Midrash su Deuteronomio 23:11

Pesachim (Fol. 3) R. Joshua b. Levi said: "A man should never bring forth from his mouth an unfit word, for the Scripture uses a circumlocution of eight [extra] letters in order to avoid an ugly word; for it is said (Gen. 4, 2) Of the clean beasts and of the beasts that are not clean." R. Papa said: "A circumlocution of nine letters is found in the Scripture; for it is said (Deu. 23, 11) If there be among thee, any man that is not clean." Rabina said: "Ten letters [is the circumlocution]; for in the same text there is also an extra letter, Vav." R. Acha b. Jacob said: "Sixteen extra letters are used [in order to avoid an unfit word], as it is said (I Sam. 20, 26) For he thought something hath befallen him, he is not clean, because he has not yet purified himself [in order to avoid the word impure]." At the academy of R. Ishmael, it was taught that a man should always speak in clean language, since the seat of a male zab the passage calls (Lev. 15, 9) saddle, and the seat of a female zab the passage calls (Ib.) sitting place. This principle is also supported by the following passage (Job 15, 5 ) So that thou choosest the language of the prudent. Also by another passage (Ib. 33, 3) And my lips utter knowledge clearly. Why does he cite all these passages [is not the first one sufficient]? You will perhaps say that this applies only to Biblical matters, but for Rabbinical matters any language might be used. Come, listen; it is said, So that thou choosest a language of the prudent. And if you will say that this applies only to Rabbinical matters, but for secular affairs, any language might be used. Come, Listen to this passage; And my lips utter knowledge clearly.

“When a camp goes out against your enemies, you shall beware of everything evil” (Devarim 23:10). There should be no levity among you so that you do not incur any liability. From whom should you learn? From Yiftach. What is written about him? “…and he was the son of a harlot…” (Shoftim 11:1) Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said that she brought her sister-wife into her house, and our Rabbis say that she was really a harlot; and because there was some levity in him all of the people fell upon him. Therefore it is written “you shall beware of everything evil" and “If there is among you a man who is unclean…” These are Israel who became impure through idolatry, as it says “…scatter them afar like a menstruant; 'Go out,' say to it.” (Yeshayahu 30:22) “…he shall go outside the camp…” (Devarim 23:11) that they were exiled to Bavel. “And it shall be, towards evening…”(Devarim 23:12) the evening of the kingdoms, and the Holy One purifies them as it says “…he shall bathe in water…” (ibid.) and it is written “When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion…” (Yeshayahu 4:4) “…and when the sun sets…” (Devraim 23:12) When the King Messiah comes of whom it is written “…and his throne is like the sun before Me.” (Tehillim 89:37) “…he may come within the camp” (Devarim 23:12) These are Israel, entering into the Holy Temple. “And you shall have a designated place outside the camp…” (Devarim 23:13) this is the merit of Avraham. R. Pinchas said- “…so that you can go out there,” to Bavel. “And you shall keep a stake in addition to your weapons…” (Devarim 23:14) Nevuchadnezar demanded that they serve an idol and they said “…let it be known to you, O king, that we will not worship your god…” (Daniel 3:18) “…and you shall return and cover your excrement.” (Devarim 23:14) The covering of idolatry that was in Jerusalem. “For the Lord, your God, goes along in the midst of your camp…” (Devarim 23:15) The Holy One will be revealed to them immediately and saved them from the fire. “Therefore, your camp shall be holy…” (ibid.) Afterwards He will sanctify them as it says “And they shall call them the holy people, those redeemed by the Lord…” (Yeshayahu 62:12)

R. Levi opened [his discourse] (with Ps. 9:6), “You have rebuked the nations; you have destroyed the wicked one”: “You have rebuked the nations.” This refers to Amalek, of which it is written (in Numb. 24:20), “First among the nations (to attack Israel) was Amalek.”³⁰PRK 3:5; cf. PR 12:5. (ibid., cont.:) “You have destroyed the wicked one.” This refers to Esau, of whom it is stated (in Mal. 1:4), “and they shall call them (i.e., Edom) a country of wickedness.” If someone says to you, “Jacob also is included [among the wicked one],” say to such a one, "’You have destroyed wicked ones (in the plural)’ is not written here, but ‘You have destroyed the wicked one (in the singular).’” (Ps. 9:6, cont.:) “You have blotted out their name for ever and ever,” as stated (Deut. 25:19), “You shall blot out the remembrance [of Amalek]….” (Ps. 79:12:) “And return sevenfold unto the bosom (heq) of our neighbors [their taunt with which they have taunted you, O Lord].” R. Judan bar Gadya, R. Joshua ben Levi, and the masters [differ].³¹PRK 3:6; Lam. R. 3:64 (9); PR 12:10; 13:1. R. Judan bar Gadya said, “Remember what [our neighbor Amalek] did to us in the penis, which is attached to the lap (heq) [i.e., to the center] of a man.” And this agrees with what R. Hanina bar Shilqa, R. Joshua ben Levi and R. Jochanan said, “What did the House of Amalek do to Israel?³²Below, section 14. They cut off their penes and flung them heavenward, as they said, ‘This is what You have chosen, take for Yourself what You have chosen.’ This is related to the verse (in Ps. 9:6), ‘their taunt with which they have taunted You, O Lord.’” R. Joshua [ben Levi] said, “It should be remembered what they did in the Torah, as it is written about it (in Ps. 12:7), ‘refined sevenfold.’” And the masters said, “It should be remembered what they did to the Temple, which was the bosom (heq) [i.e., the center] of the earth, as stated (with reference to the Temple in Ezek. 43:14), ‘And from the lap (heq) of the earth³³A more usual translation would read: AND FROM THE BASE ON THE GROUND. to the lower ledge, two cubits.’” When Samuel came, he repaid them, as stated (in I Sam. 15:33), “then Samuel hewed Agag.” What did he do to him? R. Abba bar Kahana said, “He cut olive-sized pieces from his flesh and fed them to ostriches. This is what is written (in Job 18:13), ‘It shall consume pieces of his flesh; the firstborn of death shall consume his pieces’;³⁴Job 18 may well have seemed related to Agag’s fate in that vs. 17 mentions the perishing of HIS REMEMBRANCE, an expression linked with Agag (here in I Sam. 15:2) and Amalek (in Deut. 25:17–19). See Braude and Kapstein, Pesikta de Rab Kahana, p. 49, n. 42. in that [Samuel] chose a cruel (mar)³⁵Braude and Kapstein, ibid., n. 43. also point out here that mar in Aramaic is an honorific title suitable for a king like Agag. death for him.” But the masters say, “[Samuel] set up four poles³⁶Gk.: kontoi. and stretched him upon them.” It also says (in I Sam. 15:32), “and Agag said, ‘Surely the bitterness (mar) of death is at hand (sr),’” [meaning,] “Do they thus put princes (sr)³⁷This SR is spelled with a sin and is a homonym for the SR in I Sam. 15:32, which is spelled with a samekh. to death with harsh deaths?” R. Samuel bar Avdimi said, “He judged him by the justice of the peoples of the world (instead of by Torah) without witnesses and without a warning.” Rabbi said, “He castrated him (rt.: srs) him, as stated (in I Sam. 15:33), ‘But Samuel said, “As your sword has made women bereaved, so shall your mother be bereaved among women.”’” R. Levi said, “Moses also gave a hint to Israel in the Torah (about Agag's castration), since it is stated (in Deut. 25:11-12), ‘When two men get into a fight with each other, and the wife of one draws near [to save her husband from the hand of the one smiting him, if she puts out with her hand and grabs [the other man] by his genitals.] Then you shall cut off her hand….’ What is written after that (in vs. 17), ‘Remember what Amalek did to you.’” Israel said to the Holy One, blessed be He, “Master of the world, are You telling us to remember?³⁸PRK 3:7; PR 12:10; 13:1. You remember; as forgetfulness is common among us. But with You there is no forgetfulness.” Thus (in Deut. 25:17), “Remember what Amalek did to you.” He did to us, and he did not do to You? (Ps. 137:7:) “Remember against the children of Edom, O Lord, the day of [the destruction of] Jerusalem, [how they said, ‘Aru, 'aru (rt.: 'rh, rt.: 'rh) her to the foundation].’” Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said, “'Aru, 'aru [means], paggeru, paggeru (destroy, destroy), even as [the word is] used (in Jer. 51:58), ‘Babylon's broad wall shall be utterly demolished ('ar'er tit'ar'ar, rts.: 'rr, 'rh).’” R. Levi said, “['Aru, 'aru means,] empty, empty, even as [the word is] used (in Gen. 24:20), ‘She hastened to empty (te'ar, rt: 'rh) her jar into the trough.’” In the opinion of the one who said, “paggeru, paggeru (destroy, destroy),” ['aru, 'aru means] to its foundations is intended (meaning, down to them but not to the foundation per se). [But] in the opinion of the one who said, “pannun, pannun (empty them, empty them)” [the words mean,] empty its foundations. What is the meaning of Amalek ('mlq)? People ('m) of the locust (ylq).³⁹PRK 3:8. The translation is following Buber’s suggestion here in n. 71, who would read YLQ (“locust”) instead of LQ (“lapping” or “greedy”). Buber also notes that he suggests the same emendation in his edition of PRK 3:8, n. 98. The emendation is also made by Zundel in ‘Ets Yosef, citing such a textual variant in Yalkut Shimoni. They spread out like the zahla locust. [Alternatively] Amalek ('mlq) is a people ('am) who came to lap up (l’leq) the blood of Israel like a dog.⁴⁰Cf. PR 12:12. R. Levi said in the name of R. Simeon ben Halafta, “To what may Amalek be likened? To a fly who is inflamed [with passion] after an [open] wound. So was Amalek inflamed like a dog [with passion] after Israel.”⁴¹Cf. PR 12:12. As the Israelites went out of Egypt, [Amalek] heard that they were redeemed, and came against them upon the [Reed] Sea. But [Israel] mentioned the explicit name [of God], and [Amalek] was bewildered, as stated (Exod. 15:15), “Then the captains of Edom were bewildered.” (Deut. 25:17:) “On the way as you came out of Egypt.” It is taught (in a baraita) in the name of R. Nathan: Amalek came four hundred parasangs (i.e., a little over 900 miles) to fight with Israel in Rephidim, as stated (in Numb. 13:29),⁴²See Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, Exod. 17:8; Mekhilta deRabbi Ishmael, ‘Amaleq, 1. “Amalek dwells in the land of the Negeb […].” And he [dwells] in the interior beyond all of them (i.e., beyond all the tribes listed in this passage).⁴³The description hardly fits the geography. For an explanation of what the text seems to mean, see Enoch Zundel in his commentary ‘Ets Yosef on Tanh., Deut. 6:9, who says that when the Israelites came out of Egypt, they were west of the land of Israel with Amalek dwelling in the southern horn to the east and with all the other peoples on the west side. There are four hundred parasangs from the land of Amalek to the place where Israel entered the Negeb. Moreover, the land of Israel midrashically is four hundred parasangs square. (Deut. 25:17:) “On the way as you came out of Egypt.”⁴⁴PRK 3:9. R. Levi said, “He came upon them from the wayside like a bandit.”⁴⁵Gk.: lestai, reading lestes for lestim in accord with Buber’s n. 77. The confusion between the two forms is common. See Jastrow, s.v. LYSTYS. It is comparable to a king who had a vineyard which he had enclosed with a fence and in which he had put a biting dog. The king said, “Whenever anyone comes to break through the fence, the dog will bite him.” One day the king's son came and broke through the fence. The dog bit him. Whenever he wanted to bring to mind the transgression of his son who broke through to the vineyard, he would say to him, “You remember how the dog bit you.” Similarly, whenever the Holy One, blessed be He, wants to bring to mind the sin of Israel - what they did in Rephidim, when they said (in Exod. 17:7) “Is the Lord present among us or not” - He says to them (in Deut. 25:17), “Remember what Amalek did to you.” (Deut. 25:18:) “How he encountered you [on the way].” R. Judah, R. Nehemiah, and the masters [differ].⁴⁶PRK 3:10; cf. PR 12:13. R. Judah says, “’How he encountered (qr, rt.: qrh) you, [i.e.,] defiled you. [It is] just as you say (in Deut. 23:11), “who is unclean because of what he encounters (rt.: qrh) at night (i.e., a nocturnal emission).’” R. Nehemiah said, “He actually called (qr') you. What did Amalek do? He went down to the Egyptian hall of records⁴⁷Gk.: archeion; Lat.: archivum. and obtained the records⁴⁸Gk.: tomoi. on the tribes, where their names were inscribed against them for the number of bricks. Then he would stand outside [Israel's protective] cloud and call out (rt.: qrh) to them, ‘Reuben, Simeon, Levi, come out, for I am your brother; and I want to transact business⁴⁹Gk.: pragmateia. with you.’ When they came out, he killed them.” And the masters say, “He cooled (qr) you, i.e., he made Israel [appear] lukewarm (rt.: qrr) before others.” R. Huniya said, “A parable: To what is the matter comparable? To a boiling bath⁵⁰‘MBTY: Gk.: embate. into which no creature is able to descend. A certain ruffian came and leaped down into it. Even though he was scalded, he made it cool to others. So also when Israel came out of Egypt, and the Holy One, blessed be He, divided the sea before them, while the Egyptians were drowned in its midst, fear of them fell upon all the peoples, as stated (in Exod. 15:15-16), ‘Then were the chiefs of Edom bewildered…. [Terror and fright fell upon them].’ When Amalek came and joined in battle with them - even though he received his [scalding] at their hands - he made [Israel appear] lukewarm (in battle) before the peoples of the world.”