Midrash su Ezechiele 8:3

The angels of the Holy One, blessed be He, are mighty, but they are not His equal. Proof of the might of His angels is evidenced by the fact that one of them stretched forth his hand from heaven and grasped Ezekiel by a lock of his head, as it is said: And the form of a hand was put forth, and I was taken by a lock of my head (Ezek. 8:3). We learn from another verse that the distance from heaven to earth is no more than the palm of an angel, as it is written: Then was the palm of the hand sent from before me, and this writing was inscribed (Dan. 5:24). This teaches us that there is no limit to His ministering angels; how much more so, then, is there no limit to the Holy One, blessed be He. Therefore it is written: Great is the Lord and highly to be praised, and His greatness is unsearchable (Ps. 145:3). And elsewhere it is said: Yea, My hand hath laid the foundations of the earth, and My right hand hath spread out the heavens, etc. (Isa. 48:13).

(Lev. 11:2:) THESE ARE THE CREATURES THAT YOU MAY EAT. Three things Moses found difficult, the making of the menorah, the moon, and creeping things.⁴⁵Below, Numb. 3:4; Tanh., Lev. 3:8; Mekhilta, Pisha 2; Men. 29a; PRK 5:15; PR 15:21; Numb. R. 15:4; cf. Sifre to Numb. 8:4 (61); Exod. R. 15:28; Numb. R. 15:10; also below, Numb. 3:11, and the notes there. In making of the menorah, how < was it >? When Moses ascended < Sinai >, the Holy One was showing him on the mountain how he would make the Tabernacle. When he showed him the making of the menorah, Moses found it difficult.⁴⁶Below, Numb. 3:4. The Holy One said to him: See, I am making it before you. What did the Holy One do? He showed him white fire, [red fire,] black fire, and green fire. Then from them he made the menorah, its bowls, its pomegranates, its blossoms, and the six branches. Then he said to him (in Numb. 8:4): THIS IS THE MAKING OF THE MENORAH. When the Holy One showed him with the finger, he nevertheless found it difficult. What did the Holy One do? He engraved it on the his hand. He said to him: Go down and make it just as I have engraved it on your hand. Thus it is stated (in Exod. 25:40): OBSERVE AND MAKE THEM {LIKE} [BY MEANS OF] THEIR PATTERN. But where is it shown that he engraved it on his hand? Where it is stated (in Ezek. 8:3): HE STRETCHED OUT THE PATTERN OF A HAND. Now PATTERN can only be for the making of the menorah, concerning which it is stated (in Exod. 25:40): OBSERVE AND MAKE THEM {LIKE} [BY MEANS OF] THEIR PATTERN < WHICH YOU ARE BEING SHOWN ON THE MOUNTAIN >. Even so, he found it difficult and said (in Exod. 25:31): WITH DIFFICULTY (MQShH)⁴⁷While this meaning, so understood by the midrash, is possible, a more usual English translation would read, HAMMERED WORK, or something similar. [WILL THE MENORAH BE MADE]. How difficult was it to make? The Holy One said to him: Cast the gold into the fire, and it will be made automatically. So it is stated: WITH DIFFICULTY WILL THE MENORAH BE MADE. [BE MADE (a reflexive form, in the niph'al) is what is written], < i.e., > was made of its own accord.

..."Tubal-Cain": R. Yehoshua of Sakhnin said in the name of R. Levi, "This one sweetened (literally, spiced) Cain's sin (some have the variant, 'Cain's work') - Cain would kill, but he did not have with what to kill; but this one 'forged every cutting instrument of copper and iron.'" And the sister of Tubal-Cain was Na’amah. Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: Na’amah was Noah’s wife. Why was she called Na’amah? Because all of her deeds were pleasant (ne’imim). The Rabbis said this is a different Na’amah. Why was she called Na’amah? Because she beat on a drum to draw people to idol worship.