Midrash su Esodo 15:14

Now Jethro heard (Exod. 18:1). Some hear and lose (their reward), while others hear and are rewarded. Joash heard and lost (his reward), just as it is said: Then the king hearkened unto him (II Chron. 24:17), but after that is written: So they executed judgment upon Joash (ibid., v. 24). Similarly, the peoples have heard and they tremble (Exod. 15:14). However, Jethro heard and was rewarded. Though he had been an idolatrous priest, he joined Moses, and entered under the wings of the Shekhinah. For that he became worthy of adding the portion dealing with judges to the Torah of Israel, when he told Moses: The thing that thou doest is not good (ibid. 18:18).

Another explanation of It hath been already (Eccles. 1:10). It is written: The Lord by wisdom founded the earth (Prov. 3:19) and also: I have filled him with the spirit of wisdom (Exod. 31:3). This teaches us that the Tabernacle was equal both to all the world and to a human embryo, which is a world in miniature.⁷Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews 5:75, n. 20. How is that so? When the Holy One, blessed be He, created His world, He did so just as a child is born to a woman. A child starts to grow at the navel and then develops in all directions, and the Holy One, blessed be He, began the creation of His world at the foundation stone, and built the world upon it. Why was it called a foundation stone? Because the Holy One, blessed be He, began the creation of His world upon it. Then He created the celestial Temple, as it is said: The place, O Lord, which Thou hast made to dwell in (Exod. 15:14). Do not read the word as makom (“foundation”), but as mekuvan (“exactly opposite”). Your dwelling place above is directly opposite Your dwelling place below. The formation of the embryo is like the formation of the world, for just as the embryo is formed in the womb of its mother, so too the world was formed at the foundation stone.

Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon began: “He said: I will hide My face from them” (Deuteronomy 32:20). [It is analogous] to a king’s son who went out to the marketplace and struck but was not hit, demeaned but was not demeaned, and he went running up to his father. He [his father] said to him: ‘What do you think, that you are honored because your own honor? You are honored only because of my honor.’ What did his father do? He repudiated him, and no one paid any attention to him [the son]. So, when Israel departed from Egypt, dread of them fell over all the nations, as it is stated: “Peoples heard, they were agitated; terror gripped the dwellers of Philistia. Then the chieftains of Edom were confounded, trembling gripped the powers of Moav, all the dwellers of Canaan dissolved. Dread and fear fall upon them” (Exodus 15:14–16). When they began transgressing and performing evil deeds, the Holy One blessed be He said to them: What do you think, that you are honored due to your own honor? You are honored only due to My honor. What did the Holy One blessed be He do? He repudiated them a bit, and the Amalekites came and confronted Israel, as it is stated: “Amalek came and waged war with Israel in Refidim” (Exodus 17:8). In addition, the Canaanites came and confronted Israel, as it is stated: “The Canaanites heard […and waged war with Israel]” (Numbers 21:1).
The Holy One blessed be He said: You have no faithfulness, you are not true to your word, you are erratic, as it is stated; “As they are an erratic generation, children in whom there is no trust [emun]” (Deuteronomy 32:20). It is written amen. When the prophets would bless them, not one of them began to say amen until Jeremiah said it, as it is stated: “I responded, saying: Amen, Lord” (Jeremiah 11:5). At that time, the Holy One blessed be He said: You are erratic, you are bothersome, you are recalcitrant; to eliminate them is impossible, to return them to Egypt is impossible, to exchange them with another nation is impossible…

Rabbi Yitzḥak began: “Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and with gladness of heart, due to abundance of everything, you will serve your enemies…” (Deuteronomy 28:47–48) – had you been worthy, you would have read in the Torah: “You will bring them and plant them in the mountain of Your inheritance” (Exodus 15:17), but now that you are not worthy, you read: “Let all their evil come before You [and do to them as You did to me]” (Lamentations 1:22).³³The term “You will bring them” in the verse in Exodus and the word “come” in the verse in Lamentations have the same root: tav, bet, alef.
Had you been worthy, you would have read in the Torah: “Peoples heard, they were agitated” (Exodus 15:14), but now that you are not worthy, you read: “They heard that I am sighing” (Lamentations 1:21).
Had you been worthy, you would have read in the Torah: “I have seen the affliction of My people that is in Egypt” (Exodus 3:7), but now that you are not worthy, you read: “See, Lord, for I am in distress, my innards burn” (Lamentations 1:20).
Had you been worthy, you would have read in the Torah: “You shall proclaim on this very day” (Leviticus 23:21), but now that you are not worthy, you read: “I called my lovers; [they deceived me]” (Lamentations 1:19).³⁴The word “proclaim” in Leviticus and the word “called” in Lamentations have the same root: kuf, resh, alef.
Had you been worthy, you would have read in the Torah: “Justice [tzedek], justice you shall pursue” (Deuteronomy 16:20), but now that you are not worthy, you read: “The Lord is righteous [tzadik], for I have defied His word” (Lamentations 1:18).
Had you been worthy, you would have read in the Torah: “You shall open your hand [to your brother]” (Deuteronomy 15:11), but now that you are not worthy, you read: “Zion spread its hands, [there is no comforter for it]” (Lamentations 1:17).
Had you been worthy, you would have read in the Torah: “These are the appointed times of the Lord” (Leviticus 23:4), but now that you are not worthy, you read: “For these I weep” (Lamentations 1:16).
Had you been worthy, you would have read in the Torah: “We will ascend on the highway [bamsila]” (Numbers 20:19), but now that you are not worthy, you read: “The Lord trampled [sila] all my mighty” (Lamentations 1:15).
Had you been worthy, you would have read in the Torah: “I broke the bars of your yoke” (Leviticus 26:13), but now that you are not worthy, you read: “The yoke of my transgressions is preserved in His hand” (Lamentations 1:14).
Had you been worthy, you would have read in the Torah: “A perpetual fire shall burn upon the altar” (Leviticus 6:6), but now that you are not worthy, you read: “From on high He sent fire into my bones” (Lamentations 1:13).
Had you been worthy, you would have read in the Torah: “[The Lord your God who goes before you, He shall fight for you according to all that He did for you.…] in the entire path [derekh] that you went” (Deuteronomy 1:30–31), but now that you are not worthy, you read: “May it not befall you, all passersby [ovrei derekh]” (Lamentations 1:12).
Had you been worthy, you would have read in the Torah: “You will eat your bread to satiation” (Leviticus 26:5), but now that you are not worthy, you read: “All its people are sighing, seeking bread” (Lamentations 1:11).
Had you been worthy, you would have read in the Torah: “No man will covet your land” (Exodus 34:24), but now that you are not worthy, you read: “The besieger spread his hand over all its delights” (Lamentations 1:10).
Had you been worthy, you would have read in the Torah: “For on this day he shall atone for you [to purify you]” (Leviticus 16:30), but now that you are not worthy, you read: “Its impurity is on its skirts” (Lamentations 1:9).
Had you been worthy, you would have read in the Torah: “From all your sins you shall be purified before the Lord” (Leviticus 16:30), but now that you are not worthy, you read: “Jerusalem has sinned” (Lamentations 1:8).
Had you been worthy, you would have read in the Torah: “You shall be remembered before the Lord your God” (Numbers 10:9), but now that you are not worthy, you read: “Jerusalem remembered in the days of its affliction” (Lamentations 1:7).
Had you been worthy, you would have read in the Torah: “I will walk in your midst” (Leviticus 26:12), but now that you are not worthy, you read: “All the glory of the daughter of Zion has gone” (Lamentations 1:6).
Had you been worthy, you would have read in the Torah: “The Lord will place you as a head [lerosh]” (Deuteronomy 28:13), but now that you are not worthy, you read: “Its foes are ascendant [lerosh], its enemies are tranquil” (Lamentations 1:5).
Had you been worthy, you would have read in the Torah: “Three times a year [shall all your males appear before the Lord your God…on the festival]” (Deuteronomy 16:16), but now that you are not worthy, you read: “The ways of Zion mourn [without festival pilgrims]” (Lamentations 1:4).
Had you been worthy, you would have read in the Torah: “You will dwell securely” (Leviticus 26:5), but now that you are not worthy, you read: “Judah has been exiled in affliction” (Lamentations 1:3).
Had you been worthy, you would have read in the Torah: “It is a night of watching of the Lord” (Exodus 12:42), but now that you are not worthy, you read: “It weeps at night” (Lamentations 1:2).
Had you been worthy, you would have read in the Torah: “How [eikha] can I bear alone” (Deuteronomy 1:12), but now that you are not worthy, you read: “How [eikha] does…sit solitary?” (Lamentations 1:1).

3 Another interpretation (of Numb. 15:2), “When you come unto the land of your habitations”: R. Zakkay of Sha'av (in Galilee) said, “Israel said, ‘Sovereign of the World, in every other place You call this the Land of Canaan, but here (in Numb. 15:2) it is “the land of your habitations.”’ The Holy One said to them, ‘By your life, I gave it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, and all of [the references] are from scripture. Since the son inherits from the father, therefore (in Numb. 15:2), “When you come unto the land of your habitations.”’” And why did Canaan merit to have the land called by its name? When they heard that Israel was coming, they evacuated the place. The Holy One, said, “You evacuated the place. [Hence] the land will be called by your name, and I will give you a land as fine as your land.” And which is this? Africa. What is written above in the section on the spies (in Numb. 14:44)? “But they presumed (rt.: 'pl) to go up.” They brought darkness (rt.: 'pl) to its dwellers and they all remained in darkness (rt.: 'pl). (Ibid., cont.) “But the ark of the covenant of the Lord and Moses did not depart from the camp”: Thus they did not go up with them. Moses said, “Thus did the Holy One say (in Deut. 1:42), ‘You shall neither go up nor fight, for I am not in your midst.’ Now you have said (in Deut. 1:28) ‘Where are we going up to? Our brothers have caused our hearts to melt (with fear)….’” What is the meaning of melt (hemassu)? Our masters have said, “From here one deduces how they tithed the pomegranates.⁶yMa‘as. 1:2 (48d). Thus have our masters taught (in Ma'as. 1:2): They tithe pomegranates, when they become soft (rt.: MSS).” Moses said to them, “From the beginning you have been of two minds on the matter.” (Deut 1:22) “Then you all drew near unto me”: On the positive side (in Deut. 5:20), “and all of the heads of your tribes approached me.” But on the negative side (in Deut. 1:22), “Then you all drew near unto me and said, [‘Let us send men ahead of us to explore the land for us’]”; and it is written (in vs. 27), “And you murmured in your tents and said, ‘It is because the Lord hated us.” The Holy One says to them (in Mal. 1:2), “I have loved you!” But they say, (in Deut. 1:27), “It is because the Lord hated us.” They interpreted the verse and said, “You yourself know that He hates us. Take the case of a king of flesh and blood who has two sons. Now he also has two fields, one with irrigation and one watered by rain. Is it not that the field with irrigation will be given to whichever one the king loves, while the one watered by rain will be given to that one whom he hates? The land of Egypt has irrigation, and we were in its midst, while the land of Canaan has rain. So He brought us out from Egypt to give us the land of Canaan. Nevertheless (according to Deut. 1:41–42), “and each of you girded on his weapons of war, and you ventured to go up into the hill country. But the Lord said unto me, ‘Say to them, “Do not go up and do not fight.”’” I had intended to go up with you; but now, “Do not go up.” For you it will be a downfall. Nevertheless (according to vs. 41), “[each of] you girded,” and you all had become a single unit. (Ibid., cont.) “And you ventured to go up into the hill country”: What is the meaning of “and you ventured (rt.: hyn)?” That they were saying, “Drop by drop, the hin⁷A liquid measure equal to about a gallon and a half. will be filled.”⁸I.e., they had accumulated almost enough sin to overflow their allotted measure. One text (Deut. 1:43) says, “and you acted presumptuously”; while another text (Deut. 1:41) says, “and you ventured (rt.: HYN).” What is the meaning of “and you acted presumptuously?” That they acted presumptuously against the encampments (hanayot, rt.: HNH) of the Holy One.”⁹ I.e., they ignored the fact that the ark of the covenant had not departed out of the camp (Numb. 14:44). (Deut. 1:43-44) “To go up into the hill country. Then the Amorites [that dwelt in that hill country came out to meet you, and they pursued you as do the bees]”: What is the meaning of “bees?” Just as the bee immediately dies when it strikes someone, so also it was with you. When one of them touched you, his soul immediately departed. Just as the bee flies, so did they fly about you. In the past, when they merely heard a report of you, they died. It is so stated (in Exod. 15:14), “When the peoples hear, they tremble.” Now (in Deut. 1:44) “and they pursued you […] and crushed you.” (Deut. 1:45) “So you returned to weep before the Lord, but the Lord would not heed”: You, as it were, made strict justice as though it were brutal. (Deut. 10:11) “And the Lord said [unto me], ‘Arise, continue the journey’”: Now if I had come to execute justice with them, they would not be entering the land. Instead, “Arise, continue the journey.” Ergo (in numb. 15:2), “When you come unto the land.”

(Deut. 1:44:) AS DO THE BEES: As the bee flies, so did they fly about you. In the past, when they <merely> heard a report of you, they died. It is so stated (in Exod. 15:14): WHEN THE PEOPLES HEAR, THEY TREMBLE…. now (in Deut. 1:44:) AND THEY PURSUED YOU AS DO THE BEES….

Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai began: “Bad, bad, the buyer says; but when he goes, he then praises” (Proverbs 20:14). You find that until Israel was exiled, the Holy One blessed be He called them wicked. That is what is written: “This wicked people who refuse to heed My words” (Jeremiah 13:10). Once they were exiled, He began praising them, as it is stated: “But when he goes, he then praises” (Proverbs 20:14). When they sinned they were exiled. When they were exiled, Jeremiah began lamenting over them, eikha.
“Woe to the filthy and polluted one, the city of oppression” (Zephaniah 3:1) – what is “woe to the filthy [more’a]”? Woe due to the terror [eima], for I have imposed My terror upon all the nations.¹²³Terror in Hebrew is eima or mora. When? “And polluted” [venigala] – you find that when Israel was redeemed [nigalu] from Egypt, their terror fell upon all the nations. That is what is written: “Nations heard, they were agitated…then the chieftains of Edom were alarmed…” (Exodus 15:14–15). “The city of oppression [hayona]” – the nation that I distinguished with mitzvot and good deeds like the dove [yona].¹²⁴The dove’s mate distinguishes it from other doves. After all this praise: “It did not listen to the voice [of the Lord], it did not accept chastisement, it did not place its trust in the Lord, it did not draw near to its God” (Zephaniah 3:2).
A bride who is not obedient, what is she? Is she not a fool? Rabbi Reuven said: In the Greek language they call a fool more’a, “woe to more’a” (Zephaniah 3:1), woe to the fool. “Venigala”– because they would distance themselves from hearing matters of Torah, they were distanced [nigala] from the priesthood. “The city of hayona” (Zephaniah 3:1) – they should have learned from the city of Jonah [Yona], from Nineveh. I sent one prophet to Nineveh and he caused them to repent, while Israel in Jerusalem, how many prophets did I send to them! That is what is written: “The Lord warned Israel, and Judah, by means of every prophet of every vision, saying: Repent from your evil ways, and observe My commandments and My statutes…” (II Kings 17:13). And it is written: “I sent to you all My servants the prophets daily, time and again” (Jeremiah 7:25); “time and again” in the morning, “time and again” in the evening. “But they did not listen” (Jeremiah 7:26) – because they did not listen they were exiled. When they were exiled, Jeremiah began lamenting over them: “How does…sit solitary?” (Lamentations 1:1).
“I struggle to overcome sorrow; my heart aches within me” (Jeremiah 8:18).¹²⁵This verse is cited as the introduction to the upcoming statement.

"Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them" (Ex. 15:12). The Holy One, blessed be He, told the earth to bury the slain. (The earth) said unto Him: Sovereign of all worlds! The waters have killed them, let the waters swallow them. He answered (the earth) saying: On this occasion receive them; on another occasion such that be killed by thee in the future will I cast into the sea, namely, Sisera and all his host, these will I cast into the sea, as it is said, "The river Kishon swept them away, that ancient river" (Judg. 5:21 ). (The earth) continued, saying to Him: Give me the oath by Thy right hand, that Thou wilt not claim them at my hand. The Holy One, blessed be He, put forth His right hand, and swore to the earth that He would not claim them, as it is said, "Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them" (Ex. 15:12). All the kings of the earth heard of the departure from Egypt, and the dividing of the Reed Sea; they trembled and feared, and fled from their place, as it is said, "The peoples have heard, they tremble" (Ex. 15:14).

The fifth wonder (was): From the day when the heavens and the earth were created, the waters of the sea had not been changed into dry land until Israel went forth from Egypt and passed over on dry land in the midst of the sea, as it is said, "But the children of Israel walked on dry land in the midst of the sea" (Ex. 15:19). All the kings of the earth heard (thereof) and trembled, because there had been nothing like it from the day when the world had been created, as it is said, "The people heard, they trembled" (Ex. 15:14).

"when you went out of Egypt": at the time of your redemption. What is said (of that time)? (Shemoth 15:14) "Peoples heard and they trembled," but this one (Amalek) — (Devarim, Ibid. 18) "and he did not fear G-d."