Midrash su Genesi 14:22

“The elders of the daughter of Zion sit on the ground, are silent. They have placed dust on their heads, have girded themselves with sackcloth. The virgins of Jerusalem have lowered their heads to the ground” (Lamentations 2:10).
“The elders of the daughter of Zion sit on the ground, are silent.” Rabbi Elazar said: Let the portion of vows not be insignificant in your eyes, as it is on account of the portion of vows that the Great Sanhedrin of Zedekiah were killed. When Yekhonya was exiled, King Nebuchadnezzar appointed him¹⁰⁶Zedekiah. over five kings. That is what is written: “Send to the king of Edom, to the king of Moav, to the king of the children of Ammon, to the king of Tyre and to the king of Sidon, in the hand of the messengers who come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah, king of Judah” (Jeremiah 27:3). He would enter and exit before him without permission.¹⁰⁷Zedekiah had unfettered access to Nebuchadnezzar. One day, he entered before him and saw that he was ripping the flesh of a hare and eating it raw. [Nebuchadnezzar] said to him: ‘Take an oath to me that you will not publicize this about me,’ and he took an oath to him. On what did he administer the oath to [Zedekiah]? Rabbi Yosei ben Rabbi Ḥanina said: On the inner altar. The five kings were sitting and maligning Nebuchadnezzar before Zedekiah and saying to him: ‘The kingdom is not suitable for Nebuchadnezzar, but rather it is suitable for you, as you are from the offspring of David.’ He, too, maligned Nebuchadnezzar and said: ‘I saw that he was ripping the flesh of a hare and eating it.’ Immediately, they sent [a message] to the king, saying: ‘This Jew who enters and exits before you without permission said about you: I saw that Nebuchadnezzar was ripping the flesh of a hare and eating it.’ That is what is written: “Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon” (II Kings 24:20).
Immediately, he¹⁰⁸Nebuchadnezzar. came and settled in Daphne of Antioch and the Great Sanhedrin went to greet him. When he saw that they were all men of noble form, he issued a command and had seats of honor brought for them, and he seated them. He said to them: ‘Teach me the Torah.’ Immediately they began reading each and every portion and translating it before him. When they reached the portion of vows: “A man who takes a vow” (Numbers 30:3), he said to them: ‘If he wishes to renege on it, can he or can he not do so?’ They said to him: ‘He can go to a Sage and [the Sage] can nullify his vow for him.’ He said to them: ‘It seems to me that you nullified for Zedekiah the oath that he took to me.’ Immediately, he decreed and had them placed down on the ground. That is what is written: “The elders of the daughter of Zion sit on the ground, are silent.” “They have placed dust [on their heads],” they began mentioning the merit of Abraham, as it is written: “I am dust and ashes” (Genesis 18:27). “Have girded themselves with sackcloth,” they began mentioning the merit of Jacob, as it is written: “He placed sackcloth on his loins” (Genesis 37:34).¹⁰⁹The Sages began to pray to God for mercy in the merit of Abraham and Jacob, both of whom took oaths and were careful to fulfill them (Etz Yosef; see Genesis 14:22, 28:20). What did they do to them? They tied their hair to horses’ tails and had them run from Jerusalem to Lod. That is what is written: “The virgins of Jerusalem have lowered their heads to the ground.”¹¹⁰They did so in mourning for the Sages. Alternatively, the Sages are alluded to with the term virgins because of their purity.

THE COURSE OF THE MOON
RABBAN JOCHANAN BEN ẒAKKAI, Rabban Gamaliel, R. Ishmael, R. Elazar ben 'Arakh, R. Eliezer ben Hyrḳanos, and R. 'Aḳiba were expounding (the laws of) the Molad of the moon. They said: The Holy One, blessed be He, spake one word and the heavens were created as the residence of the Throne of His Glory, as it is said, "By the word of the Lord were the heavens made" (Ps. 33:6). But in connection with the (creation of the) host of heaven He laboured with great labour. || What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He blew with His mouth the wind of the breath of life and all the host of heaven were created, as it is said, "And all the host of them by the breath of his mouth" (ibid.).

“How fair you are and how pleasant you are, love, in delights” (Song of Songs 7:7).
“How fair you are and how pleasant you are,” how fair you are in the mitzvot, how pleasant you are in the performance of acts of kindness. “How fair you are” in positive mitzvot “and how pleasant you are” in prohibitions. “How fair you are” in the mitzvot of the house, in the distribution of teruma and tithes, “and how pleasant you are” in the mitzvot of the field, in gleanings, forgotten sheaves, produce in the corner of the field, the tithe given to the poor, and in renunciation of ownership.⁴³During the Sabbatical year one is required to renounce ownership of the produce of one’s field. “How fair you are” in diverse kinds, “and how pleasant you are” in a garment with ritual fringes.⁴⁴The midrash praises Israel for observing the prohibition of “diverse kinds,” which includes various types of forbidden mixtures, one of which is combining wool and linen in a garment. However, it was permitted to affix ritual fringes, which must include wool strings dyed sky-blue, to a linen garment. “How fair you are” in planting, “and how pleasant you are” in orla.⁴⁵In observing the mitzva that prohibits eating or deriving benefit from the fruit that grows on a tree during the first three years after its planting. “How fair you are” in the produce of the fourth year “and how pleasant you are” in circumcision. “How fair you are” in uncovering⁴⁶This is the completion of the act of circumcision, in which the thin membrane underneath the foreskin is removed. “and how pleasant you are” in prayer. “How fair you are” in the reciting of Shema “and how pleasant you are” in mezuza. “How fair you are” in phylacteries “and how pleasant you are” in sukka. “How fair you are” in lulav “and how pleasant you are” in repentance. “How fair you are” in good deeds “and how pleasant you are” in this world. “How fair you are” in the World to Come “and how pleasant you are” in the messianic era.
“Love, in delights,” this is the love of Abraham our patriarch, who excused himself before the king of Sodom.⁴⁷He refused to receive the goods, or earthly delights, offered by the king of Sodom. That is what is written: “Abram said to the king of Sodom: I have raised my hand to the Lord…if so much as a thread to a shoelace, [or if I will take from anything of yours” (Genesis 14:22–23).
Another matter, “love, in delights,” this is the love of Daniel, who excused himself before Belshatzar, as it is stated: “Let your gifts be for you, and your grants [unvazbeyatakh] give to another” (Daniel 5:17). Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: Nevoz means head. There they would call the governor nevuzbezatakh. Rabbi Berekhya said: Your plunders [bizbuzekha]; you are plunderers sons of plunderers. The parable says: From one who inherited and not from one who plundered.

The intercalation takes place in the presence of three; Rabbi Eliezer says that ten (men are required), as it is said, "God standeth in the congregation of God" (Ps. 82:1), and if they become less than ten, since they are diminished they place a scroll of the Torah before them, and they are seated in a circle in the court-room, and the greatest (among them) sits first, and the least sits last; and they direct their gaze downwards to the earth and (then) they stand and spread out their hands before their Father who is in heaven, and the chief of the assembly proclaims the name (of God), and they hear a Bath Ḳol (saying) the following words, "And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron… saying, This month shall be unto you" (Ex. 12:1, 2).

(Prov. 6:20:) MY CHILD, KEEP YOUR FATHER's {TORAH} [COMMANDMENTS], <AND DO NOT FORSAKE THE TORAH OF YOUR MOTHER>. Our earliest ancestors separated out terumot²⁹I.e., the priestly tithes on produce, sometimes called “heave offerings.” and tithes.³⁰Tanh., Deut. 4:14, cont.; PRK 10:6; see PR 25:3, cont. Abraham separated out a great terumah, as stated (in Gen. 14:22): <THEN ABRAM SAID UNTO THE KING OF SODOM:> I HAVE LIFTED UP MY HAND UNTO THE LORD, GOD MOST HIGH. A lifting up is nothing but a terumah (rt.: RWM), since it is stated (in Numb. 18:26): <NOW YOU SHALL SPEAK UNTO THE LEVITES AND SAY UNTO THEM: WHEN YOU RECEIVE TITHES FROM THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, THE TITHE THAT I HAVE GIVEN YOU AS YOUR PORTION,> YOU SHALL LIFT (rt.: RWM) OUT OF IT A TERUMAH OF THE LORD, <A TITHE FROM THE TITHE>. Isaac separated out a second tithe, as stated (in Gen. 26:12): SO ISAAC SOWED ON THAT LAND AND REAPED IN THAT YEAR A HUNDREDFOLD, <FOR THE LORD HAD BLESSED HIM>. R. Abba bar Kahana said: Is it not true that a blessing does not rest on what is measured, on what is weighed, or on what is counted? So why did he measure them? In order to tithe them. This is what is written (ibid.): FOR THE LORD HAD BLESSED HIM.³¹See Deut. 14:24, which mentions a blessing in the context of the second tithe; therefore, the blessing of Gen. 26:12 must have been the result of Isaac’s second tithe. Jacob separated out a first tithe, as stated (in Gen. 28:22): AND OF ALL THAT YOU GIVE ME, I WILL SURELY SET ASIDE A TITHE FOR YOU.

When the king of Sodom was about to depart, he said to Abraham: “Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself (Gen. 14:21). You restored my life when you saved me from the fate of the other kings. If they had slain me, they would have taken both my life and my property; therefore, since you saved my life, take my possessions.” Thereupon Abraham made a vow, saying: I have lifted up my hand unto the Lord (ibid., v. 22). The words lifted up are employed only in reference to a vow, as it is said: And he lifted up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and vowed by Him that liveth forever (Dan. 12:17). I will not take a thread nor a shoe-latchet nor aught that is thine, lest thou shouldst say: I have made Abraham rich (Gen. 14:22). Why did he say that? Abraham said: “The Holy One, blessed be He, has already assured me that He would make me wealthy when He promised: And I will bless thee and make thy name great, and be thou a blessing (ibid. 12:2). If I take something from you, will you not say, ‘I have made Abraham rich’?”

A song of ascents. I will lift up mine eyes to the mountains (Ps. 121:1). Scripture alludes here to the verse Who art thou, O great mountain before. Zerubbabel? Thou shalt become a plain (Zech. 4:7). This verse refers to the Messiah, the descendant of David. Why was he called a great mountain? Because he will be greater than the patriarchs, as is said: Behold, My servant shall prosper, he shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high (Isa. 52:13). He shall be exalted above Abraham; lifted up above Isaac; and shall be very high above Jacob. He shall be exalted above Abraham, concerning whom it is said: I have lifted up my hand unto the Lord (Gen. 14:22); lifted up above Moses, of whom it is said: That thou shouldst say unto me: Carry them in thy bosom (Num. 11:12); and shall be very high like the ministering angels, concerning whom it is said: As for their wings, they were high (Ezek. 1:18). Hence Scripture says: Who art thou, O great mountain?

Another explanation (of Deut. 14:22), “You shall tithe, tithe.” This is related to the verse (in Is. 24:5), “And the earth was distorted under its inhabitants, because they transgressed Torahs;¹⁷Torot. Such a literal translation is required by the midrash. In the biblical context the word denotes something more general, such as teachings. they violated a statute; [they broke an eternal covenant].” R. Isaac said, “You have already been false to it, and [so] it is distorted for you. It [may] show you standing grain, but it does not show you a shock of sheaves. It [may] show you [a shock of sheaves, but it does not show you a threshing floor]. It [may] show you a threshing floor, but it does not show you a winnowed heap. Why [not]? (Ibid.:) ‘Because they transgressed Torahs; they violated statutes,’ in that they did transgress two Torahs, the written Torah and the oral Torah; (ibid.) ‘they violated a statute,’ the statute of tithes; (ibid.) ‘they broke an eternal covenant,’ an ancestral covenant.” For that reason Moses warned Israel (in Deut. 14:22), “You shall surely tithe.” (Prov. 6:20:) “My child, keep your father's commandments, [and do not forsake the Torah of your mother].” R. Huna said, “Our earliest ancestors separated out terumot and tithes.” Abraham separated out the great terumah, as stated (in Gen. 14:22), “[Then Abram said unto the king of Sodom,] ‘I have lifted up my hand unto the Lord, God most high.’” A lifting up is nothing but a terumah (rt.: rwm), as you say (in Numb. 18:26), “[Now you shall speak unto the Levites and say unto them, ‘When you receive tithes from the Children of Israel, the tithe that I have given you as your portion,] you shall lift (rt.: rwm) out of it a terumah of the Lord, [a tithe from the tithe].’” Isaac separated out the second tithe, as stated (in Gen. 26:12), “So Isaac sowed on that land and reaped in that year a hundredfold, [for the Lord had blessed him]”; R. Eiba bar Kahana said, “Is it not true that a blessing does not rest on what is measured, on what is weighed, or on what is counted? So why did he measure them? In order to tithe them. This is what is written (ibid.), ‘for the Lord had blessed him.’”¹⁸See Deut. 14:24, which mentions a blessing in the context of the second tithe; therefore, perhaps the blessing of Gen. 26:12 would have been the result of Isaac’s second tithe. Jacob separated out the first tithe, as stated (in Gen. 28:22), “and of all that You give me, I will surely set aside a tithe for You.” A certain Cuthean (i.e., a Samaritan) came and questioned R. Meir. He said to him, “Do you not say that indeed your ancestor Jacob is truthful?” He said [back] to him, “Yes, as it is written (in Micah 7:20), ‘You give truthfulness to Jacob.’” [The Cuthean] said to him, “He separated out the tribe of Levi [as a tithe] for the tribes, [i.e.,] one out of ten. Should he not have separated out [a tithe] from two more [tribes]?” R. Meir said to him, “You have said that there were twelve, but I say that there were fourteen, as stated (in Gen. 48:5), ‘Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine like Reuben and Simeon.’” He said to him, “So here you are supporting me. You have added flour. Have you added water?” He said to him, “Do you not admit that there are four matriarchs that had four first-borns? Take away from [the fourteen] the four firstborn (of Jacob's four wives), since the firstborn is not tithed. Why? Because he is holy, and something holy does not redeem for use something [else that is] holy.” He said to him, ‘It is good for your people that you are among them.” Hence it is written (Prov. 6:20), “and do not forsake the Torah of your mother (immekha),” [i.e.,] your people (ummatekha). That is what David said (in Ps. 40:9), “To carry out Your will, my God, is my desire, [for Your Torah is within my belly].” R. Aha bar Ulla said, “Is there Torah within the belly? And is it not so written (in Jer. 31:33), ‘and upon their heart (not their belly) I will write it?’ It is simply that David said, ‘May [a curse] come upon me, if something goes down into my belly, except when it is tithed.’ This is what is written (in I Chron. 27:25), ‘And over the treasuries of the king was Azmaveth ben Adiel; and over the treasuries in the country in the cities, in the villages, and in the towers was Jonathan ben Uzziah.’”¹⁹In other words, David was concerned enough about tithes to appoint overseers. For that reason Moses warned Israel (in Deut. 14:22), “You shall surely tithe.”

(Exodus 15:16) "Until Your people, O L rd, pass over (the Arnon); until there pass over (the Jordan) this people whom You have acquired": For all the world is Yours, and You have no people but Israel, viz. (Isaiah 43:12) "This people have I fashioned for Myself." Four are called "acquisitions": Israel — viz. "this people whom You have acquired." Heaven and earth — viz. (Genesis 14:22) "Acquirer of heaven and earth." The Temple — viz. (Psalms 78:54) "this mountain (the Temple mount) that He acquired." The Torah — viz. (Mishlei 8:22) "The L rd acquired me (Torah) (in) the beginning of His way" (the creation). Let Israel come, who are called "acquisition," to the land, that is called "acquisition," and build the Temple, His "acquisition," in the merit of the Torah, which is called "acquisition." Thus — "this people whom You have acquired."

(Gen. 14:23:) THAT < I WILL TAKE NOT > SO MUCH AS A THREAD OR A SANDAL STRAP < FROM ANYTHING THAT IS YOURS >…. Why? Because the Holy One has promised me that he will make me rich, as stated (in Gen. 12:2): I WILL MAGNIFY YOUR NAME. Now should I receive from what belongs to you, so that you might say (ibid., cont.): I HAVE MADE YOU RICH? The Holy One said: You have said: < NOT > SO MUCH AS A THREAD. By your life I am giving your children an altar around which A THREAD OF RED PAINT encompasses, just as our masters have taught (in Mid. 3:1).

It is written (in Ps. 121:1): A SONG OF ASCENTS. I WILL LIFT UP MY EYES UNTO THE MOUNTAINS. FROM WHERE WILL MY HELP COME? It is also written (in Zech. 4:7): WHO ARE YOU, O GREAT MOUNTAIN, BEFORE ZERUBBABEL? BECOME LEVEL GROUND.⁸²Tanh., Gen. 6:14. What is the meaning of WHO ARE YOU, O GREAT MOUNTAIN? This is the Messianic King. Then why does it call him GREAT MOUNTAIN? Because he is greater than the ancestors, as stated (in Is. 52:13): BEHOLD, MY SERVANT SHALL BRING LOW.⁸³The Masoretic Text reads: SHALL PROSPER. HE SHALL BE EXALTED, LIFTED UP, AND BECOME EXCEEDINGLY TALL. HE SHALL BE EXALTED (rt.: RWM) more than Abraham, LIFTED UP more than Moses, AND BECOME EXCEEDINGLY TALL, more so than the ministering angels. < HE SHALL BE EXALTED > more than Abraham, of whom it is written (in Gen. 14:22): I HAVE RAISED (rt.: RWM) MY HAND UNTO THE LORD. < He shall be > LIFTED UP more than Moses, of whom it is stated (in Numb. 11:12): THAT YOU (the LORD) SHOULD SAY TO ME (Moses): LIFT THEM UP IN YOUR BOSOM AS THE NURSE LIFTS UP A SUCKLING CHILD. AND < he shall > BECOME… TALL (rt.: GBH), more than the ministering angels, of whom it is stated (in Ezek. 1:18): THEIR (the angelic wheels') RIMS (rt.: GBB) WERE BOTH TALL (rt.: GBH) < AND AWESOME >…. From whom did he arise? From [Zerubbabel, and Zerubbabel < arose >] from David. Thus it is stated (in I Chron 3:10-24): AND SOLOMON'S SON WAS REHOBOAM, ABIJAH HIS SON, ASA HIS SON, JEHOSHAPHAT HIS SON, JORAM HIS SON, AHAZIAH HIS SON, JOASH HIS SON, AMAZIAH HIS SON, AZARIAH HIS SON, [JOTHAM HIS SON], AHAZ HIS SON, HEZEKIAH HIS SON, MANASSEH HIS SON, AMON HIS SON, AND JOSIAH HIS SON. NOW THE SONS OF JOSIAH WERE JOHANAN THE FIRST-BORN, JEHOIAKIM THE SECOND, ZEDEKIAH THE THIRD, AND SHALLUM THE FOURTH. THE SONS OF JEHOIAKIM WERE HIS SON JECONIAH AND HIS SON ZEDEKIAH. AND THE SONS OF JECONIAH, THE CAPTIVE, WERE SHEALTIEL HIS SON, MALCHIRAM, PEDAIAH, SHENAZZAR, JEKAMIAH, HOSHAMA, AND NEDABIAH. THE SONS OF PEDAIAH WERE ZERUBBABEL AND SHIMEI. THE SONS OF ZERUBBABEL WERE MESHULLAM AND HANANIAH, AND SHELOMITH WAS THEIR SISTER; ALSO HASHUBAH, OHEL, BERECHIAH, (HASARIAH) [HASADIAH], JUSHABHESED: FIVE (from after the exile). AND THE SONS OF HANANIAH WERE (PELITIA) [PELATIAH] AND JESHAIAH. AND THE SONS OF < JESHAIAH >: REPHAIAH; THE SONS OF < REPHAIAH >: ARNAN; THE SONS OF < ARNAN >: OBADIAH; THE SONS OF < OBADIAH >: SHECANIAH; THE SONS OF SHECANIAH: SHEMAIAH. THE SONS OF SHEMAIAH WERE HATTUSH, IGAL, [BARIAH], NEARIAH, AND SHAPHAT: SIX. THE SONS OF NEARIAH WERE ELIOENAI, HIZKIAH, AND AZRIKAM: THREE. AND THE SONS OF ELIOENAI WERE HODAVIAH, ELIASHIB, PELAIAH, AKKUB, JOHANAN, DELAIAH, AND ANANI: SEVEN. Now up to here the Scripture has given [you] detail. Who is Anani? This is the Messianic [King], as stated (in Dan. 7:13): AS I WAS LOOKING ON (IN A VISION AT NIGHT) [IN THE NIGHT VISIONS], BEHOLD, ALONG WITH ANANI⁸⁴The Masoretic Text vocalizes ‘anani as ‘anane, which means “clouds.” OF < HEAVEN, ONE LIKE A HUMAN BEING >…. What is the meaning of the SEVEN (in I Chron. 3:24)? [What is] that which is written about the Messiah? That which is stated (in Zech. 4:10): FOR WHOEVER HAS DESPISED THE DAY OF SMALL THINGS SHALL REJOICE TO SEE THE PLUMMET IN THE HAND OF ZERUBBABEL, < EVEN > SEVEN: (BEHOLD), [THESE ARE] THE EYES ('ene) OF THE LORD. THEY ROAM AROUND ALL THE EARTH. It is therefore stated (in Zech. 4:7): WHO ARE YOU, O GREAT MOUNTAIN, BEFORE ZERUBBABEL? BECOME LEVEL GROUND. This is what is written about him (in Is. 11:4): SO HE SHALL JUDGE THE POOR WITH RIGHTEOUSNESS AND DECIDE WITH EQUITY < FOR THE MEEK ('anawi) OF THE EARTH >….

This is what God said to Israel: My children what do I seek from you? I seek no more than that you love one another, and honor one another, and that you have awe for one another

Abraham — (Bereshith 14:22-23) "I lift my hand (in oath) to the L-rd, G-d on high, Possessor of heaven and earth: Nothing (shall I take), from a thread until a sandal latchet, nor shall I take anything that is yours." Boaz (to Ruth) — (Ruth 3:13) (I swear) "As the L-rd lives, lie (here with me, unmolested) until the morning…" David — (I Samuel 26:10) "And David said (to Avishai, who wanted to kill Saul, David's enemy): (I swear) as the L-rd lives: The L-rd will strike him with plague, or his day will come and he will die, or he will go forth in battle and he will perish." Elisha — (II Kings 5:16) "(I swear) as the L-rd lives, before whom I have stood, I shall not take (any emolument, etc.") And just as the righteous beswear their (evil) inclination not to do (as it wishes), so, the wicked (beswear it to do) as it wishes, viz. (Ibid. 20) "As the L-rd lives, I (Gechazi, Elisha's servant) shall run after him and take something from him!"

... David is the shepherd of Israel, as it says “You shall shepherd My people Israel…” (Divre HaYamim I 11:2) And who shepherded David? The Holy One, as it says “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” (Tehillim 23:1) Jerusalem is the light of the world, as it says “And nations shall go by your light…” (Yeshayahu 60:3) And who is the light of Jerusalem? The Holy One, as it is written “…but the Lord shall be to you for an everlasting light…” (Yeshayahu 60:19)