Midrash su Isaia 56:1

We are taught in a Baraitha that R. Eliezer b. Jose said: "All acts of charity and benevolence done by Israel in this world are great peacemakers and intercessors between Israel and their Heavenly Father; as it is said (Jer. 26, 5) For thus hath said the Lord, Enter not into the house of mourning, neither go to lament nor to condole with them; for I have taken away My peace from this people, saith the Lord, yea, kindness and mercy. Kindness means benevolence, and mercy means charity (i.e., because those two were taken away, therefore has also peace been taken away)." We are taught in another Baraitha that R. Juda said: "Great is charity which brings the redemption nearer, as it is said (Is. 56, 1) Thus hath said the Lord, 'Keep ye justice and do zedaka (charity), for near is My salvation to come and My righteousness to be revealed." He also used to say: "Ten things were created in the world. Rock is hard, but iron cuts it; iron is hard, fire fuses and softens it; fire is strong, water extinguishes it; water is heavy, yet the clouds bear it; clouds are strong, the winds scatter them; the wind is strong, the body endures it; a body is strong, fear shatters it; fear is strong, wine dispels it; wine is strong, sleep dispels it; death is stronger than all of these; however, righteousness delivers from death, as it is said (Prov. 10, 2)… . but (tzedaka) righteousness will deliver from death."

Now these are the ordinances. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel: If you fulfill the law and do not resort to (the courts) of the nations of the world, I will build you a Temple in which the Sanhedrin will convene, as it is said: And I will restore thy judges, as at first (Isa. 1:26). It is also written: Zion shall be redeemed with justice (ibid., v. 27), and Thus saith the Lord: Keep ye justice, and do righteousness; for My salvation is near to come (ibid. 56:1).

R. Simlai lectured: "Six hundred and thirteen commands were spoken to Moses; three hundred and sixty-five of them negatives, corresponding to the number of days in the year counting according to the solar system, and two hundred and forty-eight positives, corresponding to the members of a human body." Said R. Hamnuna: "Where is the passage to prove this? (Deut. 33, 4) The Torah which Moses commanded us. The numerical value of the word Torah amounts to six hundred and eleven. (Fol. 24) I am; and, Thou shalt have no [of the first two commandments], we heard from the Almighty Himself. David, however, came and reduced their number to eleven, as it is written (Ps. 15, 2-5) A Psalm of David, Lord, we shall sojourn in Thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell upon Thy holy mountain? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh truth in his heart, etc., i.e., He that walketh uprightly, refers to Abraham, concernnig whom such an expression is written (Gen. 17, 1) Walk before Me, and be upright. Worketh righteously, refers to a man like Aba Chelkia.' And speaketh the truth refers to man like Rabbi Saphra. Nor doeth evil to his fellows, i.e., who takes care not to compete with his neighbor's business. That hath no slander upon his tongue, refers to our father Jacob, concerning whom it is written (Gen. 27, 12) My father peradventure will feel me. Nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor, refers to one who befriends his relatives. In whose eyes a vile person is despised, refers to Hezekiah, King of Judea, who caused his father's bones to be carried on a bed of ropes. But he honoreth them that fear the Lord, refers to Jehoshaphath, King of Judea, who upon seeing a scholar, would rise from his throne, kiss him, and call him, my father, my master, my teacher, my master, my master. But that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not; this refers to R. Jochanan, who said: 'If one says I will fast until I will come home.' He that putteth not out his money on interest, i.e., not even from an idolater. Nor taketh no bribe, refers to men like R. Ismael b. Jose. He that doeth these things shall never be moved. When R. Gamaliel would come to this passage, he used to weep, saying: "Only one who performed all these shall not be moved, but [if he performs merely] one of them, he might be moved;" whereupon R. Akiba said to him: "According to your opinion then how would you explain the passage (Lev. 18, 24) Defile not ye yourselves in all of those things. Do you mean to say that only if in all of these things, but not one?" You must therefore say that it means to any of these things. The same could also be explained. Isaiah then came and reduced them (the six hundred and thirteen commands) to six as it is said (33, 15) He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes; that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from looking on evil. He that walketh righteously, refers to Abraham, of whom it is written (Gen. 18, 19) For I have known him, to do righteousness and justice, etc. Speaketh uprightly, refers to him who does not anger his colleague in public. And he despiseth the gain of oppressions, refers to R. Ismael b. Elisha. That shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, refers to R. Ishmael b. Jose. That stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, refers to R. Elazar b. Simon. And shutteth his eyes from looking on evil, as R. Chiya b. Aba explained this to refer to one "who does not look upon women washing near the bank of the river." When Michah [the prophet] came he reduced them to three (6, 8) It hath been told thee, o man, what is good; and what the Lord doth require of thee: (only) to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God. To do justly, refers to the law; love mercy, refers to loving kindness; and walk humbly, providing for the marriage of poor maidens and the burial of the dead. Is this not an a fortiori conclusion! If concerning matters which are not to be performed in secrecy, the Torah says to walk humbly, how much more so should this be applied to matters which are accustomed to be done in secrecy! Isaiah finally reduced them to two, as it is said (56, 1) Thus saith the Lord, Keep ye justice, and do righteousness. Amos then came and reduced them to one, as it is said (Amos 5, 4) For thus saith the Lord unto the house of Israel: Seek ye Me, and live. R. Nachman b. Isaac raised the following objection: Perhaps he means by Seek ye Me, to perform the entire Torah? We must therefore say that it was Habakkuk [the prophet] who came and reduced them to one (2, 4) But the righteous shall live by his faith.

The ministering angels asked: Who is the one who caused the Shekhinah to depart from Israel? He replied: I have removed My Shekhinah from such-and-such place in which I have beheld a judge perverting justice, and I have forsaken that place, as is said: For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the Lord; I will set him in safety at whom they puff (Ps. 12:6). What does the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He unsheathes His sword before the judge to remind him that there is a judge on high, as is said: Be ye afraid of the sword; for wrath bringeth the punishments of the sword, that ye may know there is a judgment (Job 19:29). Shadin (“judgment, involvement”) is written here to indicate (by its similarity to Shaddai [Almighty]) that when a judge judges truthfully, the Shekhinah does not depart form that place, as it is said: When the Lord raised them up judges, then the Lord was moved to judge, and save them out of the hands of their enemies, all the days of the judge (Judg. 2:18). Thus it is written: Keep ye justice, and do righteousness; for My salvation is here to come (Isa. 56:1), that is, then I will associate Myself with you.

Do not believe for a moment that the righteous Daniel would have offered such advice to Nebuchadnezzar, who hated the Omnipotent One, if he had not known that Israel was wasting away from hunger as it wandered about in exile. Hence he gave this advice to him because of his concern for them, and because he knew that ultimately Nebuchadnezzar’s soul would suffer. The wicked one immediately opened his storehouses and distributed their contents to them for twelve months. However, at the end of the twelve months the wicked one forgot his dream (and stopped feeding them). While walking about his palace one day, he heard the tumultuous uproar of the poor crying before his storehouses, and He asked his servants: “What is this noise I hear?” They informed him: “The poor whom you carried into exile are pleading for food.” A wicked thought entered his heart at once: The king spoke and said: “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built for a royal dwelling-place, by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?” (ibid., v. 27). Then he added: “Were it not for the wealth I possessed, how could I have built this country?” He commanded that they be stopped, as it is written: While the word was in the king’s mouth (ibid., v. 28). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: Why were you untroubled during the past twelve months? Was it not because of the righteous deeds you were performing? If this is so for the peoples of the world, how much more so for Israel! Thus saith the Lord: Keep ye justice, and do righteousness.

(Deut. 16:20, cont.:) SO THAT YOU MAY LIVE <AND POSSESS THE LAND>. Everyone who judges a case with unvarnished truth merits life in the world to come, as stated (in Is. 56:1): THUS SAYS THE LORD: OBSERVE JUSTICE, AND PRACTICE RIGHTEOUSNESS; <FOR SOON MY SALVATION SHALL COME, AND MY RIGHTEOUSNESS BE REVEALED>.

"and my wrath shall burn": R. Yishmael says: Burning of wrath is mentioned here, and elsewhere (Devarim 11:17) "And the wrath of the L rd shall burn in you." Just as there, withholding of rain and exile are indicated, here, too, these (are understood). And just as here "by the sword," so, there by the sword. "and your wives will be widows, and your children, orphans": From "and I shall kill you by the sword," do I not know that your wives will be widows, and your children, orphans? Why need this be written? (They will be widows) as in (II Samuel 20:3) "And they were bound up in living widowhood (never to remarry) until the day they died." Now does this not follow a fortiori, viz.: If when you do not do what is just, your wives will be widows, then, if you do what is just, how much more so will you not be widows, etc.! As it is written (Zechariah 7:9) "Judge a true judgment," (Ibid. 8:16) "Truth and a judgment of peace shall you judge in your gates," (Isaiah 56:1) "Thus said the L rd: Guard justice and do righteousness, for My salvation is sure to come" — how much more so (if you do this,) your wives will not be widows, and your children, orphans! And thus is it written (Devarim 6:2) "So that you fear the L rd your G d, etc.", and (Ibid. 11:19) "And you shall teach them to your sons," followed by (21) "so that your days be prolonged," and (Isaiah 65:22) "For as the days of the tree (of life) will be the days of My people", (Ibid. 23) "they will not labor in vain; they will not give birth for panic (i.e., to have their children die in their lifetime). For they (their children) will be seed blessed of the L rd, and their children (will always be) with them", and (Ibid. 48:19) "and your seed will be as the sand, and your offspring as its (the sea's) offspring (in its abundance)", (Ibid. 66:22) "for just as the new heavens and the new earth which I will create (in those days) will endure before Me … so will endure (eternally) your children and your name (Israel)", and (Ibid. 59:20) "And the redeemer (the Messiah) will come to Zion, and to those who repent of sin in Yaakov", and (Ibid. 21) "And now, this is My covenant with them, says the L rd: My spirit which is upon you, etc." How much more so will your days be prolonged in this world and you will see children and children of children, and you will merit life in the world to come!

Variantly: "He did the tzedakah of the L-rd and His judgments": We are hereby taught that tzedakah is bound up with justice (mishpat) under the throne of glory, viz. (Psalms 89:15) "Tzedek and mishpat are the foundation of Your throne."