Midrash su Esodo 5:21

(Exod. 5:20): NOW THEY MET MOSES AND AARON STANDING IN THEIR PATH. These < officers > were Dathan and Abiram, of whom it is written (in Numb. 16:27): <THEY> CAME OUT STANDING.³²Exod. R. 5:20. (Exod. 5:21): AND THEY SAID UNTO THEM: MAY THE LORD LOOK UPON YOU AND JUDGE. R. Judah b. R. Shallum the Levite said: Israel said to him: To what were we comparable?³³Exod. R. 5:21. To a certain lamb when the wolf came and took it from the flock. When the shepherd went after it, what did the wolf do? He sought to tear the lamb to pieces. Because of the shepherd (rt.: R'H) the lamb came into danger.³⁴Cf. the parallel in Tanh., Exod. 2:6: “The wolf came to take it from the flock. The shepherd ran after it to rescue it from the wolf. Between the shepherd and the wolf the lamb was torn open.” Similarly Moses said to the Holy One: Between Pharaoh and you we are dying, as stated (in Exod. 5:21, cont.): BECAUSE YOU HAVE MADE OUR ODOR ABHORRENT <IN THE EYES OF PHARAOH >….

And they met Moses and Aaron who stood in the way (ibid., v. 20). This refers to Dathan and Abiram, concerning whom it is written: Dathan and Abiram came out (Num. 16:27). They began to reproach and revile Moses and Aaron, saying: The Lord look upon you, and judge (Exod. 5:21). They shouted at Moses and Aaron: See how the Israelites have been compelled to suffer because of the plagues. The Egyptians previously had only a faint suspicion that we would be redeemed, but now you have come and acerbated their suspicion, as it is said: Because you have made our savour to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh (ibid.).

Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Zakkai had five disciples.⁴⁵They are listed in Avot (2:8): Rabbi Eliezer ben Horkanos, Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananya, Rabbi Yosei HaKohen, Rabbi Shimon ben Netanel ,and Rabbi Elazar ben Arakh. As long as he was alive, they would sit before him. When he died, they went to Yavne, but Rabbi Elazar ben Arakh went to his wife in Emmaus, a place with good water and a beautiful view. He waited for them to come to him, but they did not come. When they did not come, he sought to go to them, but his wife did not allow him to do so. She said: ‘Who is in need of whom?’ He said to her: ‘They are in need of me.’ She said to him: ‘A leather container [of food] and mice, which typically goes to which; the mice to the container, or the container to the mice?’ He heeded her and remained until he forgot his learning. Sometime later they came to him and asked him: ‘A wheat loaf or a barley loaf, which can be eaten faster with a relish?’⁴⁶The garments of one who enters a leprous house become ritually impure only if he remains in the house long enough to recline and eat half a loaf of wheat bread, not barley bread, with a relish. They asked Rabbi Elazar ben Arakh: When the Sages clarified that this halakha is determined by the time it takes to eat wheat bread, is that a leniency because it takes longer to eat wheat bread than it takes to eat barley bread, or is it a stringency because it takes less time to eat wheat bread than barley bread? He did not know how to respond to them, or the meaning of “with relish [liftan].” Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yosei say: It is two food items joined [lefutin] together.⁴⁷When one eats bread with another food, the food accompanying the bread is referred to as liftan.
Rabbi [Yehuda HaNasi] would appoint two appointees each year.⁴⁸One served as head of the yeshiva and one as president of the court (Matnot Kehuna). If they were worthy, they would endure; if not, they would die. As Rabbi’s death neared, he said to his son: ‘Do not do so, but rather, appoint them all at once,⁴⁹Appoint the two new appointees, as well as the order of who will take over for them upon their passing (Matnot Kehuna). and appoint Rabbi Ḥanina as leader [of them all].’ Why had [Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi himself] not appointed him? Rabbi Yosei bar Zevid said: It is because the residents of Tzippori denounced him. Did [Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi decide how to] act based on their denunciations? They denounce many in this way; if we heed them in his regard, we must heed them regarding others as well. Rabbi Bon said:⁵⁰Some commentaries add detail that appears to be missing from the midrash here, but is mentioned in the Jerusalem Talmud (Ta’anit 4:2): Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi was delivering a public lecture and cited a verse in Ezekiel (7:15), and Rabbi Ḥanina corrected his pronunciation of the Hebrew word homot, which Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi had pronounced homiyot. This caused public embarrassment to Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi (Matnot Kehuna). [Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi] said to [Rabbi Ḥanina]: ‘Before whom did you learn that reading?’ He said to him: ‘Before Rav Hamnuna, the Bible expert of Babylon.’ He said to him: ‘When you go there, tell him that I appointed you to serve as an elder.’ [Rabbi Ḥanina] knew that he would not be appointed in [Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi’s] days. When [Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi] died, his son sought to appoint [Rabbi Ḥanina], but he did not accept it upon himself. He said: ‘I do not accept, but rather defer to Rabbi Afes of the south.’ There was one elder there who said: ‘If Rabbi Ḥanina is first, I am second. If Rabbi Afes is first, I am second.’ Rabbi Ḥanina accepted upon himself to be appointed third, and he was privileged to live a very long life. He said: ‘I do not know why I was privileged to live a very long life, whether it was because of this matter,⁵¹That I deferred to Rabbi Afes and to the other elder. or whether it was because when I would ascend from Tiberias to Tzippori I would take a detour to visit Rabbi Shimon ben Ḥalafta. I do not know which of these two [is the reason.]’
Another matter: “For exploitation disconcerts a wise man” – the exploitation of Datan and Aviram, exploiting Moses their master, caused his wisdom to be lost from him. “And destroys the gift of [matana] understanding” – [the word matana] is written [in such a way that it can also be vocalized] metuna, patience. Had Moses been patient, he would have been spared. However, because they provoked him and caused him to become upset, and they said to him: “May the Lord look upon you [and judge, for you have made us loathsome in the eyes of Pharaoh]” (Exodus 5:21), he could not tolerate it, and, as a result, he became upset in his anger and said [to God]: “Since I came [to Pharaoh to speak in Your name…You have not rescued Your people]” (Exodus 5:23). The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘I wrote about you that you are wise, and you become upset and say this to me? By your life, you should know and inform others that the ultimate fate of My children will be better than the beginning that I provided them in Egypt,’ as it is written: “Now you will see [what I will do to Pharaoh, as with a strong hand he will send them out, and with a strong hand he will drive them from his land]” (Exodus 5:24). At that moment, the Holy One blessed be He said: ‘Woe for those who are lost and cannot be found. I lost Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who never doubted Me, and I have not found anyone who is their equal.’ At that moment, the attribute of justice sought to harm [Moses], as it is stated: “God [Elohim] spoke [to Moses]” (Exodus 6:2), and Elohim [indicates] nothing other than the attribute of justice. And it is stated: “And He said to him: I am the Lord” (Exodus 6:2).⁵²This second half of the verse refers to God as the Lord [Y-H-V-H], which indicates the attribute of mercy. This indicates that after considering harming Moses, God acted mercifully toward him. He said to [Moses]: ‘You are flesh and blood and unable to bear them.⁵³You are unable to bear their suffering, and that is why you criticized Me. I am the Lord, merciful, the Master of mercy, with My attributes, I will have mercy,’ as it is stated: “I have made and I will bear” (Isaiah 46:4).