Midrash su Ezechiele 31:15

(Numb. 1:1:) THEN THE LORD SPOKE UNTO MOSES IN THE SINAI DESERT, IN THE TENT OF MEETING. This text is related (to Ps. 36:7 [6]): YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS IS LIKE THE MIGHTY MOUNTAINS; YOUR JUDGMENTS ARE LIKE THE GREAT DEEP. R. Meir said: <The passage> is speaking allegorically about the righteous in their dwelling, and it is speaking allegorically about the wicked in their dwelling.¹Above, in Tanh. (Buber), Gen. 2:8; Lev. 8:7; Gen. R. 33:1; Lev. R. 27:1; Numb. R. 1:1; PRK 9:1; Tanh., Lev. 8:5 (some texts); cf. Tanh., Numb. 1:1. It is speaking allegorically about the righteous <in their dwelling> (in Ezek. 34:14): I WILL FEED THEM IN A GOOD PASTURE, {AND IN A PASTURE OF OIL} [AND UPON THE MOUNTAINS OF THE LOFTY ONE OF ISRAEL] SHALL BE THEIR FOLD. It speaks allegorically about the wicked <in their dwelling> (in Ezek. 31:15): THUS SAYS THE LORD {GOD}: IN THE DAY THAT HE WENT DOWN TO SHEOL, I CAUSED HIM TO MOURN; I COVERED HIM WITH THE DEEP. With what are the wicked covered, when they go down to Gehinnom?²Above, Exod. 3:2; Tanh., Exod. 3:2. WITH THE DEEP. Hezekiah bar Hiyya said: In the case of a vat, with what does one cover it? With a lid of clay, since <the vessel itself > is <made> of clay. For that reason one covers it with a lid of clay. Similarly in the case of the wicked, it is written of them (in Is. 29:15): AND THEIR WORKS ARE IN DARKNESS. For that reason they are darkened before the Holy One.³See above, Gen. 1:19. So he brings them down to Sheol, which is darkness, and covers them with the deep, which is darkness, as stated (in Gen. 1:2): WITH DARKNESS UPON THE FACE OF THE DEEP.

(Exod. 10:21:) STRETCH OUT YOUR HAND TOWARD THE HEAVENS <THAT THERE MAY BE DARKNESS OVER THE LAND OF EGYPT>…. Where did the darkness come from? R. Judah and R. Nehemiah disagree.³Tanh., Exod. 3:2; Exod. R. 14:2. R. Judah says: From the darkness above, as stated (in Ps. 18:12 [11]): HE MADE DARKNESS HIS HIDING PLACE. R. Nehemiah says: From the darkness of Gehinnom, as stated (in Job 10:22): A LAND OF UTTER DARKNESS, LIKE THE DARKNESS OF <THE SHADOW OF DEATH, WITHOUT ORDER>.⁴Cf. M. Pss. 18:16. R. Joshua ben Levi said: In three places we hear that a person makes known his teaching near to his death. Thus it is stated (in Prov. 22:20–21): <DID I NOT WRITE DOWN FOR YOU A THREE-FOLD⁵Heb.: shalishom. These cosonants(with different vowels) normally indicate an adverb meaning “three days ago” or simply “formerly.” The translation in the biblical context is uncertain but certainly contains the concept of three. The translation of the word here is that of the new JPS version. LORE…> TO MAKE KNOWN TO YOU FAITHFUL AND TRUE WORDS, IN ORDER FOR YOU TO ANSWER TRUE WORDS TO THOSE WHO SENT YOU? So also Solomon said (in Eccl. 12:13): <HERE IS> THE END OF THE MATTER WHEN EVERYTHING HAS BEEN HEARD: <FEAR GOD, KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS, FOR THIS COMPRISES THE WHOLE PERSON. > What (in Job 10:22) is the meaning of THE SHADOW OF DEATH < WITHOUT ORDER>? When someone is in the shadow of death, he puts his teaching in order. R. Tanhuma bar Abba [said]: When one comes to pass away, his ministering angels say (Ps. 68:35 [34]) to him: ASCRIBE POWER TO GOD…. So also it says (in Ezek. 31:15): THUS SAYS THE LORD [GOD]: IN THE DAY THAT HE WENT DOWN TO SHEOL, <I CAUSED HIM TO MOURN; I COVERED HIM WITH THE DEEP>. Ergo (in Job 10:22): A LAND OF UTTER DARKNESS, LIKE THE DARKNESS OF <THE SHADOW OF DEATH, WITHOUT ORDER>. R. Judah says: With what are the wicked covered when they go down to Sheol?⁶Below, Numb. 1:1. With darkness. Hezekiah said: In the case of a vat, with what does one cover it? With a lid of earthenware, <i.e.,> of the same material.⁷Tanh., Exod. 3:2, and Exod. R. 14:2 identify Hezekiah as Hezekiah b. Rabbi. Cf. Tanh. (Buber), Gen. 2:8; Tanh., Lev. 8:5; Gen. R. 33:1; Lev. R. 27:1; and PRK 9:1 which attribute the parable to various authorities, all of whom bear the name Judah. Just as <the vat> is of earthenware, so one covers it with nothing but earthenware. So <also> it is with the wicked. What is written about them (in Is. 29:15): AND THEIR WORKS ARE IN DARKNESS…. And therefore the Holy One brings them down to Sheol, which is darkness, and covers them with the deep, for it <also> is darkness, as stated (in Gen. 1:2): WITH DARKNESS UPON THE FACE OF THE DEEP. Here is the same darkness which came upon Egypt. It came from the midst of Gehinnom. And how thick was this darkness?⁸Exod. R. 14:1. Our masters have said: As thick as a denarius⁹A standard coin of gold or silver. Originally a Roman silver coin of 3.8 grams first minted in 268 BCE, its value varied from place to place and from age to age. In general a gold dinarius was worth twenty-four times that of a silver dinarius. of Gordianus {i.e., the name of a place}, EVEN (according to Exod. 10:21) A DARKNESS THAT CAN BE FELT.

Woe to the house whose windows open toward the darkness, as it is said: And where the light is as darkness (ibid.), for the light itself comes from darkness.³A reference to Egyptian black magic. Hence it says: Thus saith the Lord God: In the day when he went down to the netherworld, I caused the deep to mourn and cover itself for him, and I restrained the rivers thereof, and the great waters were stayed (Ezek. 31:15). R. Judah the son of Rabbi stated: What are the wicked covered with in the netherworld? With darkness. And Hezekiah the son of R. Judah explained why that was so. With what does one cover an earthenware tub? With a lid that is made of the same substance. And just as an earthenware tub is covered with an earthenware lid, the wicked whose works are in the dark (Isa. 29:15) are covered by the Holy One, blessed be He, with the deep which is darkness, as it is said: And darkness was upon the face of the deep (Gen. 1:2). This refers to the netherworld. Hence, the darkness that came upon the Egyptians ascended from the netherworld. Even darkness which may be felt (Exod. 10:21). How thick was this darkness? Our sages asserted that it was as thick as a dinar, as it is said: Even darkness which may be felt.