Midras Yunus 1:16: Midrash Tanchuma, Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer & Yalkut Shimoni

And He called to Moshe: And why does it say, "And He called?" Rather it is is because it stated above (Exodus 40:35), "and Moshe could not come to the Tent of Meeting" - when the Divine Presence rested upon the Tent of Meeting. And he could not come since the cloud [of glory] was resting upon it. Hence the Holy One, blessed be He, called him. "Saying": What is "saying?" To say to the Children of Israel. "A man from you that brings a sacrifice": Why does it state, "a man (adam)" and it does not say, "eesh?" It wants to say, when a man sins like Adam (the first man) started to sin - he should bring a sacrifice. Why does it state, "from the beast," when it [also] states, "from the cattle or the sheep?" Rather, it wanted to say [that we should] distinguish them from the beast; that his soul does not descend to the lowest pit like the beast, the soul of which descends below to the earth - as it is stated (Ecclesiastes 3:21), "Who knows if the [soul] of man ascends above, and the [soul] of the beast is the one that descends below." And truly does a man not know? Rather it is like the verse stated (Joel 2:14), "Who knows, [God] may turn and regret" - and this is its understanding: He "who knows" that he is a sinner, should "turn" to "God," and He will atone for him for all of his iniquities. What is "and regret?" Rather, He will relent about the bad that He planned to do to him. And likewise it is saying [here], "Who is the one that knows and understands and has intelligence and understanding - he will understand and know that the soul of man ascends above to the place from which it was fashioned, and the spirit of the beast descends below to earth." As so did King Shlomo, peace be upon him, state (Ecclesiastes 12:7), "and the spirit returns to God who gave it." And which spirit returns to "God who gave it?" These are the spirits of the righteous ones, the pious ones and the penitents who stand in front of Him in great stature. And that is the life that has no death with it, and the good which has [nothing] bad with it. This is the [meaning of] that which is written in the Torah (Deuteronomy 22:7), "so that it shall be good for you," forever. And we learned from the heard tradition, "'so that is shall be good to you,' in the world that is completely good; 'and you shall have length of days,' in the world that is completely long." And the reward of the righteous is that they will merit and live for the good. Happy is the man that merited good and delight; may the Omnipresent have us merit it with the righteous! And the early sages have already informed us that man does not have the ability to investigate and speak [about] the goodnesses of the world to come, as it has no measure, nor comparison nor model. And so did the verse state (Isaiah 64:3), "no eye has seen, God, but You, who acts for those who wait for Him" - meaning to say, the good that no eye has seen besides You, God. And that which they called it, "the world to come," is not because it is not found now. [Rather,] for us who are in this world now, it is [still] to come. And hence he says, the world to come - after a man leaves this world. And one who says that [first] this world is destroyed, and afterwards comes the world to come - the matter is not like that. Rather, when the righteous depart from the world, they immediately ascend and stand in this stature, as it is stated (Psalms 31:20), "How great is Your goodness that You have stored for those that fear You, that You have done for those that take refuge in You." But [the souls] of the evildoers float throughout the whole world and do not find rest for the soles of their feet. And they only ascend to the place from which they were fashioned [after] twelve months. What does it do [during this time]? It goes to the grave and comes back, and its seeing the body rotten and that it is maggots and worms is difficult for it. To what is the thing comparable? To a man that had a nice house and it fell. He goes to see it every day, that thorns are growing on it, brambles are covering its face and its stone fence is destroyed - and he cries and mourns over it, since he sees it like this. And so is the spirit floating throughout all of the world and coming back to the grave. And so did our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, say (Berakhot 18b), "Maggots are as harsh for the dead as a needle for the flesh of the living." And from where [do we know] that the soul mourns over it? As it is stated (Job 14:22), "But his flesh pains him, and his soul mourns over it." That is [the meaning of] "the beast" - and it is destroyed like a beast. And therefore it stated, "from the beast," and it stated "from the cattle and from the sheep" - since they will offer from the cattle and from the sheep, so that his soul not descend below like a beast. And why do we offer sacrifices from fowl, from lambs, from sheep and from goats, but not from fish - as it is stated, "if from the fowl is his burnt-offering sacrifice?" Rather, since they are flesh and blood like man and they come out of the belly of their mothers like man, [so too, do] they atone for a man. But fish are eggs - they come out of them and live. Our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said "Any image that the Holy One, blessed be He, created on the dry land, He [also] created in the ocean with fish." Rabbi Tarfon said, "The fish was designated from the six days of creation to swallow Yonah, as it is stated (Jonah 2:1), 'And the Lord designated a great fish.'" Yonah fled from his God on the fifth day. And why did he flee? Rather the first time, [God] sent him to restore the border of Israel; and his words were fulfilled, as it is stated (II Kings 14:25), "He restored the border of Israel." The second time, He sent him to Jerusalem to destroy it; but the Holy One, blessed be He, worked up His great mercies and relented from the bad, and did not destroy it. And [so] they would call him a false prophet. The third time, He sent him to Nineveh to destroy it. Yonah judged the case between him and himself - Yonah said: I know that the [other] nations are close to repentance. Now if I go on my mission, they will repent immediately and the Holy One, blessed be He, is long-suffering and of great kindness - at the time that they repent, He will immediately have mercy [on them]. And the Holy One, blessed be He will [resultantly] become enraged towards Israel, as He did at the time of Sancheriv. When Ravshakeh came to blaspheme the living God, he said, "You are saying that mere words of the lips is counsel and valor for war; now, on whom are you relying, that you have rebelled against me? And if you tell me, 'we are relying on the Lord, our God,' He is the one whose shrines and altars Hizkiyahu did away with" (II Kings 18:20, 22) - what did Hizkiyahu do at that time? "And Hizkiyahu prayed to the Lord and said, 'Lord, God of Israel, enthroned on the cherubs - You alone are God of all the kingdoms of the earth; You made the heavens and the earth. Lord, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes and see - hear the words that Sancheriv has sent to blaspheme the living God!' And Yishayahu son of Amots sent to Hizkiyahu, saying, 'Thus said the Lord, God of Israel, "I have heard that which you prayed to Me concerning King Sancheriv of Assyria. I will [delude] him, etc."' (II Kings 19:15-16, 20, 7)." And four hundred angels armed with swords and spears came and drove him away, etc. - "And it was on that night that an angel of the Lord went out and smote one hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp, and the following morning behold, they were all dead corpses. And King Sancheriv of Assyria moved and went and returned, and he stayed in Nineveh" (II Kings 19:25-26). He said to [his] sages, "Why is the love of the Holy One, blessed be He, with Israel more than all the nations of the world?" They said to him, "They had an ancient father and his name was Avraham, and he went to slaughter his son to bring up as a burnt-offering." He said to them, "Did he slaughter him?" They said to him, "No." He said to them, "[With] him, it was because it was his will to slaughter [his son, that] there was [such] love between him and his God." He said, "I will [then actually] slaughter my son and bring him up as a burnt-offering." And so did he do, as it is stated (II Kings 3:27), "And he took his first-born son, who was to reign in his place, and brought him up as a burnt-offering." [So] the Holy One, blessed be He, said, "How much do the nations of the world, to whom I did not give statutes and judgments, do for My name; as it is stated (Malachi 1:11), 'and everywhere incense is presented for My name.'" [And] immediately, "and a great wrath came upon Israel" (II Kings 3:27). Therefore Yonah said, "The nations will repent and the anger of the Holy One, blessed be He, will be upon Israel; as He will say, 'The nations, to whom I did not give statutes and judgments - when I make a decree upon them and they know [about it], they immediately repent. But Israel is not like this, as I send them My prophets all the time, yet they are stiff-necked.' And therefore, 'a great wrath [will come] upon Israel.'" And not only does Israel call him a false prophet, but even the nations of the world [will] call him so. Yonah said, "I am fleeing from in front of Him to a place where His glory is not [found]. What shall I do? If I ascend to the heavens, His glory is there, as it is stated (Psalms 113:4), 'upon the heavens is His glory.' And if upon the earth, His glory is there [too], as it is stated (Isaiah 6:3), 'the whole earth is full of His glory.' Behold, I will flee to the sea, as His glory is not stated there." [So] he went down to Jaffa, but he did not find a ship to board there. And the ship that Yonah would board upon was two days' journey away from Jaffa, in order to test Yonah. What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He brought a great storm in the sea and brought [the ship quickly] to Jaffa. And Yonah saw this and rejoiced in his heart and said, "Now, I know that my path is straight in front of me." And he did not know that the Holy One, blessed be He, was causing the thing to let him know that His glory was there (in the sea). He said to [the boatsmen], "I will come with you." And the way of all ships is that when a man exits from them, he gives his payment. But in the joy of Yonah's heart, He preceded and gave his wage [right away], as it is stated (Jonah 1:3), "And Yonah arose to flee to Tarshish from in front of the Lord [... and he gave its pay]." And they traveled the distance of a day, and a great storm came upon them in the sea from their right and from their left. And the way of all ships is to come and go in peace and quiet. And the ship upon which Yonah boarded was in great distress to break apart, as it is stated (Jonah 1:4), "And the Lord placed a great wind upon the sea." Rabbi Chaninah said, "[Men of all] the seventy languages were in the ship, and each and every one had his god in his hand." They said, "The god that answers and saves us from this distress, he is the [true] God." And they stood and each man cried out in the name of his god, but they did not help. [Meanwhile,] Yonah dozed off and was sleeping in the distress of his soul; and the captain came to him. He said to him, "Behold, we are standing between death and life, and you are dozing off? From which people are you?" He said to them, "I am a Hebrew." They said to him, "And have we not heard that the God of the Hebrews is great? 'Cry out to your God' (Jonah 1:6). Maybe He will do for us like all of His wonders at the Red Sea." He said to them, "This distress has come upon you because of me, as I am fleeing from in front of Him, as I thought that His glory was not in the sea, and now I see that His glory is on the dry land and in the sea." He said to them, "Because of me; 'Lift me and put me in the sea, and the sea will be quiet upon you' (Jonah 1:12)." Rabbi Shimon said, "The men did not accept from Yonah to drop him into the sea; and [so] they cast lots, as it is stated (Jonah 2:7), 'and they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Yonah.'" What did they do? They took the vessels that were on the ship and threw them to the sea to make themselves lighter, but it did not help a bit. They sought to return to dry land, but they were not able, as it is stated (Jonah 1:13), "And the men rowed, etc." What did they do? They took Yonah and stood him upon the edge of the ship and said, "God of the world, Lord, 'do not put innocent blood upon us' (Jonah 1:14), as we do not know what is the nature of this man; yet he says to us with his mouth, 'because of me has this distress come upon you.'" They placed him [into the sea] until his knees, and the sea stopped from its fury. They [then] took him back towards them, and the sea stormed against them. They placed him [into the sea] until his navel, and the sea stopped from its fury. They [then] took him back towards them, and it stormed against them. They placed him completely [in the sea, and] the sea was immediately quiet from its fury, as it is stated (Jonah 1:15), "And they lifted Yonah and placed him, etc." "And the Lord designated a great fish to swallow Yonah, and Yonah was in the innards of the fish three days and three nights"(Jonah 2:1) - and Yonah entered its mouth, like a man that enters a large synagogue, and the two eyes of the fish were like opened windows giving light to Yonah. Rabbi Meir said, "A pearl was hanging in the innards of the fish, and it would give light to Yonah, like the sun lights up in its strength in the afternoon. And Yonah could see everything that was in the sea and that was in the depths, as it is stated (Psalms 97:11), "Light is planted for the righteous, and joy for the righteous of heart." The fish said to Yonah, "Do you not know that my time has come to be eaten into the mouth of the Leviathan?" He said to it, "Take me there and I will save you, and my soul." It took him to the Leviathan. He said to the Leviathan, "Because of you have I come to see your dwelling place in the sea. And not only that, but in the future I will come down to put a rope on your neck and to bring you up for the great meal of the righteous ones." He showed it his seal from Avraham, our father (his circumcision). The Leviathan saw it and fled the journey of two days from before Yonah. He said to the fish, "Behold, I saved you from the mouth of the Leviathan; [now] show me all that is in the sea and in the depths." And [so] it showed him the great river of the waters of the ocean, as it is stated (Yonah 2:6), "up to my soul was the deep." And it showed him the paths of the Red (literally Reed) Sea, as it is stated, "reeds are twined around my head." And it showed him the place from where the breakers of the sea and its waves go out, as it is stated (Yonah 2:4), "all Your breakers and waves passed over me." And it showed him the pillars of the Earth in its foundation, as it is stated (Jonah 2:7), "the bars of the earth were around me forever." And it showed him Geihinnom, as it is written (Jonah 2:3), "from the belly of the pit I cried out; You heard my voice." And it showed him under the Chamber of God, as it is stated (Jonah 2:7), "I descended to the bases of the mountains." From here we learn that Jerusalem stands on seven mountains. And he saw the Stone of the Foundation there, set in the depths. And he saw the sons of Korach, standing and praying upon it. It said to Yonah, "Behold, you are standing under the Chamber of the Lord; pray and you shall be answered." Immediately Yonah said to the fish, "Stand in the place that you are standing, as I would like to recite a prayer." And the fish stopped. And Yonah began to pray in front of the Holy One, blessed be He, "Master of the Universe, You have been called the One that brings down and raises up - behold, I have gone down, [now] raise me up; You have been called the One that brings death and that brings life - behold, my soul has reached death, [now] bring me life." And he was not answered until [this] came out from his mouth (Jonah 2:10): "that which I have vowed, I will fulfill, etc." - "That which I have vowed" to bring up the Leviathan in front of You, "I will fulfill" on the day of Israel's salvation, as it is stated, "But I, with loud thanksgiving, will sacrifice to You that which I have vowed." And immediately the Holy One, blessed be He, indicated [to the fish], and it spewed Yonah out to the dry land, as it is stated (Jonah 2:11), "And the Lord said to the fish, and it spewed Jonah out to the dry land." When the sailors saw all of the great miracles, signs and wonders that the Holy One, blessed be He, did with Yonah, they got up and every man cast away his god, as it is stated (Jonah 2:9), "They who preserve the vanities of emptiness forsake their kindness." And they went back to Jaffa and went up to Jerusalem, and they circumcised the flesh of their foreskin, as it is stated (Jonah 1:15), "And the men feared a great fear of the Lord, and they slaughtered a sacrifice to the Lord and they made vows" - and did they slaughter a sacrifice? Rather, [this was] circumcision, which is like the blood of a sacrifice. And each man of them vowed to bring his children and everything that he had to the God of Yonah. And they vowed and they fulfilled [it]. And about them is it said, the converts were righteous converts.

The sailors saw all the signs, the miracles, and the great wonders which the Holy One, blessed be He, did unto Jonah, and they stood and they cast away every one his God, as it is said, "They that regard lying vanities forsake their own shame" (Jonah 2:8). They returned to Joppa and went up to Jerusalem and circumcised the flesh of their foreskins, as it is said, "And the men feared the Lord exceedingly; and they offered a sacrifice unto the Lord" (Jonah 1:16). Did they offer sacrifice? But this (sacrifice) refers to the blood of the covenant of circumcision, which is like the blood of a sacrifice. And they made vows every one to bring his children and all belonging to him to the God of Jonah; and they made vows and performed them, and concerning them it says, "Upon the proselytes, the proselytes of righteousness."

Another interpretation: "Command Aharon [...]" (Leviticus 6:2) This is what is written (Psalms 51:20), "With Your will, do good to Zion," and afterwards (Psalms 51:21), "Then You will desire sacrifices of righteousness, a burnt-offering and a whole-offering." That is to say, if Israel does not offer a burnt-offering before the Holy One, blessed be He, Zion and Jerusalem will not be built. As they are only built through the merit of the burnt-offering which Israel would offer before the Holy One, blessed be He. And why is the burnt-offering different, [so that it is] better than all of the other offerings? Because it is called "sacrifices of righteousness," as it is stated, "Then You will desire sacrifices of righteousness, a burnt-offering and a whole-offering." The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moshe, "On account of this, the burnt-offering is so beloved to Me. Hence, 'Command Aharon and his sons,' that they be careful with it, to offer it before Me." Why does it state, "This is the law (Torah) of the burnt-offering?" It means to say, the reading of the Torah. See how beloved the reading of the Torah is in front of the Holy One, blessed be He. As there is an obligation upon a man to give all of his money to teach Torah to himself and his sons, as it is stated, "Command Aharon and his sons, saying" - meaning, that they should say it to the Children of Israel, such that they occupy themselves with the reading of the burnt-offering. As even though they [actually] offer a burnt-offering, they would [also] be occupied with its reading, so that they would get merit in the sacrifice and in its reading. And so did Rav Shmuel bar Abba say, "The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel, 'Even though the Temple is destined to be destroyed in the future and the sacrifices to be nullified, do not [allow] yourselves to forget the order of the sacrifices; but rather be careful to read about them and review them. And if you occupy yourselves with them, I will count it for you as if you were occupied with the sacrifices [themselves].'" And if you want to know [that this is so], come and see that when the Holy One, blessed be He, showed Yechezkel the form of the [Temple], what did He say? "Describe the [Temple] to the House of Israel; let them be ashamed of their iniquities, and measure the plan" (Ezekiel 43:10). Yehezkel [responded] to the Holy One, blessed be He, "Until now, we are put into exile in the land of our enemies; and You say to me to go and inform Israel [about] the form of the [Temple], and 'write [it] in their eyes, and they should preserve its form and all of its statutes [and do them]' (Ezekiel 43:11). And are they able to do [them]? Leave them until they emerge from the exile, and afterwards, I will go and tell them." [So] the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Yechezkel, "And because My children are in exile, the building of My [Temple] should be idle?" The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, "Its reading in the Torah is as great as its building. Go and say it to them, and they will occupy themselves to read the form of the [Temple] in the Torah. And in reward for its reading, that they occupy themselves to read about it, I count it for them as if they were occupied with the building of the [Temple]." And fortunate is the man who involves himself in Torah and gives his money to teach Torah to his son. As on account of the money that he gives to teach, he merits life in the world to come, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 30:20), "as it is your life and the length of your days" - your life, in the world to come; and length of your days, in the world that is long. And know that it is so. Rabbi Assia said, "Why do the infants of the master's schoolhouse begin by studying the book of Leviticus? Rather it is because all the sacrifices are written in it; and because [the infants] are pure until now and do not know what is the taste of sin and iniquity. Hence, the Holy One, blessed be He, said, 'Let them begin first with the order of the sacrifices - let the pure ones come and occupy themselves with the acts of purification. Hence I count it for them as if they were standing and offering sacrifices in front of Me.' And He is informing you that even though the Temple is destroyed and sacrifices are not practiced, were it not for the infants that read the order of the sacrifices, the world would not stand." Hence, the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel, "My children, even thought the Temple is destroyed and the sacrifices are annulled and the sacrifice of the burnt-offering is not practiced, if you occupy yourselves and read the section of the burnt-offering and study the section about sacrifices, I count it for you as if you are offering a sacrifice of a burnt-offering in front of Me, as it is stated, 'This is the Torah of a burnt-offering'" - meaning to say, one who occupies himself with the Torah of the burnt-offering merits life in the world to come. What is written above? "A soul that sins and violates a violation of the Lord, and denies against his kinsman, etc." (Leviticus 5:21); and afterwards, "This is the law of the burnt-offering." Isaiah said (Isaiah 61:8), "Since I the Lord love justice, hate theft in a burnt-offering." The Holy One, blessed be He, said, "Do not say, 'I will steal and extort, and [then I will] bring a burnt-offering and it will atone for me.' As I hate theft, even with a burnt-offering made for the theft. And if the world wants that I should accept a burnt-offering, return the theft to its master; and afterwards, if he bring up a burnt-offering for it, I will accept it, as it is stated, 'Since I the Lord [...] hate theft in a burnt-offering' - hate the burnt-offering when the theft is still in his hand." And one who reads the Torah of the burnt-offering is as if he brings up and offers a burnt-offering in front of the Holy One, blessed be He. And therefore, fortunate is the one teaches himself Torah and gives his money to teach himself and his sons, as it is stated (Leviticus 7:11), "This is the law of the sacrifice of the peace-offerings" (here read as "This is the Torah of the sacrifice of payments"). Israel said in front of the Holy One, blessed be He, "Master of the world, behold You command us that we bring all of these sacrifices. When the Temple was still in existence, a man that sins brings a sacrifice and it is atoned for him. And so [too], he brings a meal-offering and it is accepted for him. But now that the Temple was destroyed, what can we do about our sins and about our guilt?" [So] the Holy One, blessed be He, said to them, "If you want that they should be atoned for you, keep My laws, and I will count it for you as if you did a sacrifice in front of Me." And from where [do we know this]? "This is the law (Torah) for the burnt-offering, for the meal-offering, for the sin-offering, for the guilt-offering, for the induction-offerings and for the sacrifice of the peace-offerings" (Leviticus 7:37) - do not read it so, but rather, "This is the Torah; not for the burnt-offering, not for the meal-offering, not for the sin-offering, not for the guilt-offering, not for the induction-offerings and not for the sacrifice of the peace-offerings." Rather, occupy yourselves with Torah, and it will be considered in front of Me, as if you offered all of the sacrifices in front of Me. Hence, David stated (Psalms 119:97), "How much have I loved Your Torah, it is my speech all of the day." Since I know that occupation with Your Torah atones for iniquities - therefore I have loved Your Torah. What is [the understanding of] "upon its burning on the altar all of the night" (Leviticus 6:2)? This is that they would burn the fats and the limbs the whole entire night, and the prayers were instituted corresponding to the sacrifices. Now that we do not have burnt-offerings, nor sacrifices, nor meal-offerings, nor guilt offerings, they instituted them as prayers. And the evening prayer can be brought the whole night, just as we bring limbs and fats the whole entire night. But the forefathers instituted the prayers, and this means to say, its burning is on the altar all of the night. And why was the burning on the altar and not in another place? Rather the verse states (Exodus 20:21), "Make an altar of earth (adamah) for Me" - why of earth? Because man (Adam) was created from the earth, and his name was called Adam, because he was taken from the adamah. And we bring up burnt-offerings and sacrifices on that altar which is made of earth to atone for the body that is taken from the earth. And from where [do we know] that it atones for the soul? As it is written (Leviticus 17:14), "As the soul of all flesh, its blood is in its soul." And it also states (Leviticus 17:11), "as the blood atones for the soul." "And they shall throw the blood on the altar" (Leviticus 1:5) - meaning to say, they shall throw the blood - which is the soul - upon the altar - which is from earth like the body - and it shall atone for the soul. "A permanent fire shall burn upon the altar; you shall not extinguish" (Leviticus 6:6); but it [also] states (Isaiah 66:24), "They shall go out and gaze on the corpses of the men who rebelled against Me, their worms shall not die, nor their fire be extinguished, etc." [That is referring to] those that deny the Omnipresent. But the fire that is permanently burning on the altar atones for the sins of Israel. And what is [the understanding of] "altar" (mizbeach)? [It is an acronym:] Mem is mechilah (pardon), as it pardons their sins; zayin is zechut (merit), as it gives them merit for the world to come; bet is berakha (blessing), as the Holy One, blessed be He, gives them blessing [through it] in the deeds of their hands; chet is chaim (life), as they merit [through it] to life in the world to come. One who leaves all of these - pardon, merit, blessing and life - and goes and worships idolatry, is burned by His great fire, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 4:24), "As the Lord, your God, is a consuming fire, He is a jealous God." How is He jealous? As it is stated (Hosea 2:22), "And I will betroth you in faith." [Hence,] just as a husband is jealous about his wife, so too is the Holy One, blessed be He, jealous, as it is stated (Isaiah 62:5), "and the joy of the groom towards the bride, etc." One who leaves all these will be burnt by His great fire, as it is stated (Isaiah 66:24), "as their worms shall not die, nor their fire be extinguished, and they will be a disgrace for all flesh." But if he repents, the fire burning on the altar atones for him and expiates the fire of Geihinnom. Moreover, every one of Israel that is circumcised enters the Garden of Eden, since the Holy One, blessed be He, places His name on the Israelite so that he can enter the Garden of Eden. And what is the name and the seal that He places upon them? It is Shaddai (the Omnipotent): The shin He placed in the nose; the dalet in the hand; and the yod in the circumcision. And therefore at the time that an Israelite goes to his final home, there is an appointed angel in the Garden of Eden who takes every son of Israel that is circumcised and brings him to the Garden of Eden. But those that are not circumcised; even though they have two letters of the name of Shaddai - as they have the shin of the nose and the dalet of the hand - they do not have the yod of Shaddai, [and so, the letters they have form] the expression, sheid (demon), meaning to say that a demon brings him to Geihinnom. And an Israelite who is circumcised but worships idolatry [also] goes to enter the Garden of Eden, but the Holy One, blessed be He, commands the angel, such that he pulls his foreskin and makes his foreskin appear as it it were never circumcised, such that he not enter the Garden of Eden but rather Geihinnom. And circumcision is a great thing and beloved in front of the Holy One, blessed be He. And all the creatures of the world - whether people, beasts, animals or crawling things, all of them - fear an Israelite when he is circumcised. And so do you find with Yonah. As he fled from his God on the fifth day. And why did he flee? Rather the first time, [God] sent him to restore the border of Israel. The second time, He sent him to Jerusalem to destroy it; but the Holy One, blessed be He, worked up His great mercies and relented from the bad. And [so] they called him a false prophet. The third time, He sent him to Nineveh to destroy it. Yonah judged the case between him and himself - Yonah said, "I know that the [other] nations are close to repentance. Now they will repent and the Holy One, blessed be He, will [resultantly] send His rage towards Israel. Moreover, Israel will will call me a false prophet" (etc. in Midrash Tanchuma, Vayikra 8). "And the men feared a great fear" (Jonah 1:8) - [this] teaches that fear is greater than wisdom and understanding. As one who has wisdom and understanding, but does not have fear is not anything. As so did King Shlomo, peace be upon him, state (Ecclesiastes 12:13), "At the end of the matter when all is heard; fear God and observe His commandments, as this is all of man."