Midrash su Genesi 5:24

And on the seventh day a great storm arose and Enoch was carried heavenwards in a fiery ‎chariot, drawn by fiery horses.‎ And on the seventh day, all the kings that were with Enoch, sent to ascertain the number of ‎men that remained and followed Enoch to the place whence he ascended into heaven.‎ And when the messengers came to the place, they found it full of snow and large blocks of ice ‎all around.‎ And they said to each other: Let us break asunder these blocks of ice and see whether the ‎men going with Enoch did not die under them.‎ And they searched for all of them but Enoch was not found, for he had gone up into heaven.‎ And all the days of Enoch that he lived upon the earth were three hundred and sixty-five ‎years; and it was in the one hundred and thirteenth year of the life of Lamech, the son of ‎Methuselah, that Enoch was translated into heaven.‎ And after Enoch had departed from the earth all the kings of the earth assembled and ‎anointed Methuselah king over them, in the place of his sire." And Methuselah did whatever ‎was pleasing in the eyes of the Lord, and he also followed the example of his predecessor, ‎teaching and instructing the people in all the knowledge and wisdom he acquired of his father ‎Enoch, and he himself did not turn from those teachings, neither to the right nor to the left. ‎But in the last days of Methuselah the people turned away from the service of God, and they ‎robbed and oppressed one another. They also rebelled and transgressed against the will of ‎God and corrupted their ways, for they refused to obey the words of Methuselah.‎ And the Lord became angry at the sons of man, and the earth became more barren, and there ‎was neither sowing nor harvesting in those days throughout the earth.‎ And whenever they would sow, in order to raise vegetables for the support of their lives, the ‎seed would degenerate and produce only thorns and thistles. But for all that the sons of man ‎would not turn from their evil ways, and their arms continued out stretched to do whatsoever ‎was wicked in the eyes of the Lord.‎ And they provoked the Lord with their sinful ways, and the Lord was exceedingly wroth and he ‎repented having made man, and the Lord resolved to destroy them and to wipe them out ‎from the face of the earth, as he did soon after. At that time when Lamech, son of ‎Methuselah, was one hundred and eighty-six years old, Seth the son of Adam died. And all the days that Seth lived were nine hundred and twelve years.‎

(Numb. 4:18) “Do not cut off.” This text is related (to Nahum 1:7), “The Lord is good, a shelter in the day of trouble; He knows those who trust in Him.” The nature of the Holy One, blessed be He, is unlike the nature of flesh and blood.¹³¹Numb. R. 5:3. In the case of a king of flesh and blood, when a province rebels against him, he acts against it with an indiscriminate punishment¹³²Gk.: androlempsia or androlepsia (“seizure of foreigners” in reprisal for murder committed abroad). and kills the good along with the bad. Now the Holy One, blessed be He, is not like that. Rather, when a generation provokes Him, He saves the righteous and destroys the wicked. The generation of Enosh sinned. He destroyed them but rescued Enoch, as stated (in Gen. 5:24), “And Enoch walked with God.” Why? (Nahum 1:7:) “[The Lord is good, a shelter] in the day of trouble; He knows those who trust in Him.” The generation of the flood provoked Him. So He destroyed them, as stated (in Gen. 7:23), “And He blotted out all existence”; but He rescued Noah, as stated (in Gen. 6:8), “And Noah found favor [in the eyes of the Lord].” And similarly with the Sodomites, He destroyed them, as stated (in Gen. 19:24), “Then the Lord rained down upon Sodom”; but He rescued Lot, as stated (in vs. 29), “and sent Lot away.” He brought darkness upon the Egyptians, but (according to Exod. 10:23) “all the Children of Israel had light in their dwellings.” Why? (Nahum 1:7:) “[The Lord is good, a shelter] in the day of trouble; He knows those who trust in Him.” They went forth from Egypt and came to the desert. [There] they committed that deed (i.e., the incident of the golden calf), [all] except for the tribe of Levi. Thus it is stated (in Exod. 32:26), “[So Moses stood up in the gate of the camp and said,] ‘Whoever is for the Lord, to me!’ And all of the sons of Levi gathered to him.” [What is the meaning of “Whoever is for the Lord?”] Whoever (in Exod. 32:3) has not given a ring for the calf, let him come unto me. [To him] the Holy One, blessed be He, said (in Nahum 1:7), “[The Lord is good, a shelter] in the day of trouble; He knows those who trust in Him.” Moshe immediately arose and killed the sinners, as stated (Exodus 32:28), “And the Children of Levi did like the word of Moses.” With reference to the tribe of Levi, however, which gave their lives for the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, He thus said to Moses and Aaron (in Numb. 4:18), “Do not cut off….” And so He says in another place (i.e., in Numb. 3:15), “Enroll the Children of Levi.” But He has also said (in Numb. 1:49), “However, you shall not enroll the tribe of Levi.” Why? In order to exclude them from the decree. As the Holy One, blessed be He, foresaw that Israel was going to provoke Him and said to them (in Numb. 14:29), “In this desert shall your carcasses drop.” Therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, said, “The Children of Levi shall not be [part of] this decree, as stated (in Numb. 1:49, cont.), ‘nor shall you take a census of them as part of the Children of Israel.’ Why? Because they are Mine, as stated (Numb. 3:12), ‘and the Levites shall be mine.’” Thus when anyone offers (rt.: qrb) a little of himself, they advance (rt.: qrb) him a lot. Now they had offered (rt.: qrb) themselves, when Moses said (in Exod. 32:26), “Whoever is for the Lord, to me!” And not only that, but the Holy One, blessed be He, said (according to Numb. 1:50) “You shall enroll the Levites to be over the tabernacle of the testimony.” Thus when someone is tested in [one] area and found trustworthy, the Holy One, blessed be He, trusts him forever; for so you find in the case of Joshua.¹³³Numb. R. 1:12. When he was tested with Amalek, he prevailed against him according to the law and according to the commandment. It is so stated (in Exod. 17:13), “And Joshua defeated Amalek and his people….” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, “From your tribe (Ephraim) I am raising up one to exact punishment from Amalek, as stated (in Jud. 5:14), “Out of Ephraim came those whose root is in Amalek….” What is the meaning of out of (mny) Ephraim? He appointed (mnh) Ephraim alone to destroy the seed of Amalek. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him (ibid., cont.), “’After you, Benjamin with your peoples,’ [i.e.,] leave him for Saul ben Kish, the Benjamite; he will uproot him.” Another interpretation (of Jud. 5:14), “Out of Ephraim.” Saul was tested and found untrustworthy in his commission. Rather (according to I Sam. 15:9), “But Saul and the people spared Agag.” He put him back after him (i.e., behind Ephraim, the tribe of Joshua and Samuel) and the kingdom was taken from him, as stated (in Jud. 5:14), “after you (i.e., Ephraim), Benjamin with your peoples.” And I have also tested this tribe (of Levi), and they have been found to be preserving My honor; for they have given their life for the sanctification of My name (in Exod. 32:27-28), “Let each one put his sword on his thigh [….] So the Children of Levi acted according to the word of Moses,” and they did not show favoritism. Therefore, Moses blesses them and says to them (in Deut. 33:9), “Who says of his father and mother, ‘I do not consider them […].’” And [so] I am also advancing him and making him My imperial agent.¹³⁴Lat.: frumentarius (“grain dealer”). and I am entrusting him with My house and My sanctity, as stated (in Numb. 1:50), “But you shall enroll the Levites to be over the tabernacle of the testimony….” And what was it that I told you (in vs. 49)? “However, you shall not enroll the tribe of Levi.” [This prohibition] was to exempt them from the decree which I was going to pronounce over Israel. It is simply that I am allotting them great honor. When you number them, [number them] by themselves through the Divine utterance (in Numb. 3:15), “Enroll the Children of Levi.” Now if I have honored the Levites, who bear the tabernacle, how much the more so in the case of the Children of Kohath, who bear the ark, [as stated] (in Numb. 3:31), “And their duties included the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, [….]” He therefore said to them (in Numb. 4:18), “Do not cut off [the tribe of the Kohathite families from the Levites].” The Holy One, blessed be He, said, “And if because the Children of Kohath have feared Me, I have allotted glory to them and to their children; then [I will honor] whoever stands in awe of Me and not cut off his name from the world.”¹³⁵Numb. R. 5:9. From whom do you learn this? From the children of Jonadab ben Rechab. Since they did his will, what is stated about them? (Jer. 35:19), “Someone belonging to Jonadab ben Rechab shall not be cut off from standing before Me forever.” And if in the case of those who are proselytes, because they have done My will, I have done likewise for them (i.e., what they want); in the case of Israel, when they are doing My will, how much the more shall they neither be cut off nor have their name be erased from before Me? Rather, they shall live and abide forever and ever and ever, as stated (in Deut. 4:4), “But you who clung to the Lord your God are all alive today.”

11 All the sevenths are always beloved. Above the seventh is beloved: Skies, skies of the skies, firmament, heavens, celestial realm, abode, and clouds. And it is written (Psalms 68:5), "extol Him who rides the clouds; the Lord is His name." In the lands, the seventh is beloved: Earth, ground, globe, valley, wilderness, oblivion and world. And it is written (Psalms 9:9), "And He judges the world with righteousness, judges the peoples with equity." In the generations, the seventh is beloved: Adam, Shet, Enosh, Keinan, Mahalalel, Yered and Chanoch. And it is written (Genesis 5:25), "And Chanoch walked with God." In the forefathers, the seventh is beloved: Avraham, Yitschak, Yaakov, Levi, Kehat, Amram and Moshe. And it is written (Exodus 19:3), "And Moshe ascended to God." In sons, the seventh is beloved, as it is stated (I Chronicles 2:15), "David was the seventh." In kings, the seventh is beloved: Shaul, Ish-boshet, David, Shlomo, Rechavam, Aviyah and Asa. And it is written (II Chronicles 14:10), "And Asa called out to the Lord." In years, the seventh is beloved, as it is stated (Exodus 23.11), "But in the seventh you shall let it rest and lie fallow." In sabbatical years, the seventh is beloved, as it is stated (Leviticus 25:10), "And you shall sanctify the fiftieth year." In days, the seventh is beloved, as it is stated (Genesis 2:3), "And God blessed the seventh day." In months, the seventh is beloved, as it is stated (Leviticus 23:24), "In the seventh month on the first day."

(Numb. 4:18:) DO NOT CUT OFF. This text is related (to Nahum 1:7): THE LORD IS GOOD, A SHELTER [IN THE DAY OF TROUBLE]. The nature of the Holy One is unlike the nature of flesh and blood.¹⁵⁶Tanh., Numb. 1:26; Numb. R. 5:3. In the case of a king of flesh and blood, when a province rebels against him, he acts against it with an indiscriminate punishment¹⁵⁷Gk.: androlempsia or androlepsia (“seizure of foreigners” in reprisal for murder committed abroad). and kills the good along with the bad without considering: This one has sinned, and this one has not sinned. Instead he kills the whole of it (i.e., the province). Now the Holy One is not like that. Rather, when a generation provokes him, he saves the righteous and destroys the wicked. The generation of Enosh sinned. He destroyed them but rescued Enoch, as stated (in Gen. 5:24): AND ENOCH WALKED WITH GOD. Why? (Nahum 1:7:) <THE LORD IS GOOD, A SHELTER> IN THE DAY OF TROUBLE; HE KNOWS THOSE WHO TRUST IN HIM. The generation of the flood provoked him. So he destroyed them, as stated (in Gen. 7:23): AND HE BLOTTED OUT ALL EXISTENCE; but he rescued Noah, as stated (in Gen. 6:8): AND NOAH FOUND FAVOR <IN THE EYES OF THE LORD>. And similarly with the Sodomites, he destroyed them, as stated (in Gen. 19:24): THEN THE LORD RAINED DOWN UPON SODOM; but he rescued Lot, as stated (in vs. 29): AND SENT LOT AWAY. He brought darkness upon the Egyptians, BUT (according to Exod. 10:23) ALL THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL HAD LIGHT IN THEIR DWELLINGS. Why? (Nahum 1:7:) <THE LORD IS GOOD, A SHELTER> IN THE DAY OF TROUBLE; HE KNOWS THOSE WHO TRUST IN HIM. They went forth from Egypt and came to the desert. <There> they committed that deed (i.e., the incident of the golden calf), <all> except for the tribe of Levi. Thus it is stated (in Exod. 32:26): <SO MOSES STOOD UP IN THE GATE OF THE CAMP> AND SAID: WHOEVER IS FOR THE LORD, COME TO ME <….> What is the meaning of WHOEVER IS FOR THE LORD? R. Simeon ben Johay says: Whoever (in Exod. 32:3) has not given a ring for idolatry, let him come unto me. (Ibid. cont.:) THEN ALL THE CHILDREN OF LEVI GATHERED UNTO HIM. The Holy One said (in Nahum 1:7): <THE LORD IS GOOD, A SHELTER> IN THE DAY OF TROUBLE; HE KNOWS THOSE WHO TRUST IN HIM. <Moses was asking:> Who took part in the deed of the calf, and who did not take part? What did <the Holy One> do? He killed the sinners, as stated (in Exod. 32:35): THEN THE LORD SMOTE THE PEOPLE…. With reference to the tribe of Levi, however, which gave their lives for the Name of the Holy One, he said to Moses and Aaron (in Numb. 4:18): DO NOT CUT OFF….