Midrash su Deuteronomio 30:15
רְאֵ֨ה נָתַ֤תִּי לְפָנֶ֙יךָ֙ הַיּ֔וֹם אֶת־הַֽחַיִּ֖ים וְאֶת־הַטּ֑וֹב וְאֶת־הַמָּ֖וֶת וְאֶת־הָרָֽע׃
Vedi, oggi ti ho posto la vita e il bene, e la morte e il male,
Midrash Tanchuma
The Holy One, blessed be He, says to her: Know that on this night a person will be formed from the semen of a certain individual known to you. Guard this drop of semen, take it into the palm of your hand, and sow it on the threshing floor, in three hundred and sixty-five parts. And she would do so. She took it into her hand and brought it at once to Him who had said It hath been already (Eccles. 1:10) and said to Him: “I have done all that You have commanded. Here is the drop, what have You decreed concerning it?” The Holy One, blessed be He, forthwith decreed concerning the semen what its end would be, whether male or female, weak or strong, poor or rich, short or tall, ugly or handsome, heavy or thin, humble or haughty. He decreed concerning everything that would happen to it except whether it would be righteous or wicked.9Ketubbot 30a. That choice alone he left to the individual, as it is said: See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil (Deut. 30:15).
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Eikhah Rabbah
“Who is it who said and it occurred, if the Lord did not command it?” (Lamentations 3:37).
“Who is it who said and it occurred, if the Lord did not command it?” – who did command? Haman commanded, but the Holy One blessed be He did not command. Haman commanded “to destroy, to kill, and to eliminate” (Esther 3:13). But the Holy One blessed be He did not command it, but rather, “the plot [that he devised]…return [upon his head]” (Esther 9:25).
“Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that evil and good emerge?” (Lamentations 3:38).
“Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that evil and good emerge?” – Rabbi Elazar said: From the moment that the Holy One blessed be He said: “See, I have placed before you today: life and good, and death and evil” (Deuteronomy 30:15), no good has emerged for a performer of evil nor evil for a performer of good, but rather good for a performer of good and evil for a performer of evil, just as it says: “The Lord will reward the performer of evil in accordance with his wickedness” (II Samuel 3:39).
“Of what shall a living man complain, each man for his sins?” (Lamentations 3:39).
“Of what shall a living man complain?” – it is sufficient for him that he is alive. Rabbi Levi said: The Holy One blessed be He said: Your life is in My hands, yet you complain? Rabbi Huna said: Let him stand like a mighty one, confess his sins, and not complain. Rabbi Berekhya said: Of what shall he complain about the One who gives life to the worlds? If he seeks to complain, it should be each man for his sins. Rabbi [Yehuda HaNasi] says: Descendants of bearers of grievance; Adam, the first man, after all the good that I bestowed upon him, he expresses a grievance before Me and says: “The woman whom You gave to be with me, [she gave me from the tree, and I ate]” (Genesis 3:12). Jacob, too, did so. I am engaged in crowning his son king in Egypt, and he expresses a grievance before Me: “[Why do you say, Jacob…] my way is hidden from the Lord” (Isaiah 40:27). His children, too, I am engaged in providing them with easily digestible bread so that no one among them will be afflicted with indigestion or diarrhea, and they express a grievance before Me: “Our soul loathes this insubstantial bread” (Numbers 21:5). Zion, too, is similar: “Zion said: The Lord has forsaken Me and the Lord has forgotten Me” (Isaiah 49:14).
“Who is it who said and it occurred, if the Lord did not command it?” – who did command? Haman commanded, but the Holy One blessed be He did not command. Haman commanded “to destroy, to kill, and to eliminate” (Esther 3:13). But the Holy One blessed be He did not command it, but rather, “the plot [that he devised]…return [upon his head]” (Esther 9:25).
“Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that evil and good emerge?” (Lamentations 3:38).
“Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that evil and good emerge?” – Rabbi Elazar said: From the moment that the Holy One blessed be He said: “See, I have placed before you today: life and good, and death and evil” (Deuteronomy 30:15), no good has emerged for a performer of evil nor evil for a performer of good, but rather good for a performer of good and evil for a performer of evil, just as it says: “The Lord will reward the performer of evil in accordance with his wickedness” (II Samuel 3:39).
“Of what shall a living man complain, each man for his sins?” (Lamentations 3:39).
“Of what shall a living man complain?” – it is sufficient for him that he is alive. Rabbi Levi said: The Holy One blessed be He said: Your life is in My hands, yet you complain? Rabbi Huna said: Let him stand like a mighty one, confess his sins, and not complain. Rabbi Berekhya said: Of what shall he complain about the One who gives life to the worlds? If he seeks to complain, it should be each man for his sins. Rabbi [Yehuda HaNasi] says: Descendants of bearers of grievance; Adam, the first man, after all the good that I bestowed upon him, he expresses a grievance before Me and says: “The woman whom You gave to be with me, [she gave me from the tree, and I ate]” (Genesis 3:12). Jacob, too, did so. I am engaged in crowning his son king in Egypt, and he expresses a grievance before Me: “[Why do you say, Jacob…] my way is hidden from the Lord” (Isaiah 40:27). His children, too, I am engaged in providing them with easily digestible bread so that no one among them will be afflicted with indigestion or diarrhea, and they express a grievance before Me: “Our soul loathes this insubstantial bread” (Numbers 21:5). Zion, too, is similar: “Zion said: The Lord has forsaken Me and the Lord has forgotten Me” (Isaiah 49:14).
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Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer
THE TWO WAYS
RABBI ELIEZER said: I heard with my ear the Lord of hosts speaking. What did He speak? He said: "See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil" (Deut. 30:15). The Holy One, blessed be He, said: Behold, these two ways have I given to Israel, one is good, the other is evil. The one which is good, is of life; and the one which is evil, is of death. The good way has two byways, one of righteousness and the other of love, and Elijah, be he remembered for good, is placed exactly between these two ways. When a man comes to enter (one of these ways), Elijah, be he remembered for good, cries aloud concerning him, saying, "Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth truth may enter in" (Isa. 26:2). And there cometh Samuel the prophet, and he places himself between these two byways. He says: On which of these (two byways) shall I go? If I go on the way of righteousness, then (the path) of || love is better than the former; if I go on the way of love, (the way) of righteousness is better: but I call heaven and earth to be my witnesses that I will not give up either of them.
RABBI ELIEZER said: I heard with my ear the Lord of hosts speaking. What did He speak? He said: "See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil" (Deut. 30:15). The Holy One, blessed be He, said: Behold, these two ways have I given to Israel, one is good, the other is evil. The one which is good, is of life; and the one which is evil, is of death. The good way has two byways, one of righteousness and the other of love, and Elijah, be he remembered for good, is placed exactly between these two ways. When a man comes to enter (one of these ways), Elijah, be he remembered for good, cries aloud concerning him, saying, "Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth truth may enter in" (Isa. 26:2). And there cometh Samuel the prophet, and he places himself between these two byways. He says: On which of these (two byways) shall I go? If I go on the way of righteousness, then (the path) of || love is better than the former; if I go on the way of love, (the way) of righteousness is better: but I call heaven and earth to be my witnesses that I will not give up either of them.
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