Midrash su I Re 13:76

"he is Mine": What is the intent of this? It is written (Devarim 15:19) "the male shall you sanctify to the L rd your G d." (How am I to understand this?) As sanctify it so that you receive reward, or if you sanctify it, it is sanctified, and, if not, it is not sanctified? It is, therefore, written "he is Mine" — in any event. What is the intent, then, of "the male shall you sanctify"? Sanctify it (i.e., dedicate it to the L rd) for the sake of receiving reward. Similarly, (Leviticus 6:5) "And the Cohein shall burn wood upon it every morning, etc." What is the intent of this? Is it not written (Isaiah 40:16) "and (the whole forest of Levanon is not sufficient to burn, etc."? What, then, is the intent of "And the Cohein shall burn wood upon it"? For the sake of receiving reward. Similarly, (Numbers 28:4) "the one lamb shall you offer, etc." What is the intent of this? Is it not written (Isaiah, Ibid.) "nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt-offering"? What, then, is the intent of "The one lamb, etc."? For the sake of receiving reward. Similarly, (Exodus 25:8) "and they shall make for Me a sanctuary, etc." What is the intent of this? Is it not written (Jeremiah 23:24) "Do I not fill heaven and earth?" What, then, is the intent of "And they shall make for Me a sanctuary"? For the sake of receiving reward for making it. Once, the disciples spent a Sabbath in Yavneh, R. Yehoshua not among them. When they returned to him he asked them: "What novelty did you hear in Yavneh?" They answered: "After you, our master" (i.e., there is no one to do so after you). R. Yehoshua: "Who spent the Sabbath there?" They: "R. Elazar b. Azaryah." R. Yehoshua: "Is it possible that R. Elazar b. Azaryah spent the Sabbath there without telling you something novel?" They: He expounded this principle (Devarim 31:12) "Gather the people — the men, the women, and the children." Now do little children know the difference between good and evil? But (He did so) in order to bestow reward upon their bringers, to increase the reward of the doers of His will, as it is written (Isaiah 42:21) "The L rd desires for the sake of His righteousness to magnify Torah and to exalt it." At this, he said to them: "What can be more novel than this? I am seventy years old, and I never merited hearing such a thing until this day! Happy are you, father Abraham, from whose loins Elazar b. Azaryah emerged! The generation is not an orphan in whose midst R. Elazar b. Azaryah resides!" They: Our master, he also expounded this principle: (Jeremiah 23:7) "Therefore, behold, days are coming, says the L rd, when it will no more be said: 'As the L rd lives, who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt, etc.'" To what may this be compared? A man desired children and had a daughter — whereupon (when he made a vow) he vowed upon her life. Thereafter, he had a son, and (in vowing) he left off (vowing by) his daughter and vowed upon the life of his son. R. Shimon b. Yochai says: To what may this be compared? A man was journeying and was accosted by a wolf, from which he was rescued — whereupon he would (always) talk about his encounter with the wolf. He was later accosted by a lion, from which he was rescued — whereupon he left off talking about his encounter with the wolf and spoke about his encounter with the lion. Similarly, (Genesis 29:19) "And he called the name of the place Beth-El." The first name was superseded by the second. Similarly, (Ibid. 17:5) "And your name will no longer be called Avram." The first name was superseded by the second. Similarly, (Ibid. 15) "Sarai, your wife, etc." The first name was superseded by the second. (Ibid. 32:28) "Your name will no longer be called Yaakov but Yisrael." The first name remained and the second was superadded. The name of Yitzchak was not changed, for he was thus (originally) called by the Holy One Blessed be He. There are three who were named by the Holy One Blessed be He — Yitzchak, Shlomoh, and Yoshiyahu. Yitzchak — (Ibid. 17:19) "But Sarah your wife will bear a son for you and you shall call his name Yitzchak." Shlomoh (I Chronicles 22:9) "for Shlomoh will be his name." Yoshiyahu (I Kings 13:2) "A son will be born to the house of David. Yoshiyahu will be his name." Others say: Also Yishmael among the gentiles. We find the names of righteous ones and their deeds to be revealed to the L rd before their creation, viz. (Jeremiah 1:5) "Before I created you in the womb, I knew you." Where do we find (the same for) the names of wicked ones? It is written (Psalms 58:4) "The wicked are estranged from the womb, etc."

Another matter, “a time to be born” – from the time to be born, it is the time to die. From the moment that a person is born, it is decreed upon him how many years he will live. If he merits, he will complete his years. If not, his life will be shortened, as it is written: “The fear of the Lord will increase days, but the years of the wicked will be shortened” (Proverbs 10:27). This is the opinion of Rabbi Akiva. The Rabbis say: If he merits, his life will be extended; if not, his life will be shortened. If he merits, his life will be extended, as it is stated: “Behold, I will add fifteen years to your days” (Isaiah 38:5). He said to them: From his own it is added to him.⁸If one had his original life expectancy shortened, it will be restored. Thus, regarding the verse cited from Isaiah, the fifteen years restored Hezekiah to his original life expectancy. Know [that this is so,] as it is written: “Behold, a son is born to the house of David, Josiah is his name…” (I Kings 13:2), and Menashe⁹The order of the succession of the monarchy was Hezekiah, Menashe, Amon, Josiah. had not yet entered the world.¹⁰The prophecy about Josiah had been delivered hundreds of years earlier. When Hezekiah was granted the additional fifteen years, Menashe, his son, had not yet been born. Clearly, from the outset, Hezekiah was always supposed to have lived long enough to beget Menashe, Josiah’s grandfather. They said to him: Is it written: A son will be born to the house of David from Hezekiah? That is not stated, but rather “to the house of David,” [and it could have been] a son from a different [branch] of the royal house of David.
This supports what the Sages, our rabbis said: There was an incident involving one of the prominent men of Tzippori, who had occasion to circumcise [his son], and the residents of Ein Te’ena came up to honor him and Rabbi Shimon ben Ḥalafta came up with them. When they came to the city gates, they came across the sound of lads standing and playing before one courtyard. They saw Rabbi Shimon ben Ḥalafta, who was distinguished and handsome. They said to him: ‘You will not move from here until you dance for us a bit.’ He said to them: ‘This is inappropriate for me, as I am an elderly man.’ He reprimanded them, but they were not daunted and did not submit. He lifted his glance and saw that the courtyard [was going to be] overturned.¹¹Due to their impudence in insisting that Rabbi Shimon ben Ḥalafta dance for them, the courtyard would be destroyed. He said to them: ‘Repeat after me what I say: Go and say to this owner of this courtyard: “If you are sleeping, awaken, as the beginning of sin is sweet but its end is bitter.”’ From the sound of their words the owner of that courtyard awakened, and he emerged, and fell at [Rabbi Shimon ben Ḥalafta’s] feet. He said: ‘Rabbi, I beg of you, do not pay attention to their words, as they are young and foolish.’ [Rabbi Shimon ben Ḥalafta] said to him: ‘What can we do for you, the edict has already been issued.¹²The courtyard will be destroyed. However, I will delay it for you [so you have enough] time to take out everything that you have in the courtyard.’ When he had taken out everything that he had in the courtyard, that courtyard was lifted up and then crashed down [and was destroyed].
They went to fulfill the mitzva of circumcision, and the father of the boy was giving them aged wine to drink, and saying: ‘Drink of this fine wine, as I trust in the Master of Heaven that I will [also] give you to drink of it at his wedding.’ They answered him: ‘Just as you brought him to circumcision, so may you bring him to Torah and to the wedding canopy.’ From the sound of their words, Rabbi Shimon bar Ḥalafta emerged into the darkness,¹³He set out to return home even though it was night. he was accosted by the emissary of the people.¹⁴The angel of death. [The angel of death] said to him: ‘Is it because you rely on your good deeds that you are going out at a time that is not a time?’¹⁵For people to be outside. [Rabbi Shimon bar Ḥalafta] said to him: ‘You, who are you?’ He said to him: ‘I am the emissary of the people.’ He said to him: ‘Why do you look forlorn?’ He said: ‘It is from the sound of the harsh words that I hear from people every day.’ He said to him: ‘What are they?’ He said to him: ‘That baby that you circumcised today, I have the document of his [fate, which states] that I am to take him from here in thirty days. His father gave you to drink and said: “Drink this fine wine as I trust in the Master of Heaven that I will give you to drink of it at his wedding.” I heard and I was sad, because your prayer¹⁶The prayer the guests had said to the father: ‘Just as you brought him to circumcision, so may you bring him to Torah and to the wedding canopy.’ abrogates it.’ [Rabbi Shimon ben Ḥalafta] said to him: ‘By your life, show me my fate.’ He said to him: ‘I have no control over yours and not over your colleagues.’ He said to him: ‘Why?’ He said: ‘It is because each and every day you exert yourself in Torah and mitzvot and perform acts of righteousness, and the Holy One blessed be He adds years to your lifetimes.’ He said to him: ‘May it be the will of the Holy One blessed be He that just as you do not control our fates, so you will not have license to violate our words and our plea for mercy from Heaven.’ The baby lived.¹⁷This proves that, contrary to Rabbi Akiva’s statement, people can live beyond their predetermined life expectancy.
Rabbi Akiva said: What is [the significance of] this incident for us? I do not have an incident, but rather a verse: “I will fill the number of your days” (Exodus 23:26). Moses, how many mitzvot did he fulfill and how many acts of righteousness, and ultimately, it was stated to him: “Behold, your days are approaching to die” (Deuteronomy 31:14); that is: “A time to be born [and a time to die].”
Another matter, “a time to be born and a time to die” – when a man is born, the Holy One blessed be He waits up to twenty years for him to marry a woman. If he reached the age of twenty and did not marry a woman, the Holy One blessed be He says to him: It is “a time to be born” for you,¹⁸A time for you to have children. but you did not wish to do so; this is nothing other than “a time to die.” Some say: One waits only a bit before that which will burn him.¹⁹Since a man is liable to lose his life if he is not married by the age of twenty, he would do well not to wait until close to that age, and marry even before the age of twenty.
“A time to plant,” in peacetime; “and a time to uproot that which is planted,” in wartime.

But what of the above cited passages, which indeed contradict each other? I saw the Lord, is to be explained by the following Baraitha: All the other prophets contemplated [Deity] through a dim speculum, while Moses contemplated [Deity] through a lucid speclum. (Ib. 55, 6) See ye the Lord while He may be found, could be explained that it refers to an individual, while Moses refers to a community. And when is the time [to which Isaiah refers?] R. Nachman, in the name of Rabbi b. Abahu, said: "This refers to the ten days from New Year until the Day of Atonement." The number of thy days will I make full. This is explained by the following Tanaim, for we are taught in a Baraitha: All the other prophets contem make full. (Fol. 50) This refers to the years assigned to one when born, if one deserves through merits then he lives through the years due to him, but otherwise they are lessoned. This is according to the opinion of R. Akiba. But the other sages say that if one has merits, his years are added, and if one does not deserve by merits then his years are lessened. The sages then said to R. Akiba: "Behold the passage says And I will add unto thy days fifteen years, [hence it is more than his assigned portion?]" To which he replied: "This means that they were added from his own allotment [after their prior decision to have taken it off.] The following will prove [that the fifteen years were from his own allotment] for prior to that sickness the prophet delivered a prophecy saying (I Kings 13, 2) Behold, a child will be born unto the house of David. Josiah (Yeshiyahu) by name, although at the time of Ezekiah's sickness M'nashe has not yet been born by Ezekiah [hence he was originally destined to live these fifteen years.]" The Rabbis, however, argued: "Is it then written born unto Ezekiah? It is written unto the house of David, which refers either to Ezekiah or to some one else."

At the end of the persecution,⁶⁰After the death of Hadrian, emperor of Rome, who had outlawed Torah study and made other repressive decrees, and who had crushed the Bar Kokhva revolt. our Rabbis assembled in Usha; they were: Rabbi Yehuda, Rabbi Neḥemya, Rabbi Meir, Rabbi Yosei, Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai, Rabbi Eliezer son of Rabbi Yosei HaGelili, and Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov. They sent to the elders of the Galilee and said: ‘Anyone who is learned, let him come and teach, and anyone who is not learned, let him come and study.’ They assembled, studied, and did everything that they needed to do. When the time arrived to take their leave, they said: ‘Are we to leave empty the place in which we were received?’⁶¹Will we leave without honoring and expressing our appreciation for the residents of the host city? They accorded honor to Rabbi Yehuda, who was a resident of the city; not that he was greater than they were in Torah, but rather because a person’s place entitles him to honor.
Rabbi Yehuda entered and expounded: “Moses would take the Tent and pitch it outside the camp at a distance from the camp… [and anyone who would seek the Lord would go out to the Tent of Meeting outside the camp]” (Exodus 33:7). “At a distance” is stated here, and there it is stated: “There shall be a distance between you and it a measure of approximately two thousand cubits” (Joshua 3:4). Just as “distance” that is stated here is two thousand cubits, so “distance” stated there is two thousand cubits. “And anyone who would seek Moses” is not written here, but rather, “who would seek the Lord.” From here we have learned that anyone who welcomes Torah scholars, it is as though he received the Divine Presence. You, our brethren, our Rabbis, Torah luminaries, those of you who suffered [by traveling] ten mil, or twenty, or thirty, or forty, in order to hear matters of Torah, all the more so that the Holy One blessed be He will not withhold your reward in this [world] and in the [World] to Come.
Rabbi Neḥemya entered and expounded: “An Amonite or Moavite shall not enter the congregation of the Lord” (Deuteronomy 23:4). It is taught: Two great nations were denied entrance into the congregation of the Lord. Why? “Due to the fact that they did not greet you with bread and water” (Deuteronomy 23:5). Did Israel need it at that time? Is it not so, that all forty years that Israel was in the wilderness, the spring would rise for them, the manna would fall for them, quail was available for them, the clouds of glory enveloped them, and the cloud pillar traveled before them, and you say: “that they did not greet you with bread and water”? Rabbi Elazar said: Proper etiquette is that when one comes from travel one greets him with food and drink. Come and see what the Holy One blessed be He repaid these two nations: “An Amonite or Moavite shall not enter the congregation of the Lord.” You, residents of Usha, who welcomed our Rabbis with your food, your drink, and your beds, the Holy One blessed be He will repay you a fine reward.
Rabbi Meir entered and expounded: “A certain elderly prophet was residing in Beit El” (I Kings 13:11). Who was this? This was Amatzya, the priest of Beit El. Rabbi Yosei said: 'Meir, there is much confusion here. Who was this? This was Yonatan ben Gershom ben Moses [Moshe]. That is what is written: “Yehonatan ben Gershom ben Menashe” (Judges 18:30). The nun in Menashe is suspended.⁶²It is written in a suspended manner, smaller than the other letters and not extending to the bottom of the line. If he merited, “ben Moshe”; if not, “ben Menashe.”⁶³If he were to repent, he would merit to be called the son of Moses, or Moshe; if the letter nun is removed from the name Menashe, what is left is Moshe. If he did not repent, he would be referred to as the son of Menashe. This is a prophetical reference to Menashe son of Hezekiah, who was a notoriously wicked king of Judah.
The students raised a question before Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman, they said to him: A priest to idol worship lived all those years?⁶⁴The Yehonatan mentioned in Judges was a priest to idol worship. If he was the grandson of Moses, and also the priest of Beit El mentioned in Kings, by what merit would he have lived from the time of Judges until the time of the events in Kings? He said to them: Yes, because he was discouraging vis-à-vis idol worship. How so? A person would come to worship, and he would say to him: ‘How old are you?’ He would say to him: Forty years old, or fifty, or sixty, or seventy years old, or however old he was. He would say to him: ‘How old are you, forty years old, or fifty, or sixty, or seventy, or eighty years, and this idol was crafted only five or twelve years ago, and you seek to forsake your God and worship it? That is contemptible.’ [The visitor] would then become embarrassed and would leave. A certain contemptible individual came, and [Yehonatan] said this to him. He said to [Yehonatan]: ‘Why are you sitting here and worshipping it?’ He said: ‘I take my salary and mislead him.’⁶⁵Yehonatan said that his employer, Mikha, believed that he worshipped the idol, but that was not actually the case. When David heard of him, he sent and brought him, and he said to him: ‘You are the grandson of that righteous one and you engage in idol worship?’ He said to him: ‘This is the tradition that I receive from the house of my grandfather: Sell yourself for idol worship but do not be beholden to people.’⁶⁶Take a job pertaining to idolatry if necessary, but do not be financially dependent on others. He said to him: ‘Heaven forbid, it is not so, but rather sell yourself to a labor that is foreign⁶⁷The confusion stemmed from the fact that the literal translation of avoda zara, the term used to connote idol worship, is foreign labor. to you, but do not be beholden to people.’ When David saw how fond he was of money, he appointed him officer of the treasury. They say: When David died, he returned to his evil ways.
That is what is written: “I, too, am a prophet like you…kiḥesh lo” (I Kings 13:18). What is kiḥesh lo? He lied to him. What did he lie to him? He fed him the bread of falsehood.⁶⁸He gave the prophet from Judah food, which the prophet from Judah ate for sustenance, but in fact that meal led to his death. It is written: “As they were sitting at the table, the word of the Lord was to the prophet who had caused him to return” (I Kings 13:20). Can the matters not be inferred a fortiori? If this one, who lied and fed him the bread of falsehood, was privileged to have the Divine Spirit rest upon him, you, our brethren, residents of Usha, who welcomed our Rabbis with the food of truth, and drink, and a bed, all the more so that the Holy One blessed be He will pay you a fine reward.
Rabbi Yosei entered and expounded: “The Ark remained in the house of Oved Edom the Gittite [for three months]” (II Samuel 6:11). “It was told to King David saying: The Lord has blessed the house of Oved Edom and everything that is his” (II Samuel 6:12). By what merit? “Because of the Ark of God” (II Samuel 6:12). With what did He bless him? With children; that is what is written: “[Oved Edom had sons: Shemaya the first…] Amiel the sixth and Yisakhar the seventh” (I Chronicles 26:4–5), and likewise it says: “All these were of the sons of Oved Edom, they and their sons” (I Chronicles 26:8). They said: He had eight sons and he had eight daughters-in-law and each one of them would give birth to two each month. How so? She was impure for seven [days] and pure for seven [days] and she would give birth.⁶⁹She would conceive on the night of her purification and miraculously give birth after a gestation period of seven days. Impure seven and pure seven and she would give birth. Sixteen each month for three months, that is forty-eight. And six of his own,⁷⁰He himself had another six children in those three months. that is fifty-four. And the eight of them, that is sixty-two. Is that not what is written: “Sixty-two for Oved Edom (I Chronicles 26:8).
The students raised a question before Rabbi Yoḥanan, they said to him: What is that which is written: “Peuletai the eighth” (I Chronicles 26:5)? He said to them: It is because he performed a great service for the Torah. What service did he perform for the Torah? He would kindle before the Ark one lamp in the morning and one lamp in the afternoon. The matters can be inferred a fortiori: If the Ark of God, which does not eat, drink, or speak, but there were two stone tablets in it, and he kindled one lamp on its behalf and he merited to be blessed for honoring it, you, our brethren, residents of Usha, all the more so.
Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai entered and expounded: “It was one day that Elisha traveled to Shunem and there was a prominent woman and she implored him to eat bread” (II Kings 4:8). Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon said to him: Because it wrote “she implored him to eat bread,” she merited having her son revived. Rabbi Yudan in the name of Rabbi Ze’eira, and Rabbi Yoḥanan in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai, said: So great is sustenance that it causes the revival of the dead to occur not at its appointed time. The woman from Tzorfat, because she fed Elijah, merited having her son revived. The Shunamite, because she fed Elisha, merited having her son revived.
Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Ilai said: Even lamps, even wicks, Elijah would take from place to place so as not to impose upon any person. Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon said: Did he eat from her food? Did not both she and he eat from his food, as it is written: “She and he ate” (I Kings 17:15). “He and she” is written.⁷¹According to tradition, the verse is written such that it states “he and she ate,” but when reading the verse one reads it as though it states “she and he ate.” This is because she was the host, but the sustenance was provided by God in Elijah’s merit. Rather, because she welcomed him hospitably and served him, she merited having her son revived. And you, residents of Usha, who perform acts of kindness, all the more so.
Rabbi Eliezer son of Rabbi Yosei HaGelili entered and expounded: “Saul said to the Kenite: Go, withdraw, descend from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them; for you performed kindness with all the children of Israel when they ascended from Egypt’" (I Samuel 15:6). Did Yitro,⁷²The Kenites are identified as the descendants of Yitro. in fact, perform kindness with all the children of Israel? Was it not with Moses alone that he performed it? Rabbi Elazar said: Yitro certainly performed kindness with Moses; that is what is written: “Call him and let him eat bread” (Exodus 2:20). Rabbi Simon said: That is not so. He fed him as his wages. As it is written: “He also drew water for us [and watered the flock]” (Exodus 2:19).⁷³The verse states “drew water” with a double Hebrew term, dalo dala. The midrash expounds the significance of that double term. Rabbi Yehuda, Rabbi Neḥemya, and the Rabbis, Rabbi Yehuda said: He drew for us and for our fathers.⁷⁴The daughters of Yitro had their own sheep in addition to the sheep of their father Yitro (Etz Yosef). Rabbi Neḥemya said: He drew for us and for the shepherds. The Rabbis say: He drew for us due to the merit of our fathers⁷⁵The reason for the contentiousness with the shepherds was that Yitro had forsaken Midianite idolatry. and he drew for the shepherds to make peace between them. And you say that he performed kindness with all of Israel? Rather, it is to teach you that anyone who performs kindness for one of the prominent leaders of Israel, they ascribe him credit as though he did so to all of Israel, and you, our brethren, residents of Usha, all the more so.⁷⁶You residents of Usha performed kindness for numerous prominent scholars, and you did not owe them a previous debt of gratitude like Yitro owed Moses.
Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov entered and expounded: “Moses and the priests, the Levites, spoke to all Israel, saying: Pay attention and hear Israel, this day you have become a people [to the Lord your God]” (Deuteronomy 27:9). Was it that day that they received the Torah? Had it not been forty years already since they received the Torah, and you say “this day”? Rather, it teaches that since Moses reviewed the Torah for them and they received it welcomingly, the Torah ascribed them credit as though they had received it that day from Mount Sinai. That is why it is stated: “This day you have become a people to the Lord your God.” And you, our brethren, residents of Usha, who hospitably welcomed our Rabbis, all the more so.

At the end of the persecution,⁶⁰After the death of Hadrian, emperor of Rome, who had outlawed Torah study and made other repressive decrees, and who had crushed the Bar Kokhva revolt. our Rabbis assembled in Usha; they were: Rabbi Yehuda, Rabbi Neḥemya, Rabbi Meir, Rabbi Yosei, Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai, Rabbi Eliezer son of Rabbi Yosei HaGelili, and Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov. They sent to the elders of the Galilee and said: ‘Anyone who is learned, let him come and teach, and anyone who is not learned, let him come and study.’ They assembled, studied, and did everything that they needed to do. When the time arrived to take their leave, they said: ‘Are we to leave empty the place in which we were received?’⁶¹Will we leave without honoring and expressing our appreciation for the residents of the host city? They accorded honor to Rabbi Yehuda, who was a resident of the city; not that he was greater than they were in Torah, but rather because a person’s place entitles him to honor.
Rabbi Yehuda entered and expounded: “Moses would take the Tent and pitch it outside the camp at a distance from the camp… [and anyone who would seek the Lord would go out to the Tent of Meeting outside the camp]” (Exodus 33:7). “At a distance” is stated here, and there it is stated: “There shall be a distance between you and it a measure of approximately two thousand cubits” (Joshua 3:4). Just as “distance” that is stated here is two thousand cubits, so “distance” stated there is two thousand cubits. “And anyone who would seek Moses” is not written here, but rather, “who would seek the Lord.” From here we have learned that anyone who welcomes Torah scholars, it is as though he received the Divine Presence. You, our brethren, our Rabbis, Torah luminaries, those of you who suffered [by traveling] ten mil, or twenty, or thirty, or forty, in order to hear matters of Torah, all the more so that the Holy One blessed be He will not withhold your reward in this [world] and in the [World] to Come.
Rabbi Neḥemya entered and expounded: “An Amonite or Moavite shall not enter the congregation of the Lord” (Deuteronomy 23:4). It is taught: Two great nations were denied entrance into the congregation of the Lord. Why? “Due to the fact that they did not greet you with bread and water” (Deuteronomy 23:5). Did Israel need it at that time? Is it not so, that all forty years that Israel was in the wilderness, the spring would rise for them, the manna would fall for them, quail was available for them, the clouds of glory enveloped them, and the cloud pillar traveled before them, and you say: “that they did not greet you with bread and water”? Rabbi Elazar said: Proper etiquette is that when one comes from travel one greets him with food and drink. Come and see what the Holy One blessed be He repaid these two nations: “An Amonite or Moavite shall not enter the congregation of the Lord.” You, residents of Usha, who welcomed our Rabbis with your food, your drink, and your beds, the Holy One blessed be He will repay you a fine reward.
Rabbi Meir entered and expounded: “A certain elderly prophet was residing in Beit El” (I Kings 13:11). Who was this? This was Amatzya, the priest of Beit El. Rabbi Yosei said: 'Meir, there is much confusion here. Who was this? This was Yonatan ben Gershom ben Moses [Moshe]. That is what is written: “Yehonatan ben Gershom ben Menashe” (Judges 18:30). The nun in Menashe is suspended.⁶²It is written in a suspended manner, smaller than the other letters and not extending to the bottom of the line. If he merited, “ben Moshe”; if not, “ben Menashe.”⁶³If he were to repent, he would merit to be called the son of Moses, or Moshe; if the letter nun is removed from the name Menashe, what is left is Moshe. If he did not repent, he would be referred to as the son of Menashe. This is a prophetical reference to Menashe son of Hezekiah, who was a notoriously wicked king of Judah.
The students raised a question before Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman, they said to him: A priest to idol worship lived all those years?⁶⁴The Yehonatan mentioned in Judges was a priest to idol worship. If he was the grandson of Moses, and also the priest of Beit El mentioned in Kings, by what merit would he have lived from the time of Judges until the time of the events in Kings? He said to them: Yes, because he was discouraging vis-à-vis idol worship. How so? A person would come to worship, and he would say to him: ‘How old are you?’ He would say to him: Forty years old, or fifty, or sixty, or seventy years old, or however old he was. He would say to him: ‘How old are you, forty years old, or fifty, or sixty, or seventy, or eighty years, and this idol was crafted only five or twelve years ago, and you seek to forsake your God and worship it? That is contemptible.’ [The visitor] would then become embarrassed and would leave. A certain contemptible individual came, and [Yehonatan] said this to him. He said to [Yehonatan]: ‘Why are you sitting here and worshipping it?’ He said: ‘I take my salary and mislead him.’⁶⁵Yehonatan said that his employer, Mikha, believed that he worshipped the idol, but that was not actually the case. When David heard of him, he sent and brought him, and he said to him: ‘You are the grandson of that righteous one and you engage in idol worship?’ He said to him: ‘This is the tradition that I receive from the house of my grandfather: Sell yourself for idol worship but do not be beholden to people.’⁶⁶Take a job pertaining to idolatry if necessary, but do not be financially dependent on others. He said to him: ‘Heaven forbid, it is not so, but rather sell yourself to a labor that is foreign⁶⁷The confusion stemmed from the fact that the literal translation of avoda zara, the term used to connote idol worship, is foreign labor. to you, but do not be beholden to people.’ When David saw how fond he was of money, he appointed him officer of the treasury. They say: When David died, he returned to his evil ways.
That is what is written: “I, too, am a prophet like you…kiḥesh lo” (I Kings 13:18). What is kiḥesh lo? He lied to him. What did he lie to him? He fed him the bread of falsehood.⁶⁸He gave the prophet from Judah food, which the prophet from Judah ate for sustenance, but in fact that meal led to his death. It is written: “As they were sitting at the table, the word of the Lord was to the prophet who had caused him to return” (I Kings 13:20). Can the matters not be inferred a fortiori? If this one, who lied and fed him the bread of falsehood, was privileged to have the Divine Spirit rest upon him, you, our brethren, residents of Usha, who welcomed our Rabbis with the food of truth, and drink, and a bed, all the more so that the Holy One blessed be He will pay you a fine reward.
Rabbi Yosei entered and expounded: “The Ark remained in the house of Oved Edom the Gittite [for three months]” (II Samuel 6:11). “It was told to King David saying: The Lord has blessed the house of Oved Edom and everything that is his” (II Samuel 6:12). By what merit? “Because of the Ark of God” (II Samuel 6:12). With what did He bless him? With children; that is what is written: “[Oved Edom had sons: Shemaya the first…] Amiel the sixth and Yisakhar the seventh” (I Chronicles 26:4–5), and likewise it says: “All these were of the sons of Oved Edom, they and their sons” (I Chronicles 26:8). They said: He had eight sons and he had eight daughters-in-law and each one of them would give birth to two each month. How so? She was impure for seven [days] and pure for seven [days] and she would give birth.⁶⁹She would conceive on the night of her purification and miraculously give birth after a gestation period of seven days. Impure seven and pure seven and she would give birth. Sixteen each month for three months, that is forty-eight. And six of his own,⁷⁰He himself had another six children in those three months. that is fifty-four. And the eight of them, that is sixty-two. Is that not what is written: “Sixty-two for Oved Edom (I Chronicles 26:8).
The students raised a question before Rabbi Yoḥanan, they said to him: What is that which is written: “Peuletai the eighth” (I Chronicles 26:5)? He said to them: It is because he performed a great service for the Torah. What service did he perform for the Torah? He would kindle before the Ark one lamp in the morning and one lamp in the afternoon. The matters can be inferred a fortiori: If the Ark of God, which does not eat, drink, or speak, but there were two stone tablets in it, and he kindled one lamp on its behalf and he merited to be blessed for honoring it, you, our brethren, residents of Usha, all the more so.
Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai entered and expounded: “It was one day that Elisha traveled to Shunem and there was a prominent woman and she implored him to eat bread” (II Kings 4:8). Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon said to him: Because it wrote “she implored him to eat bread,” she merited having her son revived. Rabbi Yudan in the name of Rabbi Ze’eira, and Rabbi Yoḥanan in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai, said: So great is sustenance that it causes the revival of the dead to occur not at its appointed time. The woman from Tzorfat, because she fed Elijah, merited having her son revived. The Shunamite, because she fed Elisha, merited having her son revived.
Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Ilai said: Even lamps, even wicks, Elijah would take from place to place so as not to impose upon any person. Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon said: Did he eat from her food? Did not both she and he eat from his food, as it is written: “She and he ate” (I Kings 17:15). “He and she” is written.⁷¹According to tradition, the verse is written such that it states “he and she ate,” but when reading the verse one reads it as though it states “she and he ate.” This is because she was the host, but the sustenance was provided by God in Elijah’s merit. Rather, because she welcomed him hospitably and served him, she merited having her son revived. And you, residents of Usha, who perform acts of kindness, all the more so.
Rabbi Eliezer son of Rabbi Yosei HaGelili entered and expounded: “Saul said to the Kenite: Go, withdraw, descend from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them; for you performed kindness with all the children of Israel when they ascended from Egypt’" (I Samuel 15:6). Did Yitro,⁷²The Kenites are identified as the descendants of Yitro. in fact, perform kindness with all the children of Israel? Was it not with Moses alone that he performed it? Rabbi Elazar said: Yitro certainly performed kindness with Moses; that is what is written: “Call him and let him eat bread” (Exodus 2:20). Rabbi Simon said: That is not so. He fed him as his wages. As it is written: “He also drew water for us [and watered the flock]” (Exodus 2:19).⁷³The verse states “drew water” with a double Hebrew term, dalo dala. The midrash expounds the significance of that double term. Rabbi Yehuda, Rabbi Neḥemya, and the Rabbis, Rabbi Yehuda said: He drew for us and for our fathers.⁷⁴The daughters of Yitro had their own sheep in addition to the sheep of their father Yitro (Etz Yosef). Rabbi Neḥemya said: He drew for us and for the shepherds. The Rabbis say: He drew for us due to the merit of our fathers⁷⁵The reason for the contentiousness with the shepherds was that Yitro had forsaken Midianite idolatry. and he drew for the shepherds to make peace between them. And you say that he performed kindness with all of Israel? Rather, it is to teach you that anyone who performs kindness for one of the prominent leaders of Israel, they ascribe him credit as though he did so to all of Israel, and you, our brethren, residents of Usha, all the more so.⁷⁶You residents of Usha performed kindness for numerous prominent scholars, and you did not owe them a previous debt of gratitude like Yitro owed Moses.
Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov entered and expounded: “Moses and the priests, the Levites, spoke to all Israel, saying: Pay attention and hear Israel, this day you have become a people [to the Lord your God]” (Deuteronomy 27:9). Was it that day that they received the Torah? Had it not been forty years already since they received the Torah, and you say “this day”? Rather, it teaches that since Moses reviewed the Torah for them and they received it welcomingly, the Torah ascribed them credit as though they had received it that day from Mount Sinai. That is why it is stated: “This day you have become a people to the Lord your God.” And you, our brethren, residents of Usha, who hospitably welcomed our Rabbis, all the more so.

At the end of the persecution,⁶⁰After the death of Hadrian, emperor of Rome, who had outlawed Torah study and made other repressive decrees, and who had crushed the Bar Kokhva revolt. our Rabbis assembled in Usha; they were: Rabbi Yehuda, Rabbi Neḥemya, Rabbi Meir, Rabbi Yosei, Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai, Rabbi Eliezer son of Rabbi Yosei HaGelili, and Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov. They sent to the elders of the Galilee and said: ‘Anyone who is learned, let him come and teach, and anyone who is not learned, let him come and study.’ They assembled, studied, and did everything that they needed to do. When the time arrived to take their leave, they said: ‘Are we to leave empty the place in which we were received?’⁶¹Will we leave without honoring and expressing our appreciation for the residents of the host city? They accorded honor to Rabbi Yehuda, who was a resident of the city; not that he was greater than they were in Torah, but rather because a person’s place entitles him to honor.
Rabbi Yehuda entered and expounded: “Moses would take the Tent and pitch it outside the camp at a distance from the camp… [and anyone who would seek the Lord would go out to the Tent of Meeting outside the camp]” (Exodus 33:7). “At a distance” is stated here, and there it is stated: “There shall be a distance between you and it a measure of approximately two thousand cubits” (Joshua 3:4). Just as “distance” that is stated here is two thousand cubits, so “distance” stated there is two thousand cubits. “And anyone who would seek Moses” is not written here, but rather, “who would seek the Lord.” From here we have learned that anyone who welcomes Torah scholars, it is as though he received the Divine Presence. You, our brethren, our Rabbis, Torah luminaries, those of you who suffered [by traveling] ten mil, or twenty, or thirty, or forty, in order to hear matters of Torah, all the more so that the Holy One blessed be He will not withhold your reward in this [world] and in the [World] to Come.
Rabbi Neḥemya entered and expounded: “An Amonite or Moavite shall not enter the congregation of the Lord” (Deuteronomy 23:4). It is taught: Two great nations were denied entrance into the congregation of the Lord. Why? “Due to the fact that they did not greet you with bread and water” (Deuteronomy 23:5). Did Israel need it at that time? Is it not so, that all forty years that Israel was in the wilderness, the spring would rise for them, the manna would fall for them, quail was available for them, the clouds of glory enveloped them, and the cloud pillar traveled before them, and you say: “that they did not greet you with bread and water”? Rabbi Elazar said: Proper etiquette is that when one comes from travel one greets him with food and drink. Come and see what the Holy One blessed be He repaid these two nations: “An Amonite or Moavite shall not enter the congregation of the Lord.” You, residents of Usha, who welcomed our Rabbis with your food, your drink, and your beds, the Holy One blessed be He will repay you a fine reward.
Rabbi Meir entered and expounded: “A certain elderly prophet was residing in Beit El” (I Kings 13:11). Who was this? This was Amatzya, the priest of Beit El. Rabbi Yosei said: 'Meir, there is much confusion here. Who was this? This was Yonatan ben Gershom ben Moses [Moshe]. That is what is written: “Yehonatan ben Gershom ben Menashe” (Judges 18:30). The nun in Menashe is suspended.⁶²It is written in a suspended manner, smaller than the other letters and not extending to the bottom of the line. If he merited, “ben Moshe”; if not, “ben Menashe.”⁶³If he were to repent, he would merit to be called the son of Moses, or Moshe; if the letter nun is removed from the name Menashe, what is left is Moshe. If he did not repent, he would be referred to as the son of Menashe. This is a prophetical reference to Menashe son of Hezekiah, who was a notoriously wicked king of Judah.
The students raised a question before Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman, they said to him: A priest to idol worship lived all those years?⁶⁴The Yehonatan mentioned in Judges was a priest to idol worship. If he was the grandson of Moses, and also the priest of Beit El mentioned in Kings, by what merit would he have lived from the time of Judges until the time of the events in Kings? He said to them: Yes, because he was discouraging vis-à-vis idol worship. How so? A person would come to worship, and he would say to him: ‘How old are you?’ He would say to him: Forty years old, or fifty, or sixty, or seventy years old, or however old he was. He would say to him: ‘How old are you, forty years old, or fifty, or sixty, or seventy, or eighty years, and this idol was crafted only five or twelve years ago, and you seek to forsake your God and worship it? That is contemptible.’ [The visitor] would then become embarrassed and would leave. A certain contemptible individual came, and [Yehonatan] said this to him. He said to [Yehonatan]: ‘Why are you sitting here and worshipping it?’ He said: ‘I take my salary and mislead him.’⁶⁵Yehonatan said that his employer, Mikha, believed that he worshipped the idol, but that was not actually the case. When David heard of him, he sent and brought him, and he said to him: ‘You are the grandson of that righteous one and you engage in idol worship?’ He said to him: ‘This is the tradition that I receive from the house of my grandfather: Sell yourself for idol worship but do not be beholden to people.’⁶⁶Take a job pertaining to idolatry if necessary, but do not be financially dependent on others. He said to him: ‘Heaven forbid, it is not so, but rather sell yourself to a labor that is foreign⁶⁷The confusion stemmed from the fact that the literal translation of avoda zara, the term used to connote idol worship, is foreign labor. to you, but do not be beholden to people.’ When David saw how fond he was of money, he appointed him officer of the treasury. They say: When David died, he returned to his evil ways.
That is what is written: “I, too, am a prophet like you…kiḥesh lo” (I Kings 13:18). What is kiḥesh lo? He lied to him. What did he lie to him? He fed him the bread of falsehood.⁶⁸He gave the prophet from Judah food, which the prophet from Judah ate for sustenance, but in fact that meal led to his death. It is written: “As they were sitting at the table, the word of the Lord was to the prophet who had caused him to return” (I Kings 13:20). Can the matters not be inferred a fortiori? If this one, who lied and fed him the bread of falsehood, was privileged to have the Divine Spirit rest upon him, you, our brethren, residents of Usha, who welcomed our Rabbis with the food of truth, and drink, and a bed, all the more so that the Holy One blessed be He will pay you a fine reward.
Rabbi Yosei entered and expounded: “The Ark remained in the house of Oved Edom the Gittite [for three months]” (II Samuel 6:11). “It was told to King David saying: The Lord has blessed the house of Oved Edom and everything that is his” (II Samuel 6:12). By what merit? “Because of the Ark of God” (II Samuel 6:12). With what did He bless him? With children; that is what is written: “[Oved Edom had sons: Shemaya the first…] Amiel the sixth and Yisakhar the seventh” (I Chronicles 26:4–5), and likewise it says: “All these were of the sons of Oved Edom, they and their sons” (I Chronicles 26:8). They said: He had eight sons and he had eight daughters-in-law and each one of them would give birth to two each month. How so? She was impure for seven [days] and pure for seven [days] and she would give birth.⁶⁹She would conceive on the night of her purification and miraculously give birth after a gestation period of seven days. Impure seven and pure seven and she would give birth. Sixteen each month for three months, that is forty-eight. And six of his own,⁷⁰He himself had another six children in those three months. that is fifty-four. And the eight of them, that is sixty-two. Is that not what is written: “Sixty-two for Oved Edom (I Chronicles 26:8).
The students raised a question before Rabbi Yoḥanan, they said to him: What is that which is written: “Peuletai the eighth” (I Chronicles 26:5)? He said to them: It is because he performed a great service for the Torah. What service did he perform for the Torah? He would kindle before the Ark one lamp in the morning and one lamp in the afternoon. The matters can be inferred a fortiori: If the Ark of God, which does not eat, drink, or speak, but there were two stone tablets in it, and he kindled one lamp on its behalf and he merited to be blessed for honoring it, you, our brethren, residents of Usha, all the more so.
Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai entered and expounded: “It was one day that Elisha traveled to Shunem and there was a prominent woman and she implored him to eat bread” (II Kings 4:8). Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon said to him: Because it wrote “she implored him to eat bread,” she merited having her son revived. Rabbi Yudan in the name of Rabbi Ze’eira, and Rabbi Yoḥanan in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai, said: So great is sustenance that it causes the revival of the dead to occur not at its appointed time. The woman from Tzorfat, because she fed Elijah, merited having her son revived. The Shunamite, because she fed Elisha, merited having her son revived.
Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Ilai said: Even lamps, even wicks, Elijah would take from place to place so as not to impose upon any person. Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon said: Did he eat from her food? Did not both she and he eat from his food, as it is written: “She and he ate” (I Kings 17:15). “He and she” is written.⁷¹According to tradition, the verse is written such that it states “he and she ate,” but when reading the verse one reads it as though it states “she and he ate.” This is because she was the host, but the sustenance was provided by God in Elijah’s merit. Rather, because she welcomed him hospitably and served him, she merited having her son revived. And you, residents of Usha, who perform acts of kindness, all the more so.
Rabbi Eliezer son of Rabbi Yosei HaGelili entered and expounded: “Saul said to the Kenite: Go, withdraw, descend from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them; for you performed kindness with all the children of Israel when they ascended from Egypt’" (I Samuel 15:6). Did Yitro,⁷²The Kenites are identified as the descendants of Yitro. in fact, perform kindness with all the children of Israel? Was it not with Moses alone that he performed it? Rabbi Elazar said: Yitro certainly performed kindness with Moses; that is what is written: “Call him and let him eat bread” (Exodus 2:20). Rabbi Simon said: That is not so. He fed him as his wages. As it is written: “He also drew water for us [and watered the flock]” (Exodus 2:19).⁷³The verse states “drew water” with a double Hebrew term, dalo dala. The midrash expounds the significance of that double term. Rabbi Yehuda, Rabbi Neḥemya, and the Rabbis, Rabbi Yehuda said: He drew for us and for our fathers.⁷⁴The daughters of Yitro had their own sheep in addition to the sheep of their father Yitro (Etz Yosef). Rabbi Neḥemya said: He drew for us and for the shepherds. The Rabbis say: He drew for us due to the merit of our fathers⁷⁵The reason for the contentiousness with the shepherds was that Yitro had forsaken Midianite idolatry. and he drew for the shepherds to make peace between them. And you say that he performed kindness with all of Israel? Rather, it is to teach you that anyone who performs kindness for one of the prominent leaders of Israel, they ascribe him credit as though he did so to all of Israel, and you, our brethren, residents of Usha, all the more so.⁷⁶You residents of Usha performed kindness for numerous prominent scholars, and you did not owe them a previous debt of gratitude like Yitro owed Moses.
Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov entered and expounded: “Moses and the priests, the Levites, spoke to all Israel, saying: Pay attention and hear Israel, this day you have become a people [to the Lord your God]” (Deuteronomy 27:9). Was it that day that they received the Torah? Had it not been forty years already since they received the Torah, and you say “this day”? Rather, it teaches that since Moses reviewed the Torah for them and they received it welcomingly, the Torah ascribed them credit as though they had received it that day from Mount Sinai. That is why it is stated: “This day you have become a people to the Lord your God.” And you, our brethren, residents of Usha, who hospitably welcomed our Rabbis, all the more so.

R. Yudan opened the discussion with the verse: The tongue of the righteous is as choice silver; the heart of the wicked is little worth (Prov. 10:20). The tongue of the righteous is as choice silver alludes to the prophet Iddo. The heart of the wicked is little worth refers to Jeroboam. Scripture states: And behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the Lord unto Beth-el, and Jeroboam was standing by the altar to offer; and he cried against the altar by the word of the Lord, and said: “O altar, altar” (I Kings 13:1–2). Why is the word altar repeated twice? R. Abba the son of Kahana said: Because there were two altars, one at Bethel and one at Dan. Why did he say: Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he sacrifice the priests of the high places that offer upon thee, and man’s bones shall be burnt upon thee? (ibid., v. 2)? It does not say in the verse “the bones of Jeroboam” but rather man’s bones. You learn from this that he (the prophet) was respectful toward the government. And it came to pass, when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar in Beth-el, that Jeroboam put forth his hand from the altar, saying: “Lay hold on him.” And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not draw it back (ibid., vv. 4–5).

R. Yudan opened the discussion with the verse: The tongue of the righteous is as choice silver; the heart of the wicked is little worth (Prov. 10:20). The tongue of the righteous is as choice silver alludes to the prophet Iddo. The heart of the wicked is little worth refers to Jeroboam. Scripture states: And behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the Lord unto Beth-el, and Jeroboam was standing by the altar to offer; and he cried against the altar by the word of the Lord, and said: “O altar, altar” (I Kings 13:1–2). Why is the word altar repeated twice? R. Abba the son of Kahana said: Because there were two altars, one at Bethel and one at Dan. Why did he say: Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he sacrifice the priests of the high places that offer upon thee, and man’s bones shall be burnt upon thee? (ibid., v. 2)? It does not say in the verse “the bones of Jeroboam” but rather man’s bones. You learn from this that he (the prophet) was respectful toward the government. And it came to pass, when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar in Beth-el, that Jeroboam put forth his hand from the altar, saying: “Lay hold on him.” And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not draw it back (ibid., vv. 4–5).

R. Yudan opened the discussion with the verse: The tongue of the righteous is as choice silver; the heart of the wicked is little worth (Prov. 10:20). The tongue of the righteous is as choice silver alludes to the prophet Iddo. The heart of the wicked is little worth refers to Jeroboam. Scripture states: And behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the Lord unto Beth-el, and Jeroboam was standing by the altar to offer; and he cried against the altar by the word of the Lord, and said: “O altar, altar” (I Kings 13:1–2). Why is the word altar repeated twice? R. Abba the son of Kahana said: Because there were two altars, one at Bethel and one at Dan. Why did he say: Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he sacrifice the priests of the high places that offer upon thee, and man’s bones shall be burnt upon thee? (ibid., v. 2)? It does not say in the verse “the bones of Jeroboam” but rather man’s bones. You learn from this that he (the prophet) was respectful toward the government. And it came to pass, when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar in Beth-el, that Jeroboam put forth his hand from the altar, saying: “Lay hold on him.” And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not draw it back (ibid., vv. 4–5).

And the king answered and said unto the man of God: “Entreat now the favor of the Lord thy God, and pray for me” (ibid., v. 6). Two amoraim¹³Talmudic authorities who lived after the final redaction of the Mishnah. discussed this verse. One commented that he said thy God and not “my God.” The other retorted: How could he call Him “my God” while he stood and sacrificed before an idol whom he addressed as “my god”? Nevertheless The man of God entreated the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored, and became as it was before (ibid.). What is meant by as it was before? R. Judah the son of Simon began the discussion with the verse in the name of R. Joshua the son of Levi: Though thou brayest a fool in mortar with a pestle among groats, yet will not his foolishness depart from him (Prov. 27:22). That is to say, it will have no effect (on the fool, he learns nothing). Likewise he had previously sacrificed to an idol, and he did so again.

"Three kings," etc. Our Rabbis were taught: Jereboam, i.e., who caused Israel to quarrel among themselves. According to others, he who caused a controversy between them and their Heavenly Father. Ben Nebat, i.e., the son of him who had a vision, but did not see [properly]. We are taught in a Baraitha: Nebat is identical with Michah and with Sheba ben Bichri; Nebat, because he had a vision, but did not see [properly]; Michah, because he became poor while occupying himself with building Egypt. And his real name was Sheba ben Bichri. Our Rabbis were taught: There were three who had a vision, but have not seen it properly. Nebat, Achitophel and the astrologers of Pharaoh. Nebat observed a spark of light which came out from him. He thought he himself would become a king, and he erred, for it referred to his son Jeroboam. The same happened with Achitophel. He thought that he himself would become a king, but he erred, as it referred to his daughter, Bath Sheba, from whom Solomon was a descendant. And the astrologers of Pharaoh, as R. Chama said: "What is the meaning of the passage (Num. 20, 13) These are the waters of Meribah, i.e., this is what the astrologers of Pharaoh saw that the redeemer of Israel will be beaten through water, and therefore advised Pharaoh to command: (Ex. 1, 22) Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river. And they erred, for it referred that Moses will be punished on account of water." But whence do we know that Jeroboam has no share in the world to come? From the following passage (I Kings, 13, 34) And by this thing there was sin unto the house of Jeroboam, even to cut it off, and to destroy it from off the face of the earth. To cut it off from this world and to destroy it from the world to come. R. Jochanan said: What merited Jeroboam to become king? Because he rebuked Solomon. And why was he punished? Because he rebuked him in public, as it is said (Ib. 11, 27) And this was the cause that he lifteth up his hand against the king: Solomon built Milo, and repaired the breach of the city of David his father. He said to him: "David, thy father hath broken in holes in the surrounding wall of Jerusalem, for the purpose of that it shall be easier for Israel to enter the city. And thou hast fenced it for the purpose of making an angaria to Pharaoh's daughter." What does it mean, and he lifteth up his hands? R. Nachman said: "He took off his phylacteries in his presence."

R. Jochanan said in the name of R. Jose b. Kisma: "A little refreshment often plays an important role, for its refusal estranged two tribes from Israel, as it is said (Deut. 23, 5) Because they met you not with bread and water, in the way." And R. Jochanan himself said: "Its [refusal] estranges relatives and its [partaking] brings strangers near; it shuts the eye from the wicked, causes the Shechina to rest on the prophets of Baal and even an unintentional offence is considered as if it were done intentionally." It estranges relatives. This refers to (Fol. 105) Ammon and Moab [who were relatives to Israel]. It brings near strangers — this refers to Jethro, for R. Jochanan said: "As a reward for what Jethro said (Ex. 2, 20) Call him, that he may eat bread; his descendants merited to sit among the Sanhedrin in the chambers of the Temple, as it is said (I. Chr. 2, 55) And the families of the scribes that dwelt at Jabez: the Thirathites, the Shimeathites, the Suchathites. These are the Kenites that came from Chammoth, the father of the house of Rechab, and (Jd. 1, 16) And the children of the Kenite, the father-in-law of Moses, went up out of the city of palm-trees with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which is in the south of Arad, and they went and dwelt with the people." He shuts the eyes from the evil deed of the wicked,— this refers to Michah, [as said above]. Causes the Shechina to rest upon the prophets of Baal, — as (I Kings 13, 20) And it came to pass as they were sitting at the table, that the word of the Lord came unto the prophets, that brought him back. — And even an unintentional offence is considered as if it were done intentionally, — for R. Juda in the name of Rab said: "Had Jonathan supplied David with some loaves of bread the priests of the city of Nob would not have been slain, Doeg, the Edomite, would not have been lost, and Saul and his three sons would not have been killed."

When the Holy One, blessed be He, desires it, even one’s hands are not under man’s control. When did this occur? At the time that the prophet Iddo visited Jeroboam the son of Nabat: And behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the Lord unto Beth-El; and Jeroboam was standing by the altar to offer. And he cried against the altar by the word of the Lord, and said: “O altar, altar, thus saith the Lord: Behold, a son shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he sacrifice the priests of the high places that offer upon thee, and men’s bones shall they burn upon thee” (I Kings 13:1–2). Why is the word altar repeated in this verse? Because of the two altars, one at Beth-El and the other at Dan, at which golden calves were erected. And men’s bones is stated rather than “Jeroboam’s bones,” to emphasize that the prophet was respectful toward the government. Jeroboam said immediately: “This man is a fool.” Whereupon the prophet replied: This is the sign … Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out (ibid., v. 3). And the altar was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given (ibid., v. 5)

Rabbi Nathaniel said: Three hundred years before the birth of Josiah, was his name mentioned, as it is said, "Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name" (1 Kings 13:2); "And he was eight years old when he began to reign" (2 Kings 22:1). What is the disposition of a lad of eight years of age? He despised the idols and broke in pieces the pillars, and smashed the images and cut down the groves. His merit was great before the Throne of Glory. Because of the evil which Israel did in secret the righteous one was gathered (to his fathers), as it is said, "For the righteous is taken away because of the evil" (Isa. 57:1). || All Judah gathered together also with Jeremiah the prophet to show loving-kindness to Josiah, as it is said, "And Jeremiah lamented for Josiah, and all the singing men and the singing women spake of Josiah" (2 Chron. 35:25). Rabbi Meir said: "The singing men" refer to the Levites, who stood upon the platform singing; "and the singing women" refer to their wives. Rabbi Simeon said: These terms do not refer merely to the Levites and their wives; but to the skilled women, as it is said, "Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Consider ye, and call for the mourning women, that they may come; and send for the cunning women, that they may come: and let them make haste, and take up a wailing for us" (Jer. 9:17, 18). Hence the wise men instituted (the rule) that this should be done to all the wise men of Israel and to their great men, as it is said, "And they made them an ordinance in Israel" (2 Chron. 35:25).

Another interpretation (of Is. 57:20): BUT THE WICKED ARE LIKE THE TROUBLED SEA. Just as the sea has its mud in its mouth, so the wicked have their stench in their mouth. Thus it is stated (at the end of Is. 57:20): AND ITS WATERS TOSS UP SLIME AND MUD. It is not from choice that one hears blasphemies and invectives, but from the midst of the sins which are within him. Thus it is stated (in Lev. 5:1): IF A SOUL SINS AND HEARS A VOICE SWEARING….⁶⁷Most translations equate the sinning with the swearing. This more literal translation illustrates the point that the swearing comes from a soul which has already sinned. You find <that there are> three things under human control and three things not under human control.⁶⁸Tanh., Gen. 6:12 (i.e., Toledot 12); Gen. R. 67:12. The following are under one's control: The mouth, the hands and the feet. The mouth: If one wants to be engaged in the Torah, he is engaged; <if one wants> to blaspheme and revile, he does so, because his lips are under his control. The hands: If one wants to give alms, he gives them; <if one wants> to steal, he steals. Why? Because they are under his control. The feet: One wanting to go to the synagogue goes; <one wanting> to steal, commit adultery, <or> murder goes, because his feet are under his control. But the following are not under one's control: The eyes, the ears, and the nose. The eyes: If one was passing through the market place and saw someone committing a transgression in the market place, he was seeing what was not under his control. The ears: If one heard the sound of blasphemies and invectives and did not want to hear them, what should he do? He heard what was not under his control. The nose: If one passed through a place of idolatry, smelled idolatrous incense, and did not smell it willingly, what should he do? He smelled what was not under his control. But when the Holy One desires, even these things which are < ordinarily > under one's control are not <any longer> under one's control. The mouth: When Balaam came to curse Israel, the Holy One did not allow him. He blessed them instead, as stated (in Deut. 23:6): BUT THE LORD YOUR GOD DID NOT WANT TO HEED BALAAM; <SO THE LORD YOUR GOD TURNED THE CURSE INTO A BLESSING FOR YOU>…. Also the hands: Thus you find in the case of Jeroboam, when the prophet came AND (according to I Kings 13:2) CRIED OUT {UNTO} [AGAINST] THE ALTAR [ACCORDING TO] THE WORD OF THE LORD AND SAID: O ALTAR, ALTAR, [THUS SAYS THE LORD: BEHOLD, A SON SHALL BE BORN UNTO THE HOUSE OF DAVID…. ] Then Jeroboam said: Moses wrote in the Torah (in Deut. 13:2 [1]): IF THERE ARISES AMONG YOU A PROPHET… AND GIVES YOU A SIGN OR A PORTENT. Now as for you, what portent are you giving me? He said to him: Is it a portent that you want? (I Kings 13:3:) THIS IS THE PORTENT WHICH THE LORD HAS DECREED: BEHOLD, THE ALTAR WILL BE TORN ASUNDER. Then (in vs. 4): JEROBOAM {RAISED} [STRETCHED OUT] HIS ARM FROM OVER THE ALTAR, SAYING: SEIZE HIM, BUT HIS HAND < WHICH HE STRETCHED AGAINST HIM > WITHERED, <AND HE COULD NOT DRAW IT BACK TO HIMSELF>. <This is written > to teach you that it was not under his control. Also the feet: Where it shown concerning them? From the men of Aram (i.e., Syria). When they came against Elisha, the Holy One said to them: Is it in your own right that you have come? What did he do to them? He misdirected them, as stated (in II Kings 6:19): THEN ELISHA SAID TO THEM: THIS IS NOT THE ROAD, AND THIS IS NOT THE CITY. <This is written > to teach you that even the feet are not under one's control. And not only <now> but even in the world to come.⁶⁹Tanh., Lev. 1:7. [So it is stated] (in Job 12:23): HE EXALTS (MSGY') NATIONS AND DESTROYS THEM. The written text (ketiv) is MShG' (which means, "misleads").⁷⁰In unpointed Hebrew the Sin (S) and the Shin (Sh) look alike. Since MShG’, which is pointed mashge’, can also be spelled with the extra yod (i.e., Y), the two words are interchangable in an unpointed text. Then he DESTROYS THEM <and> brings them down to Abaddon,⁷¹Abbadon is a name for Hell, which means “destruction.” while the righteous watch them. Thus it is stated (in Is. 66:24): THEN THEY SHALL GO OUT AND LOOK AT THE CORPSES OF THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE REBELLED AGAINST ME: THEIR WORMS SHALL NOT DIE NOR SHALL THEIR FIRE BE QUENCHED.

Another interpretation (of Is. 57:20): BUT THE WICKED ARE LIKE THE TROUBLED SEA. Just as the sea has its mud in its mouth, so the wicked have their stench in their mouth. Thus it is stated (at the end of Is. 57:20): AND ITS WATERS TOSS UP SLIME AND MUD. It is not from choice that one hears blasphemies and invectives, but from the midst of the sins which are within him. Thus it is stated (in Lev. 5:1): IF A SOUL SINS AND HEARS A VOICE SWEARING….⁶⁷Most translations equate the sinning with the swearing. This more literal translation illustrates the point that the swearing comes from a soul which has already sinned. You find <that there are> three things under human control and three things not under human control.⁶⁸Tanh., Gen. 6:12 (i.e., Toledot 12); Gen. R. 67:12. The following are under one's control: The mouth, the hands and the feet. The mouth: If one wants to be engaged in the Torah, he is engaged; <if one wants> to blaspheme and revile, he does so, because his lips are under his control. The hands: If one wants to give alms, he gives them; <if one wants> to steal, he steals. Why? Because they are under his control. The feet: One wanting to go to the synagogue goes; <one wanting> to steal, commit adultery, <or> murder goes, because his feet are under his control. But the following are not under one's control: The eyes, the ears, and the nose. The eyes: If one was passing through the market place and saw someone committing a transgression in the market place, he was seeing what was not under his control. The ears: If one heard the sound of blasphemies and invectives and did not want to hear them, what should he do? He heard what was not under his control. The nose: If one passed through a place of idolatry, smelled idolatrous incense, and did not smell it willingly, what should he do? He smelled what was not under his control. But when the Holy One desires, even these things which are < ordinarily > under one's control are not <any longer> under one's control. The mouth: When Balaam came to curse Israel, the Holy One did not allow him. He blessed them instead, as stated (in Deut. 23:6): BUT THE LORD YOUR GOD DID NOT WANT TO HEED BALAAM; <SO THE LORD YOUR GOD TURNED THE CURSE INTO A BLESSING FOR YOU>…. Also the hands: Thus you find in the case of Jeroboam, when the prophet came AND (according to I Kings 13:2) CRIED OUT {UNTO} [AGAINST] THE ALTAR [ACCORDING TO] THE WORD OF THE LORD AND SAID: O ALTAR, ALTAR, [THUS SAYS THE LORD: BEHOLD, A SON SHALL BE BORN UNTO THE HOUSE OF DAVID…. ] Then Jeroboam said: Moses wrote in the Torah (in Deut. 13:2 [1]): IF THERE ARISES AMONG YOU A PROPHET… AND GIVES YOU A SIGN OR A PORTENT. Now as for you, what portent are you giving me? He said to him: Is it a portent that you want? (I Kings 13:3:) THIS IS THE PORTENT WHICH THE LORD HAS DECREED: BEHOLD, THE ALTAR WILL BE TORN ASUNDER. Then (in vs. 4): JEROBOAM {RAISED} [STRETCHED OUT] HIS ARM FROM OVER THE ALTAR, SAYING: SEIZE HIM, BUT HIS HAND < WHICH HE STRETCHED AGAINST HIM > WITHERED, <AND HE COULD NOT DRAW IT BACK TO HIMSELF>. <This is written > to teach you that it was not under his control. Also the feet: Where it shown concerning them? From the men of Aram (i.e., Syria). When they came against Elisha, the Holy One said to them: Is it in your own right that you have come? What did he do to them? He misdirected them, as stated (in II Kings 6:19): THEN ELISHA SAID TO THEM: THIS IS NOT THE ROAD, AND THIS IS NOT THE CITY. <This is written > to teach you that even the feet are not under one's control. And not only <now> but even in the world to come.⁶⁹Tanh., Lev. 1:7. [So it is stated] (in Job 12:23): HE EXALTS (MSGY') NATIONS AND DESTROYS THEM. The written text (ketiv) is MShG' (which means, "misleads").⁷⁰In unpointed Hebrew the Sin (S) and the Shin (Sh) look alike. Since MShG’, which is pointed mashge’, can also be spelled with the extra yod (i.e., Y), the two words are interchangable in an unpointed text. Then he DESTROYS THEM <and> brings them down to Abaddon,⁷¹Abbadon is a name for Hell, which means “destruction.” while the righteous watch them. Thus it is stated (in Is. 66:24): THEN THEY SHALL GO OUT AND LOOK AT THE CORPSES OF THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE REBELLED AGAINST ME: THEIR WORMS SHALL NOT DIE NOR SHALL THEIR FIRE BE QUENCHED.

Another interpretation (of Is. 57:20): BUT THE WICKED ARE LIKE THE TROUBLED SEA. Just as the sea has its mud in its mouth, so the wicked have their stench in their mouth. Thus it is stated (at the end of Is. 57:20): AND ITS WATERS TOSS UP SLIME AND MUD. It is not from choice that one hears blasphemies and invectives, but from the midst of the sins which are within him. Thus it is stated (in Lev. 5:1): IF A SOUL SINS AND HEARS A VOICE SWEARING….⁶⁷Most translations equate the sinning with the swearing. This more literal translation illustrates the point that the swearing comes from a soul which has already sinned. You find <that there are> three things under human control and three things not under human control.⁶⁸Tanh., Gen. 6:12 (i.e., Toledot 12); Gen. R. 67:12. The following are under one's control: The mouth, the hands and the feet. The mouth: If one wants to be engaged in the Torah, he is engaged; <if one wants> to blaspheme and revile, he does so, because his lips are under his control. The hands: If one wants to give alms, he gives them; <if one wants> to steal, he steals. Why? Because they are under his control. The feet: One wanting to go to the synagogue goes; <one wanting> to steal, commit adultery, <or> murder goes, because his feet are under his control. But the following are not under one's control: The eyes, the ears, and the nose. The eyes: If one was passing through the market place and saw someone committing a transgression in the market place, he was seeing what was not under his control. The ears: If one heard the sound of blasphemies and invectives and did not want to hear them, what should he do? He heard what was not under his control. The nose: If one passed through a place of idolatry, smelled idolatrous incense, and did not smell it willingly, what should he do? He smelled what was not under his control. But when the Holy One desires, even these things which are < ordinarily > under one's control are not <any longer> under one's control. The mouth: When Balaam came to curse Israel, the Holy One did not allow him. He blessed them instead, as stated (in Deut. 23:6): BUT THE LORD YOUR GOD DID NOT WANT TO HEED BALAAM; <SO THE LORD YOUR GOD TURNED THE CURSE INTO A BLESSING FOR YOU>…. Also the hands: Thus you find in the case of Jeroboam, when the prophet came AND (according to I Kings 13:2) CRIED OUT {UNTO} [AGAINST] THE ALTAR [ACCORDING TO] THE WORD OF THE LORD AND SAID: O ALTAR, ALTAR, [THUS SAYS THE LORD: BEHOLD, A SON SHALL BE BORN UNTO THE HOUSE OF DAVID…. ] Then Jeroboam said: Moses wrote in the Torah (in Deut. 13:2 [1]): IF THERE ARISES AMONG YOU A PROPHET… AND GIVES YOU A SIGN OR A PORTENT. Now as for you, what portent are you giving me? He said to him: Is it a portent that you want? (I Kings 13:3:) THIS IS THE PORTENT WHICH THE LORD HAS DECREED: BEHOLD, THE ALTAR WILL BE TORN ASUNDER. Then (in vs. 4): JEROBOAM {RAISED} [STRETCHED OUT] HIS ARM FROM OVER THE ALTAR, SAYING: SEIZE HIM, BUT HIS HAND < WHICH HE STRETCHED AGAINST HIM > WITHERED, <AND HE COULD NOT DRAW IT BACK TO HIMSELF>. <This is written > to teach you that it was not under his control. Also the feet: Where it shown concerning them? From the men of Aram (i.e., Syria). When they came against Elisha, the Holy One said to them: Is it in your own right that you have come? What did he do to them? He misdirected them, as stated (in II Kings 6:19): THEN ELISHA SAID TO THEM: THIS IS NOT THE ROAD, AND THIS IS NOT THE CITY. <This is written > to teach you that even the feet are not under one's control. And not only <now> but even in the world to come.⁶⁹Tanh., Lev. 1:7. [So it is stated] (in Job 12:23): HE EXALTS (MSGY') NATIONS AND DESTROYS THEM. The written text (ketiv) is MShG' (which means, "misleads").⁷⁰In unpointed Hebrew the Sin (S) and the Shin (Sh) look alike. Since MShG’, which is pointed mashge’, can also be spelled with the extra yod (i.e., Y), the two words are interchangable in an unpointed text. Then he DESTROYS THEM <and> brings them down to Abaddon,⁷¹Abbadon is a name for Hell, which means “destruction.” while the righteous watch them. Thus it is stated (in Is. 66:24): THEN THEY SHALL GO OUT AND LOOK AT THE CORPSES OF THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE REBELLED AGAINST ME: THEIR WORMS SHALL NOT DIE NOR SHALL THEIR FIRE BE QUENCHED.

Another interpretation (of Gen. 5:1): THIS IS THE BOOK < OF THE GENERATIONS OF ADAM >. This text is related (to Is. 41:2): WHO HAS WROUGHT AND DONE IT? THE ONE WHO NAMED THE GENERATIONS FROM THE BEGINNING. If the generations were worthy, the Holy One gave them their names just as he had given names to Adam and Eve. Thus it is stated (in Gen. 5:2): AND HE GAVE THEM THE NAME ADAM. You also find that when the Holy One sees a righteous one born, he gives him his name as a mark of honor. He named Noah because he was righteous, as stated (in Gen. 5:29): AND HE CALLED HIS NAME NOAH. He named Abraham, as stated (in Gen. 17:5): BUT YOUR NAME SHALL BE ABRAHAM. So also with Isaac, Jacob, Solomon, and Josiah. Thus it is stated (in I Kings 13:2): BEHOLD, A SON SHALL BE BORN UNTO THE HOUSE OF DAVID; JOSIAH SHALL BE HIS NAME. If the generations were worthy, he would give a name to each and every one; and from his name he would make known his works. Our masters have said:⁹⁰Cf. Yoma 83b; yRH 3:9 (59a). When R. Me'ir would see a person, he would learn his name, and from his name he would know his works. Once upon a time two students came to him, and one had the name Kidor. R. Me'ir said to his students: Beware of this Kidor. They said to him: He is a Torah scholar. He said to them: [Nevertheless], you yourselves beware of him. One day they went to the bathhouse and deposited their clothes with Kidor. He took their clothes and went away. When they came out, they did not find < him >. They went to their houses and put on other clothes. They came to R. Me'ir. R. Me'ir said to them: Why did you change your clothes? They said to him: We went to the bathhouse and deposited our clothes with Kidor, but he took them. He said to them: Did I not say to you: Beware of this man? They said to him: O our master, if you please, < tell us > how you knew. He said to them: From his name, for it is written (in Deut. 32:20): FOR (Ki) A GENERATION (dor) OF PERVERSITY ARE THEY…. So also you find in Egypt (in Numb. 3:21): THE LIBNITE FAMILY. At what time did he give them their names? When Pharaoh arose and worked them with clay and brick (rt.: LBN). Ergo: THE LIBNITE (rt.: LBN) FAMILY. (Deut. 32:20, cont.:) AND THE SHIMEITE (rt.: ShM') FAMILY. When they complained of the servitude, the Holy One heard (rt.: ShM') their prayer. (Deut. 32:27:) AND THE HEBRONITE (rt.: HBR) FAMILY, to whom the Divine Presence was allied (rt.: HBR). <These examples > are to teach you that if the generations were worthy, the Holy One would give them their names, as stated (in Is. 41:4): THE ONE WHO NAMED THE GENERATIONS….

Whence do we know about Josiah? Because it is said, "Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name" (1 Kings 13:2). Why was his name called Josiah? (Because he was as acceptable) as an offering upon the altar; she said: A worthy offering let him be before Thee. Therefore was his name called Josiah, as it is said, "And he cried against the altar," etc. (1 Kings 13:2).

Rabbi Isaac said: He [Isaac] was going to curse him [Jacob], but the Holy One, blessed be He, cautioned: "Beware, for if you curse him, you curse your own soul, for you said: 'Cursed be they who curse you' (Genesis 27:29)." Rabbi Levi said: six things serve a human - three are under one's control, and three are not under one's control. The eye, the ear and the nose are not under one's control, as one sees what is not wished for, one hears what is not desired, and one smells what is not wanted. The mouth, the hand, and the foot are under one's control. If one wishes to, one studies Torah, while if one wants to one speaks badly, and if one wants to one blasphemes and reviles. Regarding the hand, if one wishes one can offer charity, while if one wants one can rob, and if one desires one can murder. Regarding the feet, if one wishes one can go to the houses of theatre and the houses of circus, while if one wants one can go to the houses of assembly [synagogues] and the houses of study. And in the moment that one merits, the Holy One, blessed be He, makes those which one usually controls, no longer in one's control. The hand: "but the hand that [Jeroboam] stretched out against him withered" (Kings 13:4); The mouth: "now he [Jacob] must remain blessed" (Genesis 27:33); The foot: "My son, do not set out with them...for their feet run to evil" (Proverbs 1:15-6).

"the man of G-d": There are ten who were called "the man of G-d": Moses — "This is the blessing wherewith Moses, the man of G-d, blessed"; Elkanah — (I Samuel 2:27) "And the man of G-d came to Eli"; Samuel — (Ibid. 9:6) "Behold, there is a man of G-d in this city"; David — (Nechemiah 12:24) "by the command of David, the man of G-d"; Shemayah — (I Kings 12:2) "The word of the L-rd came to Shemayah, the man of G-d; Iddo — (Ibid. 13:1) "And a man of G-d came from Judah by the word of the L-rd"; Eliyahu — (II Kings 1:13) "Man of G-d, may my soul be worthy in your eyes"; Elisha — (Ibid. 4:9) "He is a holy man of G-d"; Michah — (I Kings 20:28) "And the man of G-d came and spoke to the king of Israel"; Amotz — (II Chronicles 25:7) "And a man of G-d came to him."