Midrash su Geremia 23:27
הַחֹשְׁבִ֗ים לְהַשְׁכִּ֤יחַ אֶת־עַמִּי֙ שְׁמִ֔י בַּחֲל֣וֹמֹתָ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֥ר יְסַפְּר֖וּ אִ֣ישׁ לְרֵעֵ֑הוּ כַּאֲשֶׁ֨ר שָׁכְח֧וּ אֲבוֹתָ֛ם אֶת־שְׁמִ֖י בַּבָּֽעַל׃
Che pensano di far dimenticare al mio nome il mio popolo, con i loro sogni, che raccontano a tutti i vicini, mentre i loro padri dimenticano il mio nome per Baal.
Midrash Tanchuma Buber
And so you find that Israel did everything that he had said to them in the days of the judges, as stated (in Jud. 10:6): <AGAIN THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL DID WHAT WAS EVIL IN THE EYES OF THE LORD> AND SERVED THE BAALS AND THE ASTARTES. So also Jeroboam, as stated (in I Kings 12:28–29): SO THE KING TOOK COUNSEL AND MADE TWO CALVES OF GOLD <….> THEN HE SET ONE IN BETHEL AND THE OTHER HE {SET} [PUT] IN DAN. Moreover, he did not allow Israel to go up to Jerusalem. Instead he said: These are your Gods, O Israel. So also Ahab sinned and made Israel sin more than all he wicked ones who came before him. (I Kings 16:30:) AND AHAB [BEN OMRI] DID MORE EVIL IN THE EYES OF THE LORD THAN ALL WHO <HAD COME> BEFORE HIM. You yourself know that he sold himself to idolatrous worship, as stated (in I Kings 21:25): <INDEED THERE WAS NO ONE> LIKE AHAB WHO SOLD HIMSELF TO DO EVIL IN THE EYES OF THE LORD. He also made them forget the name of the Holy One. How? He blotted out the references <to the Divine Name> and wrote in their place, <e.g.,> "And Baal spoke," "In the beginning Baal," "And Baal said." And for all the whole Torah he did likewise. That is what the prophet says (in Jer. 23:27): THE ONES WHO INTEND TO MAKE MY PEOPLE FORGET MY NAME. But Menasseh did more than all of them, as stated (in II Chron 33:7; cf. II Kings 21:7): AND HE SET UP A SCULPTURED IMAGE <WHICH HE HAD MADE IN THE HOUSE OF GOD>…. (II Chron. 33:6 // II KINGS 21:6): AND HE HAD HIS SONS PASS THROUGH FIRE {FOR MOLECH} IN THE VALLEY OF BEN-HINNOM. HE ALSO PRACTICED SOOTHSAYING, AUGURY, [SORCERY,] NECROMANCY, AND WIZARDRY. [HE DID MUCH EVIL IN THE EYES OF THE LORD TO PROVOKE HIM TO ANGER.] And how <did he do it>? Molech was in the valley of Ben-hinnom.6Cf. Lam. R. 1:9 (36). It took place outside of Jerusalem and in a remote place. There was also an image <there> with the face of a calf and with its hands extended like a human [whose hands are open to receive] something from one's friend. Then they heated it until its hands became like fire. It also had seven latticed gates,7Qanqalim. Probably from the Gk.: kingklis, or the Lat.: cancelli, but Buber, n. 5, suggests the word comes from coenacula, which means “upper rooms.” with <the image> behind the innermost of them. Each and every one would enter in accordance with his offering. Whoever offered a bird entered the first lattice gate. With a goat he entered the second lattice gate; with a lamb, the third; with a calf, the fourth; with a bullock, the fifth; with a bull, the sixth. To whoever was offering his child the idol priests would say that there is none higher than that. He entered within the seventh lattice gate. Then he went and kissed it, as stated (in Hos. 13:2): THOSE WHO SACRIFICE A HUMAN BEING KISS CALVES. Then the idol priests would take his child from him and put the young child8Tinoq. “Young child” rather than “infant” here, because a parallel description in Lam. R. suggests that the offering might be an offspring somewhat older than an infant. upon the hands of Molech, while they took the drums and beat on them, so that the father would not hear the voice of his child. Then they pressed the young child's entrails upon it, while the young child screamed until <its spirit> left its body in the hands of <the idol>. R Judah the Levite said: That is what is written (in Jer. 7:31): AND THEY HAVE BUILT THE HIGH PLACES OF TOPHETH, WHICH ARE IN THE VALLEY OF BEN-HINNOM <TO BURN THEIR SONS AND THEIR DAUGHTERS IN THE FIRE>. What is the meaning of TOPHETH? That they beat on their drums (tuppim, sing.: toph). What is the meaning of HINNOM? That the idol priests said to Molech, when the young child screamed (rt.: NHM): May it be pleasing to you! May it be appealing to you! Look at how fervent they were for idolatry! The Holy One said: It is on account of the evil drive (yetser hara) that you have sinned and gone into exile; but in the age to come I am rooting it (i.e., the evil drive) out of you,9Cf. Deut. R. 2:30. as stated (in Ezek. 36:26): I WILL REMOVE THE HEART OF STONE FROM YOUR FLESH AND GIVE YOU A HEART OF FLESH.
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Ruth Rabbah
“Behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and he said to the reapers: May the Lord be with you. They said to him: May the Lord bless you” (Ruth 2:4).
“Behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem” – Rabbi Tanḥuma said in the name of the Rabbis: There are three matters that the earthly court decreed and the supernal court agreed with them, and these are: To greet another with the name of God, the Scroll of Esther, and tithes. Greeting others, from where is it derived? It is as it is stated: “That think to cause My people to forget My name” (Jeremiah 23:27). When did they think to do so? It was during the days of Atalyahu. The Rabbis say: It was during the days of Ḥananya, Mishael, and Azarya. Rabbi Ḥananya said in the name of Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon: It was during the days of Mordekhai and Esther. But Boaz and his court had arisen and instituted to greet another with the name of God, as it is stated: “Behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and he said to the reapers: May the Lord be with you.” Likewise, the angel said to Gideon: “The Lord is with you, mighty man of valor” (Judges 6:12).
The Scroll of Esther, from where is it derived? Rabbi Yirmeya said in the name of Rabbi Shmuel bar Yitzḥak: What did Mordekhai and Esther do? They wrote letters and sent them to all the residents of the Diaspora: Do you accept upon yourselves “to observe these two days” (Esther 9:27)? [The residents of the Diaspora] sent and said [in response]: Are our problems with Haman not enough, that you impose upon us to observe these two days?154They were afraid that their celebration would arouse the ill will of the gentiles. They said to them: If you are afraid of this matter, it is written among the volumes, as it is stated: “[All the acts of his power and his might, and the full account of the greatness of Mordekhai, how the king advanced him,] are they not written in the book of chronicles [of the kings of Media and Persia]?” (Esther 10:2). What did they do? They wrote a second letter and sent it to them, “this second letter of Purim” (Esther 9:29).
Rabbi Ḥelbo said in the name of Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman: There were eighty-five elders, among them thirty-plus prophets who were distressed over this verse: “These are the commandments that the Lord commanded Moses” (Leviticus 27:34) – “these” [indicates that] one may not add and one may not subtract, and a prophet is not permitted to introduce anything new from now on; and Mordekhai and Esther are asking us to take upon ourselves something new? [They were distressed] until the Holy One blessed be He enlightened them and they found it written in the Torah, in the Prophets, and in the Writings:155They found an allusion to the writing of the book of Esther, and therefore were no longer concerned that the observance of Purim was considered a forbidden addition to the Torah. In the Torah, as it is written: “Write this as a memorial in the book” (Exodus 17:14). In the Prophets, as it is written: “They who feared the Lord spoke one with another; and the Lord heeded, and heard, and it was written in the book [of remembrance]” (Malachi 3:16). In the Writings, as it is written: “Are they not written in the book of chronicles” (Esther 10:2). Rav, Rabbi Ḥanina, Rabbi Yonatan, bar Kappara, and Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: This scroll was not stated by the court,156It was not the court in the time of Mordekhai and Esther that first introduced the book of Esther. but rather was stated at Sinai, but there is no chronological order to the Torah.157Therefore, it does not appear in writing until the book of Esther. From where is it derived that the Holy One blessed be He agreed with them? Rav said: “The Jews fulfilled and received [vekibbelu]” (Esther 9:27), vekibbelu (pl.) is not written, vekibbel (sing.) is written; the master of the Jews received it.158The word vekibbelu is written without the concluding vav, such that it can be read in the singular. This is an allusion to the fact that Moses received it at Sinai.
Tithes, from where are they derived? It is as Rabbi Berekhya said in the name of Rabbi Keritzeppa: Due to the sin of [failing to separate] teruma and tithes, they were exiled. Shimon bar Abba said in the name of Rabbi Yoḥanan: When they were exiled they were exempted, and they obligated themselves. What did the members of the Great Assembly do? They wrote a scroll159Stating that they were obligating themselves to separate teruma and tithes even though they were exempt by Torah law. and unfurled it in the Temple courtyard, and in the morning they found it signed; that is what is written: “For all this we make a covenant, and write it, and it is signed” (Nehemiah 10:1). One verse says: “It is signed [al heḥatum (sing.)]” (Nehemiah 10:1), and one verse says: “It is signed [al haḥatumim (pl.)]” (Nehemiah 10:2). How so? Rather, al heḥatum is the supernal court, and al haḥatumim is the earthly court. Some say, the proscription of Jericho as well:160Following the capture of Jericho, Joshua declared all its spoils proscribed. So said the Holy One blessed be He to Joshua: “Israel has sinned [and they have even transgressed My covenant; they have also taken from the proscribed spoils]” (Joshua 7:11). Was it not Joshua who issued the decree? This teaches that the Holy One blessed be He, too, agreed with him.161When one of the Israelites took from the spoils, God said that they had “transgressed My covenant.”
“Behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem” – Rabbi Tanḥuma said in the name of the Rabbis: There are three matters that the earthly court decreed and the supernal court agreed with them, and these are: To greet another with the name of God, the Scroll of Esther, and tithes. Greeting others, from where is it derived? It is as it is stated: “That think to cause My people to forget My name” (Jeremiah 23:27). When did they think to do so? It was during the days of Atalyahu. The Rabbis say: It was during the days of Ḥananya, Mishael, and Azarya. Rabbi Ḥananya said in the name of Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon: It was during the days of Mordekhai and Esther. But Boaz and his court had arisen and instituted to greet another with the name of God, as it is stated: “Behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and he said to the reapers: May the Lord be with you.” Likewise, the angel said to Gideon: “The Lord is with you, mighty man of valor” (Judges 6:12).
The Scroll of Esther, from where is it derived? Rabbi Yirmeya said in the name of Rabbi Shmuel bar Yitzḥak: What did Mordekhai and Esther do? They wrote letters and sent them to all the residents of the Diaspora: Do you accept upon yourselves “to observe these two days” (Esther 9:27)? [The residents of the Diaspora] sent and said [in response]: Are our problems with Haman not enough, that you impose upon us to observe these two days?154They were afraid that their celebration would arouse the ill will of the gentiles. They said to them: If you are afraid of this matter, it is written among the volumes, as it is stated: “[All the acts of his power and his might, and the full account of the greatness of Mordekhai, how the king advanced him,] are they not written in the book of chronicles [of the kings of Media and Persia]?” (Esther 10:2). What did they do? They wrote a second letter and sent it to them, “this second letter of Purim” (Esther 9:29).
Rabbi Ḥelbo said in the name of Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman: There were eighty-five elders, among them thirty-plus prophets who were distressed over this verse: “These are the commandments that the Lord commanded Moses” (Leviticus 27:34) – “these” [indicates that] one may not add and one may not subtract, and a prophet is not permitted to introduce anything new from now on; and Mordekhai and Esther are asking us to take upon ourselves something new? [They were distressed] until the Holy One blessed be He enlightened them and they found it written in the Torah, in the Prophets, and in the Writings:155They found an allusion to the writing of the book of Esther, and therefore were no longer concerned that the observance of Purim was considered a forbidden addition to the Torah. In the Torah, as it is written: “Write this as a memorial in the book” (Exodus 17:14). In the Prophets, as it is written: “They who feared the Lord spoke one with another; and the Lord heeded, and heard, and it was written in the book [of remembrance]” (Malachi 3:16). In the Writings, as it is written: “Are they not written in the book of chronicles” (Esther 10:2). Rav, Rabbi Ḥanina, Rabbi Yonatan, bar Kappara, and Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: This scroll was not stated by the court,156It was not the court in the time of Mordekhai and Esther that first introduced the book of Esther. but rather was stated at Sinai, but there is no chronological order to the Torah.157Therefore, it does not appear in writing until the book of Esther. From where is it derived that the Holy One blessed be He agreed with them? Rav said: “The Jews fulfilled and received [vekibbelu]” (Esther 9:27), vekibbelu (pl.) is not written, vekibbel (sing.) is written; the master of the Jews received it.158The word vekibbelu is written without the concluding vav, such that it can be read in the singular. This is an allusion to the fact that Moses received it at Sinai.
Tithes, from where are they derived? It is as Rabbi Berekhya said in the name of Rabbi Keritzeppa: Due to the sin of [failing to separate] teruma and tithes, they were exiled. Shimon bar Abba said in the name of Rabbi Yoḥanan: When they were exiled they were exempted, and they obligated themselves. What did the members of the Great Assembly do? They wrote a scroll159Stating that they were obligating themselves to separate teruma and tithes even though they were exempt by Torah law. and unfurled it in the Temple courtyard, and in the morning they found it signed; that is what is written: “For all this we make a covenant, and write it, and it is signed” (Nehemiah 10:1). One verse says: “It is signed [al heḥatum (sing.)]” (Nehemiah 10:1), and one verse says: “It is signed [al haḥatumim (pl.)]” (Nehemiah 10:2). How so? Rather, al heḥatum is the supernal court, and al haḥatumim is the earthly court. Some say, the proscription of Jericho as well:160Following the capture of Jericho, Joshua declared all its spoils proscribed. So said the Holy One blessed be He to Joshua: “Israel has sinned [and they have even transgressed My covenant; they have also taken from the proscribed spoils]” (Joshua 7:11). Was it not Joshua who issued the decree? This teaches that the Holy One blessed be He, too, agreed with him.161When one of the Israelites took from the spoils, God said that they had “transgressed My covenant.”
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