wicked, flatter him. R. Eleazar said: Esau shed three tears, one from his right < eye >, one from his left, and one disappeared in the midst of his eye.104M.Pss. 80:4. The Holy One said: Look, the wicked one is weeping over his life! How am I to turn him away empty! He immediately told his father to bless him. This text is related (to Ps. 80:6 [5]): YOU HAVE FED THEM THE BREAD OF TEARS AND HAVE HAD THEM DRINK A SHALISH105The word SHALISH has the same spelling as shelish, which means “one-third,” and has the same root as the word for “three.” In the context of the psalm shalish denotes a dry measure, which is a third of an ephah. OF TEARS. R. Abbin said in the name of R. Aha: Israel said to the Holy One: Sovereign of the World, now if in the case of Esau the Wicked, because he had shed two tears, < you were > filled with compassion for him immediately; how much the more so in our case, when our tears < flow > constantly day and night like bread, as stated (in Ps. 42:4 [3]): MY TEARS HAVE BEEN MY BREAD DAY AND NIGHT. Up to now the proper time has not arrived for him to be filled with compassion over you. David has said (in Ps. 39:13 [12]): HEAR MY PRAYER, O LORD, AND GIVE EAR TO MY CRY. DO NOT KEEP SILENCE AT MY TEARS. The Holy One said to them: I will repay Esau the Wicked for the glory of his ancestors, and I will exalt him. Afterwards, I am coming to exalt you and repay {them} [you] for what you have achieved and for what your ancestors achieved. It is so stated (in Ps. 46:11 [ 10]): I WILL BE EXALTED AMONG THE GENTILES; I WILL BE EXALTED IN THE EARTH. It is simply that the Holy One said to Jacob (in Gen. 28:14): AND YOUR SEED SHALL BE LIKE THE DUST OF THE EARTH. It is also written (in Mal. 3:12): FOR YOU WILL BE A DELIGHTFUL LAND. Esau said to him (in Gen. 27:37): BLESS ME ALSO, O MY FATHER. Isaac said to him: With what shall I bless you? R. Berekhyah said: He said to him: I made him a lord over you. In anything whatever that I should bless you, I should be blessing him. Why? Because whatever the slave acquires, he acquires for his master. (Gen. 27:29:) BE A MASTER TO YOUR BROTHER is what Isaac said to Jacob. That was the seventh blessing (in Gen. 27:29). Now Isaac had set down ten blessings with which he had blessed him, but he said to him only (in vs. 27:37): "BEHOLD, I HAVE MADE HIM A MASTER OVER YOU." He did, however, say to him: With everything that you are thinking I should bless you, I should only be blessing him. Why? Because whatever the servant has belongs to the master. Thus in Egypt, even though they had been enslaved to them, when they left them they took all their property. So also in the case of thirty-one kings (in Josh. 12:7-24), Israel drove them from their land and took their wealth. So also now in respect to what the peoples of the world are plundering from Israel, Israel belongs to the LORD. Thus it is stated (in Is. 23:18): HER (in reference to Tyre as a harlot) PROFITS AND HER HIRE SHALL BE DEDICATED TO THE LORD {OF HOSTS}. THEY SHALL NOT BE TREASURED OR STORED, FOR HER PROFITS SHALL BELONG TO THOSE WHO DWELL BEFORE THE LORD FOR EATING THEIR FILL AND FOR SPLENDID CLOTHING.