Midrash su Geremia 27:78

(Numb. 22:2:) “Now Balak [ben Zippor] saw (rt.: r'h).” This text is related (to Deut. 32:4), “The Rock, His work is perfect, because all His ways are justice.” As the Holy One, blessed be He, did [not] leave the nations of the world a pretext for saying in the future to come, “You alienated us and did not give us anything like what You gave Israel in this world."¹Numb. R. 20:1. What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? Just as He raised up kings, prophets, and sages for Israel, so did He raise them up from the nations of the world. Moreover, the kings, prophets, and sages that belonged to Israel were examined alongside the kings, prophets, and sages that belonged to the nations of the world. He raised up Solomon as king over all the earth, and he did the same for Nebuchadnezzar, as stated (Jeremiah 27:6), “I even give him the wild beasts to serve him.” The [former] built the holy Temple and said many praises and supplications; and the latter destroyed it and cursed and blasphemed, and said (in Isaiah 14:14), “I will go up to high places of the clouds, I will resemble the Most High.” He gave David wealth, and he acquired the house for His name.²Cf. Ps. 30:1 [introduction]: a song at the dedication of the house (i.e., the Temple) of David. The Temple was David’s in that he acquired the materials to build it. He gave wealth to Haman, and he acquired a whole nation for slaughter. Every dignity Israel received, you find that the nations of the world [also] received. In like manner He raised up Moses for Israel, who spoke with him any time that he wanted, [and] he raised up Balaam for the nations of the world, in order that he might speak with Him any time that he wanted. Look at (rt.: r'h) what a difference there is between the prophets of Israel and the prophets of the nations of the world! The prophets of Israel warn the nations about transgressions, and so it says (in Jer. 1:5), “I have given you as a prophet to the nations.” The prophets who He raised from the nations, however, established a breach to cut off mortals from the world to come. And not only that, but all the prophets had a merciful attitude towards both Israel and the nations of the world; for so did Isaiah say (in Is. 16:11), “Therefore my inner parts throb like a harp for Moab….” And similarly has Ezekiel said (in Ezek. 27:2), “Son of man, ‘Raise up a dirge over Tyre.’” But this cruel man rose up to uproot a whole nation without cause, for nothing. Therefore the parashah about Balaam was written to make known why the Holy One, blessed be He, removed the holy spirit from the nations of the world. [It was] because He raised this man out of the nations of the world, and look (rt.: r'h) at what he did!

Our Rabbis have been taught: Three kings ruled over the entire world — Ahab, Ahasuerus, and Nebuchadnezzar. Ahab, son of Amri, as Obadiya said unto Elijah (I Kings 18, 10) As the Lord thy God liveth… he causeth that kingdom and nation to take an oath …; and if they were not under his dominion, how could he cause them to take an oath? Nebuchadnezzar, as it is written (Jer. 17, 8) And it will come to pass that the nation or kingdom which shall not serve Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and not place its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon. Ahasuerus, as stated in Sanhedrin. (Ib. b.) Are these all? Was not Solomon also king of the whole world? Solomon was not a king until the end of his life. This is right, according to those who hold he was first king and then a common man; but according to those who say he was a king, a common man, and then again a king, then why not count also him? Solomon was an exception, for he reigned over the beings above and below, as it is said (I Chr. 29, 23) Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord. [He is therefore not counted among the kings that reigned over the entire world]. But there is Sannacherib concerning whom it is written (Is. 46, 19 and II Kings 18) Which of all the gods of the lands have saved their countries from thy hand? There was Jerusalem, which was not subject to him. But there is Darius? As it is written (Dan. 6, 26) Darius the king wrote to all peoples, nations, and tongues that exist on the whole earth. Your peace shall be great. There were seven countries not under his dominion; as it is isTitten (Ib. ib. 2) It pleased DariuS; and he raised over his kingdom one hundred and twenty satraps. But there is Cyrus? As it is written (II Chr. 36) So said Cyrus, King of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth the Lord hath given unto me. It is he only who thus glorified himself.

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

(Fol. 41a) R. Zeira tried to avoid the sight of R. Juda because he wanted to go up to Palestine and R. Juda had said: "Whoever goes up from Babylon to Palestine transgresses the positive law which says (Jer. 27, 2.) Unto Babylon shall they be carried, and there shall they remain until the day that I think of them, saith the Lord."

It is written: “You have seen, for You behold mischief and spite; to requite is in Your hand: the helpless man commits himself to You; You are the helper of the orphans” (Psalms 10:14). The congregation of Israel said before The Holy One blessed be He: ‘Master of the Universe, You saw that Esau the wicked came, and is destined to destroy the Temple, exile Israel from its land, and shackle them in collars – “You behold…to requite is in Your hand” – yet you rested Your Divine Presence upon Isaac, who said to him [Esau]: “Behold, the fat of the earth shall be your dwelling, and from the dew of the heavens from above” (Genesis 27:39). “The helpless man commits himself to You” – the next day he [Esau/Rome] comes and takes orphans and widows and incarcerates them in prison, and says to them: Will He about whom it is written: “The father of orphans and the judge of widows” (Psalms 68:6), come and rescue you from me? Rather, You helped his [Esau’s] orphan. Two orphans who remained from him, that is Remus and Romulus, you allowed the wolf to nurse them, and ultimately, they arose and constructed two great towers in Rome.’
Another matter: “You have seen, for You behold mischief and spite…” the congregation of Israel said before The Holy One blessed be He: ‘Master of the Universe, You saw Nebuchadnezzar the wicked, who came and destroyed the Temple, and exiled Israel, and shackled them in collars. “To requite is in Your hand” – yet You rested Your Divine Presence on Jeremiah, who said to us: “All the nations will serve him [Nebuchadnezzar] and his son and his son's son...” (Jeremiah 27:7). “The helpless man commits himself to You” – the next day he comes and takes Ḥananya, Mishael, and Azarya and puts them in the fiery furnace, and says to them: “Who is the God who will save you from my hands?” (Daniel 3:15). Rather, it is not, “You are the helper of the orphans,” but one orphan girl remained from him [Nebuchadnezzar] and you made her an empress in a kingdom that was not hers, and who was that? Vashti.’

(Fol. 24b) R. Abba tried to avoid the sight of R. Juda because he wanted to go to Palestine and R. Juda always said: "Whoever goes up from Babylon to Palestine transgresses the positive law which says (Jer. 27, 22.) Unto Babylon shall they be carried, and there shall they remain until the day that I think of them, saith the Lord." One day R. Abba said I shall go and hear something from him and then I will depart. So he went and found a Tana reciting before R. Juda regarding cleanliness, while praying. (See text.) R. Abba then said, "Were it only for that single thing that I came to listen, it would be sufficient."

Another interpretation (of Gen. 28:11): WHEN HE CAME ACROSS (rt.: PG') A CERTAIN PLACE where the Holy Spirit rested upon him, < i.e., > upon Jacob. Then he prophesied that Israel was going to sin and that the Holy Spirit would depart from them. {Now this derives from (ibid., cont.): BECAUSE THE SUN HAD SET. So also we find that it is written in the prophecy of Micah (3:6): THE SUN SHALL SET < UPON THE PROPHETS >, where it is a case of retribution and the passing away of prophecy.} Thus it is stated (in Jer. 27:18): IF THEY ARE PROPHETS AND IF THE WORD OF THE LORD IS WITH THEM, PLEASE LET THEM INTERCEDE (rt.: PG') WITH THE LORD. < The verse > teaches that this "coming across" (rt.: PG') is prophecy. (Gen. 28:11:) WHEN HE CAME ACROSS (rt.: PG') A CERTAIN PLACE … BECAUSE THE SUN HAD SET. What is it that is written (in Micah 3:6)? THE SUN SHALL SET UPON THE PROPHETS, AND THE DAY SHALL BE DARKENED.

Now the nations will clang to us like a bell, saying: Now if these (Jews), who were under their thumb, they let go and they left, why should we send to Aram Naharayim and to Aram Tzovah to pay tribute to them and to provide slaves for them? Thus, "And the heart of Pharaoh was reversed": to apprise us that Pharaoh ruled from one end of the world to the other, and had sultans from one end of the world to the other — all because of the honor of Israel (who was subject to him). Of him it is written (Psalms 105:20-21) "He sent a king (Pharaoh) who released him (Joseph); a ruler of peoples, who freed him. He appointed him master of his palace, and ruler of all his wealth." And thus do you find that every nation that ruled over Israel, ruled from one end of the world to the other, because of the honor of Israel. What is written of the kings of Ashur? (Isaiah 10:14) "and my hand found, as a nest, the wealth of peoples. As one gathers abandoned eggs, I gathered all the earth. No one flapped a wing or opened a mouth to peep." What is written of the kingdom of Bavel? (Jeremiah 27:8) "The nation or kingdom that does not serve him, that does not put its neck under the yoke of the king of Bavel, etc." What is written of the kingdom of Madai? (Daniel 6:26) "Then King Darius wrote to all peoples, nations and languages that inhabit the earth, etc." What is written of the kingdom of Greece? (Ibid. 7:6) "After that, as I looked on, there was another one like a leopard, and it had on its back four wings like those of a bird; the beast had four heads, and dominion was given to it." What is written of the fourth kingdom (Aram)? (Ibid. 23) "This is what he said: The fourth beast: There will be a fourth kingdom upon the earth which will be different from all the kingdoms; it will devour the whole earth, tread it down and crush it." We thus learn that every nation that had dominion over Israel ruled from one end of the world to the other, because of the honor of Israel. Variantly (Exodus 14:5) "And the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was reversed against the people. And they said: What is this that we did in sending Israel away from serving us?" They said to him: Would we not have gained much good from them? R. Yossi Haglili says: An analogy: A man inherits a beth kor (of land) and sells it for a pittance — whereupon the buyer goes and opens springs in it and plants in it gardens and orchards — whereupon the seller begins "choking" (at what he did)! Thus, with Egypt. They sent without realizing what they were sending. Of them it is written in the Tradition (Song of Songs 4:13) "Your 'sendings' are an orchard of pomegranates!" Variantly: R. Shimon b. Yochai says: An analogy: A man inherits a country-seat across the seas and he sells it for a pittance — whereupon the buyer goes and digs in it and finds in it treasures of silver and of gold and precious stones and pearls — whereupon the seller begins "choking." Thus with Egypt. They sent without realizing what they were sending, viz.: "What is this that we did, etc."

Another matter, “He made everything beautiful in its time” – Rabbi Bon stated two approaches regarding the following. Rabbi Bon said: Abraham was worthy to have been created before Adam, the first man, but the Holy One blessed be He said: If I create Abraham first, if he sins, there will be no one to come to make amends after him. Rather, I will create Adam, and if he sins, Abraham will come after him and make amends.⁴²This is based on the verse: “He made everything beautiful in its time.” Rabbi Bon said another [source for this idea]: It is written: “The greatest man among the giants” (Joshua 14:15).⁴³This is interpreted as a reference to Abraham. Abraham was worthy to have been created first, as it is stated: “The greatest man among the giants.” Why is he called “greatest”? It is because he was worthy to have been created first, but the Holy One blessed be He said: If I create Abraham first, if he sins, there will be no one to come after him to make amends. Rather, I will create Adam, the first man, and if he sins, Abraham will come and make amends after him.
Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: Some cite a parable; to what is this matter analogous? [It is analogous] to one who had a substantial beam in his residence, in his house. Where would he place it? Would he not place it in the middle of the great hall, so that it would be able to support the beams in front of it and the beams that are behind it? So too, why did the Holy One blessed be He create Abraham our patriarch in the middle? So that he could provide support for the generations that preceded him and the generations that succeeded him. Rabbi Levi said: One brings a proper wife into the house of an improper wife, but one does not bring an improper wife into the house of a proper wife.⁴⁴Similarly, Abraham was created after Adam in order to have a positive impact on the world that Adam had previously tarnished. Had Abraham been created first, Adam would have negated the positive impact that Abraham made on the world.
Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon said: Adam the first man was worthy to have had the Torah given through him, as it is stated: “This is the book of the generations of Adam. [On the day that God created man, in the likeness of God He made him]” (Genesis 5:1).⁴⁵The midrash interprets the “book” in the verse as a reference to the Torah. The Holy One blessed be He said: Adam is my handiwork, will I not give him the Torah so that he may toil in it? Then He said: If six mitzvot were given him and he was unable to keep them and observe them, were I to give him six hundred and thirteen mitzvot – two hundred and forty-eight positive commandments and three hundred and sixty-five prohibitions – all the more so will he not keep them. That is why it is written: “He said to Adam [la’adam]” (Job 28:28) – not Adam [lo adam], I will not give them to Adam. To whom will I give them? I will give them to his descendants.
Rabbi Yaakov of Kefar Ḥanan said: Adam the first man was worthy of having twelve tribes emerge from him, as it is written: “This [zeh] is the book of the generations of Adam” (Genesis 5:1) – zayin – seven, heh –five, twelve tribes, this is the numerical value of “zeh is the book of the generations of Adam.” The Holy One blessed be He said: Adam is My handiwork, will I not give him twelve tribes? He then said: If I gave him two sons and one rose and killed his brother, had I given him twelve sons, all the more so. That is why it written: “He said to Adam [la’adam]” (Job 28:28), not Adam [lo adam], I will not give them to Adam. To whom will I give them? I will give them to Jacob the righteous.
Rabbi Yitzḥak said: At the time when they departed from Egypt, The Israelites were worthy for the Torah to have been given to them immediately, but the Holy One blessed be He said: The radiance of My children has not yet come; they have emerged from the enslavement of mortar and bricks and cannot receive the Torah immediately. To what is this matter comparable? [It is comparable] to a king whose son arose from his illness and they said to him: ‘Let your son go to his academy.’ He said: ‘The radiance of my son has not yet come; rather, let him be indulged for two or three months with food and drink and recover, and then he will go to his academy.’ So too, the Holy One blessed be He said: ‘The radiance of my children has not yet come, they have emerged from the enslavement of mortar and bricks, and I will give them the Torah? Rather, let My children be indulged for two or three months with manna, a spring, and quails, and then I will give them the Torah.’ When? In the third month.
Rabbi Beivai, Rabbi Aivu, and Rabbi Huna said in the name of Rabbi Yitzḥak bar Maryon: At the time when they departed from Egypt, the Israelites were worthy to enter the Land immediately, but the trees were ancient, from the days of Noah. The Holy One blessed be He said: Shall I bring the Israelites into a wasteland? Rather, I will take them on a circuitous path through the wilderness for forty years so that the Canaanites will rise and chop down the old ones and plant new ones, so [the Israelites] would enter the land and find it filled with blessings.
Rabbi says: Even for matters of transgression it is “beautiful in its time.”⁴⁶“He made everything beautiful in its time” alludes to the fact that even the effect of a transgression is influenced by its timing.

R. Jochanan said again in the name of R. Simon b. Jochai: "What is the meaning of the passage (Jer. 27, 1) In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim … The beginning of the reign of Zedekiah. Were there not rulers before them? This signifies that the Holy One, praised be He! was about to return the world to vanity and chaos because of Jehoiakim. But when He looked upon his generation who were righteous, the Lord reconsidered it. And the opposite was the case with Zedekiah. He wanted to destroy the world because of his genaration, but when He looked upon him, He reconsidered it. But is it not written concerning Zedekiah (II Kings 24, 19) And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord? [Hence he was wicked.] This is because he should have protested against their deed but did not do so."

R. Huna Hakohen (“the priest”) stated in the name of R. Aha: This is proven by what occurred at the time Jeremiah said: Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live (Jer. 27:12). Hananiah the son of Azzur, the false prophet, had prophesied good tidings, as it is said: And they have healed the hurt of the daughters of my people lightly, saying peace when there is no peace (ibid. 8:11), and he had told them also: Behold, the vessels of the house of the Lord shall now shortly be brought again from Babylon (ibid. 27:16). Thereupon Jeremiah exclaimed: I prophesy evil in accordance with the word of the Holy One, blessed be He, while you prophesy good tidings falsely of your own accord. Yet may it be that the Lord fulfill the words which thou hast prophesied, to bring back the vessels of the Lord’s house (ibid. 28:6).

R. Huna Hakohen (“the priest”) stated in the name of R. Aha: This is proven by what occurred at the time Jeremiah said: Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live (Jer. 27:12). Hananiah the son of Azzur, the false prophet, had prophesied good tidings, as it is said: And they have healed the hurt of the daughters of my people lightly, saying peace when there is no peace (ibid. 8:11), and he had told them also: Behold, the vessels of the house of the Lord shall now shortly be brought again from Babylon (ibid. 27:16). Thereupon Jeremiah exclaimed: I prophesy evil in accordance with the word of the Holy One, blessed be He, while you prophesy good tidings falsely of your own accord. Yet may it be that the Lord fulfill the words which thou hast prophesied, to bring back the vessels of the Lord’s house (ibid. 28:6).

The Holy One, blessed be He, told Jeremiah: Make thee bands and bars and put them upon thy neck (ibid. 27:2), just as, in the future, Nebuchadnezzar will bind them about the necks of My children. And he did so (on himself). However, Hananiah removed them from Jeremiah’s neck and destroyed them, as it is said: Hananiah the prophet took the bar from off the prophet Jeremiah’s neck, and broke it. And Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying: “Thus saith the Lord: Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon” (Jer. 28: 10–11). Jeremiah, thereupon, called out to Hananiah: There have been prophets before me and you, but the prophet that prophesieth of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that the Lord hath truly sent him (ibid., v. 9). I have prophesied misfortune, but if my prophecy does not come to pass, I shall not necessarily have lied, for the Holy One, blessed be He, may threaten to do evil and then retract. But you have prophesied good tidings; if your words do not come to pass, then you shall be a false prophet, for when the Holy One, blessed be He, promises to do a good deed He does not retract His promise even though men transgress against Him.

(Fol. 111) R. Zera tried to avoid the sight of R. Juda, because he wanted to go up to the land of Israel, and R. Juda had said: "Whoever comes up to the land of Israel transgresses the positive commandment which says (Jer. 22, 2) Unto Babylon shall they be carried and there should they remain until the day I think of them, saith the Lord." R. Zaira, however, explains that the above passage refers to the holy vessels. But R. Juda says that there is another passage for the vessels (Songs 2, 7) I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles, and by the hinds of the field, etc. R. Zaira again says: "The last passage means that Israel should not go by force." R. Juda in return says that for this there is another passage with an adjuration. To which R. Zaira says that the other passage of adjuration is necessary for what R. Josa b. Chanina says: "What for are these three admonitions [mentioned in Songs, 2, 7; 3, 5; 5, 8] One that Israel shall not go to their land with force, and one that the Holy One, praised be He! adjured Israel that they should not rebel against the nations; the other one is that the Holy One, praised be He! adjured all the nations that they should not enslave Israel too much." Still R. Juda maintains that [for the last inference] there is another passage (Ib. 2, 7) That ye awake not nor excite my love. R. Zaira, in return, explains the passage as R. Levi said: "What for are these six adjurations necessary? The three are for the purpose above mentioned, and the other three are for the purpose that the prophets shall not reveal the redemption; that Israel shall not cause the redemption to be postponed; and that the principles of intercalations, [or the principles of the Torah,] should not be revealed to the idolators." (Ib., ib., ib.) By the gazelles and by the hinds of the field. Said R. Elazar: "The Holy One said unto Israel: 'If you will fulfil this command, it is good; but if not, I will renounce your flesh like that of gazelles and the hinds of the field.' "

Another interpretation (of Prov. 22:29:) HE SHALL STAND BEFORE KINGS. This refers to the Holy One, of whom it is written (in Deut. 5:28 [31]): BUT AS FOR YOU, STAND HERE WITH ME. (Prov. 22:29, cont.:) HE SHALL NOT STAND BEFORE THE OBSCURE. This is Pharaoh, [since it is written <of Moses>] (in Exod. 9:13): GO EARLY IN THE MORNING <TO PRESENT YOURSELF BEFORE PHARAOH>. All the wicked ones become corrupt during their lifetimes. You find in the case of Zedekiah, king of Judah, that all the kings were subjugated to Nebuchadnezzar. What is written about him (in Jer. 27:6)? {ALL} [AND EVEN] THE BEASTS OF THE FIELD HAVE I GIVEN HIM TO SERVE HIM. Zedekiah went up to offer a gift.¹⁰⁰Gk.: doron. Nebuchadnezzar said: Dine with me at noon. So he made a dinner. Now a Babylonian dinner is not like a dinner in the land of Israel. He brought him meat which he had roasted. He saw Nebuchadnezzar eating with his spittle running down onto his beard. Zedekiah looked at him in astonishment and said: Is it to this one that the whole world is subjugated? He ate with him. What did he do? After he had dined, he took Zedekiah and made him take an oath. He said to him: <Swear> that you shall not go to your land and leave me. He got free and came to the land of Israel. He began to scorn (rt.: BZH) him, and he revoked that oath <which he had taken >. So Ezekiel cried out concerning him (in Ezek. 17:16): {BECAUSE HE SCORNED (BZH) AN OATH} [WHOSE OATH HE SCORNED (BZH)]. The kings who were reclining with him heard him. They sent and said to him (to Nebuchadnezzar): Zedekiah is sitting <here> laughing at you. Where is it shown that they sent to him and said < this > to him? R. Samuel said: It is written (in Is. 16:1): SEND A LAMB (KR) TO THE RULER OF THE LAND. What is the meaning of KR? It is like someone who says to his comrade: Find out (HKR) for whom he is ruling the land. Where is it shown that he had sworn an oath to him? Where it is stated (in II Chron. 36:13): AND HE ALSO REBELLED AGAINST KING NEBUCHADNEZZAR WHO HAD MADE HIM TAKE AN OATH BY GOD. What did he do? He immediately sent and had him come. Then he fed him barley, stood him up, and scorned (rt.: BZH) him shamefully. The Holy One said (to Nebuchadnezzar): So you have shamed (rt.: BZH) him. By your life, you shall not depart from this world until all creatures laugh at you. Thus it is stated (in Dan. 4:29 [32]): YOU SHALL BE DRIVEN AWAY FROM HUMANKIND. Moreover, just as you have shamed (rt.: BZH) him, so you shall be shamed (rt.: BZH) before all creatures. What is written (in Hab. 2:17)? AND THE VIOLENCE OF THE BEASTS WILL TERRIFY THOSE FEMALES (rt.: HTT+N)….¹⁰¹This translation of Hab. 2:17 fits the context of the midrash. In the biblical translations shod is usually rendered DESTRUCTION rather than VIOLENCE. Moreover, since the midrash is concerned with sexual acts, it is necessary to translate the femimine verbal suffix meaning “them” as THOSE FEMALES. R. Abba bar Kahana said that he became a bridegroom (HTN) to all cattle and wild beasts. And what caused him this shame (rt.: BZH)? It was simply because he had shamed (BZH) Zedekiah.

"And Balak son of Zippor saw": The Torah says (Deuteronomy 32) "The Rock--perfect is His work for all of His ways are justice." Hashem did not give the non-Jews an opening to say in the future "You have distanced us." What did Hashem do? Just like He set up kings and sages and prophets for the Jews, He set these up for the non-Jews. He set up Shlomo as a king over the Jews and the entire earth, and He did the same for Nebuchadnezzar. This one built the Beit Hamikdash and said "How many praises and supplications there are!" and this one destroyed it and scoffed and said (Isaiah 14): "I will ascend to the heights of the clouds." He gave David riches, and he took his house for His Name. And he gave Haman riches, and he took an entire nation to be slaughtered. All the greatness that the Jews took, you find that the nations took. Another example: He set up Moshe for the Jews and Bilaam for the nations. Understand what the difference is between Jewish prophets and non-Jewish prophets? Jewish prophets exhort the people about their sins, as it says (Ezekiel 3): "And you, son of man, I have appointed you as a watchman etc." And the prophet from among the nations caused a breach to drive the creations from the world. Not only this, but all the prophets were [given prophecy] from the attribute of mercy on the Jews and the non-Jews, as Yirmiyah said (Jeremiah 48): "My heart to Moav is as pipes moan." And as Yechezkel said (Ezekiel 27): "Son of man, lament for Tyre." And this cruel one stood to uproot an entire nation for no reason. Therefore the passage of Bilaam was written, to make it known why Hashem took away the holy spirit from non-Jews, for this one was from them and see what he did.

What is written above this? “And the Lord said to Moses: Speak to your brother Aaron…” (Leviticus 16:2) R’ Avin said: He said to him - go and comfort him with words, as it says “Speak to the heart of Jerusalem…” (Isaiah 40:2) “…that he should not come at all times…” (Leviticus 16:2) R’ Yehudah bar R’ Simon said: Moshe was greatly distressed by this. He said: oy! Perhaps Aharon my brother has been driven out from the inner space at all times! There is a time corresponding to the hour “…that he should not come at all times…” (ibid.) There is a time corresponding to the day “And water by measure you shall drink…” (Ezekiel 4:11) There is a time corresponding to the year, as it says “And it was, at the return of the year…” (Samuel II 11:1) There is a time corresponding to twelve years “Until the time when His word came…” (Psalms 105:19) There is a time corresponding to the seventy years, as it says “…since the destruction of Jerusalem seventy years.” (Daniel 9:2) And it says “…until the time of his own land come…” (Jeremiah 27:7) There is a time corresponding to eternity “You gave joy into my heart from the time that their corn…” (Psalms 4:8) The Holy One said to Moshe: it is not as you think. This is not a time of the hour, the day, the year, of twelve years, seventy years or of eternity. Rather, at any time which he wants to enter he may enter, but he must do it with this procedure. R’ Yehudah bar R’ Elazar said: with thirty-six bells and thirty-six pomegranates. The Rabbis say: with seventy-two bells and seventy-two pomegranates.

... Jeremiah said: when I was coming up to Jerusalem, I lifted up my eyes and saw a woman sitting on the mountaintop, her clothes were black and her hair unkempt. She cried: I am seeking who will comfort me! And I cried: I am seeking who will comfort me! I came near and spoke with her, and I said to her: if you are a woman, then speak with me. If you are a spirit, then go away from me. She answered and said to me: Do you not recognize me? I am the one who had seven children. Their father went away to a land across the sea and as I was going up to cry for him, a prophet said to me ‘the house collapsed on your seven children and killed them.’ I do not know for whom I am crying and for whom my hair is unkempt.I answered and said to her: you are no better than my mother Zion, who was made a pasture for the beasts of the field. She answered and said to me: I am your mother Zion, I am she – the mother of seven, so it is written “She who bore seven has been cut off…” (Jeremiah 15:9) Jeremiah said to her: the blows you have received are like those of Job. Job’s sons and daughters were taken from him, your sons and daughters were taken from you. From Job I took his silver and gold, from you I have taken your silver and gold. I cast Job into the trash heap, you I have made into a heap of trash. And just as I came back and consoled Job, so too in the future I will return and console you. I doubled Job’s sons and daughters, and in the future I will double your sons and daughters. I doubled Job’s gold and silver, and in the future I will do so for you. I shook the trash from Job, and of you it is said “Shake yourselves from the dust, arise, sit down, O Jerusalem…” (Isaiah 52:2) Flesh and blood built you and flesh and blood destroyed you. But In the time to come I will build you, because thus it is written “The Lord is the builder of Jerusalem; He will gather the outcasts of Israel.” (Psalms 147:2) Amen! May the Holy One fulfill what is written about us speedily and in our day “And the redeemed of Zion shall return, and they shall come to Zion with song, with joy of days of yore shall be upon their heads; they shall achieve gladness and joy, and sadness and sighing shall flee.” (Isaiah 35:10)

... The angels said before the Holy One, ‘Master of the World! Isn’t this Jerusalem?!’ as it is said “This is Jerusalem; in the midst of the nations I have placed her…” (Yechezkel 5:5) He replied to them, “But she exchanged My judgments for wickedness more than the nations…” (Yechezkel 5:6) They said to Him, “But they are Your people and Your inheritance, which You brought out with Your great strength…” (Devarim 9:29) He replied to them, “For My people have forgotten Me; they burn incense to vanity…” (Yirmiyahu 18:15) They said to Him, ‘act for the sake of the forefathers!’ He replied to them, “…the fathers are kindling fire…” (Yirmiyahu 7:18) They said to Him, ‘act for the sake of the children!’ He replied to them, “But they rebelled against Me and would not consent to hearken to Me…” (Yechezkel 20:8) They said to Him, ‘act for the sake of the tribe of Yehudah!’ “And Judah did what displeased the Lord…” (Melachim I 14:22) They said to Him, ‘act for the sake of the leaders!’ He replied to them, “Its heads judge for bribes…” (Micha 3:11) They said to Him, ‘act for the sake of the tribes!’ He replied to them, ‘and Gad, and Reuven and the half tribe of Menashe…’ They said to Him, ‘act for the sake of the tribe of Dan!’ He replied to them, “And the children of Dan set up for themselves the graven image.” (Shoftim 18:30) They said to Him,’ act for the sake of the students!’ He replied to them, “…And those who hold onto the Torah did not know Me…” (Yirmiyahu 2:8) They said to Him, ‘act for the sake of the prophets!’ He replied to them, “[It was] for the sins of her prophets, the iniquities of her priests…” (Eicha 4:13) They said to Him, ‘act for the sake of the kings!’ He replied to them, “And the altars that were on the roof, [the roof of] Ahaz's upper chamber, which the kings of Judah had made…” (Melachim II 23:12) The ministering angels said to Him, ‘act for our sake!’ He replied to them, “But they mocked the messengers of God…” (Divre HaYamim II 36:16) They said to Him, ‘act for the sake of Your name which is called upon them!’ He replied to them, ‘they have profaned My holy name.’ They said to Him, ‘You do not want to be appeased, what is the image of their father doing by You?’ “He has cast down from heaven to earth the glory of Israel…” (Eicha 2:1) This statement with which they clothed You, what has it done to You?! If the thing were not written, it would be impossible to say “The Lord has done what He devised, He has carried out His word…” (Eicha 2:17) They said to Him, ‘Master of the World! Is this not Jerusalem about whom you wrote “Behold on [My] hands have I engraved you…”’ (Yeshayahu 49:16) He replied to them, “I, too, shall clap My hands, one upon the other, and I shall put My fury to rest…” (Yechezkel 21:22) Since Zion saw that He did not want to be appeased, she started up and said “The Lord has forsaken me, and the Lord has forgotten me." (Yeshayahu 49:14) May it be Your will Lord our God and God of our fathers that Your Temple be rebuilt speedily in our days, that your Presence return within it, that You gather my exiles from the four corners of the world, that they rebuild the cities of Yehudah and settle Shechem and inherit it speedily. Amen.

Come and see how wise Ben Sira was! They would bring him a se'ah [2-ish gallons] of wheat, and he would say to them, "Count the wheat grains in this se'ah, and you will find in it such-and-such number of grains in sum," until his reputation had spread around the whole world. Eventually, Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon heard of his wisdom. And who did he hear it from? From his wise ones. And when his wise ones heard of his [Ben Sira's] wisdom, they said, "Oy for us, Voy for us- because now Nebuchadnezzar will get rid of us. Instead, let us slander him to the king. He should send after him, and we will ask him something difficult, from our own logic that is not his logic, and if he does not respond do us with an answer, we will kill him." And this they did- they told the king and he sent for him, and he said to them, "And what do you want to ask him?" They said to him, "What is 'Oy Vanehi.' If he knows, very well, and if not, we will kill him." A thousand cavalry went after him, all of whom had cut off a finger and uprooted a tree. They all said, as one, to the King, "Our master, if you want to deploy us to anywhere in the world, we will go. But do not send us to one of the Israelite Sages, so that he does not do us what Elisha did to the Aramean troops. He wrote to them: (Jeremiah 27:6) (Shabbat 129b (150a?)) '"I even give him [Nebuchadnezzar] the wild beasts of the field to serve him." As he tells you, you must go. They said to him(?): "This is a sign that his God has entrusted me, and he should come with you," and he wrote it for them in a letter. When they arrived to him and showed him the letter, Ben Sira said to them, "He sent you not for me but for one rabbit that I have." Immediately, he took a rabbit and wrote on its head, "Behold, this is of the wild beasts of the field and will serve you." He [Nebuchadnezzar] said, "How is it that this hair is shaved off like vellum?" He said, "It is not by iron or any other thing." "I see its flesh inside it, and vellum cannot possibly have its flesh inside it." And he did not know how it was constructed. Immediately, he sent after him another delegation, and sent him in writing, "If you do not want to come in my honor, come in the honor of your rabbit." Immediately, he [Ben Sira] softened and became willing to do it, and went to him. And at the point when he arrived to him, he was seven years old. Immediately all Nebuchadnezzar's wise ones gathered around him and began questioning him. They said to him, "What is Oy Vanehi?" He said to them, "When you heard about me, you had an 'Oy,' and if I kill you, you would have a 'Nehi.'" They said to him, "Explain it well for us, what is "Nehi' and what is 'Vay?" He said, "There are two vavs in it, and their meaning is: When someone goes and touches a dog, and grabs its ear- that is certainly 'Vay' for him. And even before being saved from a snake, if a lion comes to him - that is certainly 'Oy Vanehi.'" When they heard this, they were afraid, and they passed around the words, and said, "We do not know what you are saying. Show us 'Voy Vanehi' to our own eyes." Immediately, he went and took a container (a hollow tube) with two openings and went and caught three snakes and three scorpions, and placed the scorpions in the lower opening and the snakes in the upper opening, and sealed the container and came before the king. And his wise ones said, "What is in the container?" He said to them, "Look!" Immediately one of them put his hand in the container in the first opening and felt the snakes, and said, "Vay, what is this?!" One put his hand in the lower opening and a scorpion struck him, and he said, "Vay Vanehi!" Ben Sira said to them, "Behold- you know 'Vay Vanehi' and you have seen them." When they saw that it was so, they immediately were afraid and sweated and trembled, and fell on their faces. The king said to them, "You contracted with me that if he did not know 'Vay Vanhei' you would kill him; behold, he knows 'Vay Vanehi.' The judgment that you ruled for him, that he should be executed- now you are liable for that execution." They said to him, "Let the king do whatever he wants to his servants." Immediately he handed them over to Ben Sira. He said to them, "Haven't you brought me here here for 'Vay Vanehi?'" Immediately he took them and threw them into the lion's den and they died, at the words 'Vay Vanehi.' Then the king lifted Ben Sira and placed him on a golden throne and set a crown on his head. The king said to him, "I will king you, since you are suitable to rule." He said to him, "My master, I do not want it, since I am small. And it would not be suitable for me to rule over Israel, since I am not from the dynasty of David." He said to him, "But Yoash assumed the throne when he was seven years old." He said to him, "He was from the royal dynasty." He said to him, "Since you do not want it, sit with me in my kingship, since I want to ask you about any matters that I have in my heart, that I see in the world and do not know." He said to him, "My master, anything that you want, ask, and I will explain to you anything that you say." Then he asked him twenty-two questions (the number of the alphabet) and he responded to (and answered) his questions, and here they are:

Come and see how wise Ben Sira was! They would bring him a se'ah [2-ish gallons] of wheat, and he would say to them, "Count the wheat grains in this se'ah, and you will find in it such-and-such number of grains in sum," until his reputation had spread around the whole world. Eventually, Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon heard of his wisdom. And who did he hear it from? From his wise ones. And when his wise ones heard of his [Ben Sira's] wisdom, they said, "Oy for us, Voy for us- because now Nebuchadnezzar will get rid of us. Instead, let us slander him to the king. He should send after him, and we will ask him something difficult, from our own logic that is not his logic, and if he does not respond do us with an answer, we will kill him." And this they did- they told the king and he sent for him, and he said to them, "And what do you want to ask him?" They said to him, "What is 'Oy Vanehi.' If he knows, very well, and if not, we will kill him." A thousand cavalry went after him, all of whom had cut off a finger and uprooted a tree. They all said, as one, to the King, "Our master, if you want to deploy us to anywhere in the world, we will go. But do not send us to one of the Israelite Sages, so that he does not do us what Elisha did to the Aramean troops. He wrote to them: (Jeremiah 27:6) (Shabbat 129b (150a?)) '"I even give him [Nebuchadnezzar] the wild beasts of the field to serve him." As he tells you, you must go. They said to him(?): "This is a sign that his God has entrusted me, and he should come with you," and he wrote it for them in a letter. When they arrived to him and showed him the letter, Ben Sira said to them, "He sent you not for me but for one rabbit that I have." Immediately, he took a rabbit and wrote on its head, "Behold, this is of the wild beasts of the field and will serve you." He [Nebuchadnezzar] said, "How is it that this hair is shaved off like vellum?" He said, "It is not by iron or any other thing." "I see its flesh inside it, and vellum cannot possibly have its flesh inside it." And he did not know how it was constructed. Immediately, he sent after him another delegation, and sent him in writing, "If you do not want to come in my honor, come in the honor of your rabbit." Immediately, he [Ben Sira] softened and became willing to do it, and went to him. And at the point when he arrived to him, he was seven years old. Immediately all Nebuchadnezzar's wise ones gathered around him and began questioning him. They said to him, "What is Oy Vanehi?" He said to them, "When you heard about me, you had an 'Oy,' and if I kill you, you would have a 'Nehi.'" They said to him, "Explain it well for us, what is "Nehi' and what is 'Vay?" He said, "There are two vavs in it, and their meaning is: When someone goes and touches a dog, and grabs its ear- that is certainly 'Vay' for him. And even before being saved from a snake, if a lion comes to him - that is certainly 'Oy Vanehi.'" When they heard this, they were afraid, and they passed around the words, and said, "We do not know what you are saying. Show us 'Voy Vanehi' to our own eyes." Immediately, he went and took a container (a hollow tube) with two openings and went and caught three snakes and three scorpions, and placed the scorpions in the lower opening and the snakes in the upper opening, and sealed the container and came before the king. And his wise ones said, "What is in the container?" He said to them, "Look!" Immediately one of them put his hand in the container in the first opening and felt the snakes, and said, "Vay, what is this?!" One put his hand in the lower opening and a scorpion struck him, and he said, "Vay Vanehi!" Ben Sira said to them, "Behold- you know 'Vay Vanehi' and you have seen them." When they saw that it was so, they immediately were afraid and sweated and trembled, and fell on their faces. The king said to them, "You contracted with me that if he did not know 'Vay Vanhei' you would kill him; behold, he knows 'Vay Vanehi.' The judgment that you ruled for him, that he should be executed- now you are liable for that execution." They said to him, "Let the king do whatever he wants to his servants." Immediately he handed them over to Ben Sira. He said to them, "Haven't you brought me here here for 'Vay Vanehi?'" Immediately he took them and threw them into the lion's den and they died, at the words 'Vay Vanehi.' Then the king lifted Ben Sira and placed him on a golden throne and set a crown on his head. The king said to him, "I will king you, since you are suitable to rule." He said to him, "My master, I do not want it, since I am small. And it would not be suitable for me to rule over Israel, since I am not from the dynasty of David." He said to him, "But Yoash assumed the throne when he was seven years old." He said to him, "He was from the royal dynasty." He said to him, "Since you do not want it, sit with me in my kingship, since I want to ask you about any matters that I have in my heart, that I see in the world and do not know." He said to him, "My master, anything that you want, ask, and I will explain to you anything that you say." Then he asked him twenty-two questions (the number of the alphabet) and he responded to (and answered) his questions, and here they are:

And he came upon (vayifga') the place (Genesis 28:11) - Rav Huna says, in the name of Rabbi Ami: why do we substitute the name of the Holy Blessed One and use Place? Because God is the Place of the world, and the world is not the place of God. From what is written "Here there is a place with Me" (Exodus 33:21) the Holy Blessed One is the place of the world and the world is not the place of the Holy Blessed One. Said Rabbi Yitzchak: from "The ancient God is dwelling" (Deut. 33:27) we do not know if the Holy Blessed One is the dwelling of the world or if the world is the dwelling of the Holy One, but from what is written "Hashem, You are a dwelling" we see that the Holy Blessed One is the dwelling of the world and the the world is not the dwelling of the Holy One. Rabbi Aba bar Yudan said about a warrior who rides on a horse having plenty weapons on both his right and left: the horse depends on the rider, and the rider does not depend on the horse, as it is said: "when you ride on your horse" (Habakuk 3:8). Another explanation: what is "vayifga"? It is he prayed. He prayed on the place, the place of the Beit Hamikdash. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: the first ancestors fixed three Prayers. Avraham fixed the morning prayer, as it is written "Next morning, Abraham rose to the place where he had stood before " (Genesis 19:27), and the term stood can only be Prayer, as it is written "And Pinchas stood and prayed" (Psalms 106:30). Yitzchak fixed the afternoon prayer, as it is written "And Isaac went out to converse in the field toward evening" (Genesis 24:63) and the term converse can only be Prayer, as it is written "I pour out my conversation before God" (Ps. 142:3). Yaakov fixed the evening Prayer, as it is written "And he came upon the place" and the term vayifga' can only be Prayer, as it is written "As for you, do not pray for this people, do not raise a cry of prayer on their behalf, do not tifga' Me; for I will not listen to you." (Jer. 7:16), and the text also says: " If they are really prophets and the word of Hashem is with them, ifge'u Hashem of Hosts" (Jer. 27:18). Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachman said: three times the day changes. At evening, a person needs to say "may it be Your will, Hashem my God, that you will bring me from darkness to light." At morning one needs to say "I thank you Hashem my God, that you brought me from darkness to light." In the afternoon a person needs to say "may it be Your will, Hashem my God, that just as I merited to see the sun rise, may I merit to see the sun set." Another explanation of vaiyfga' - the rabbis say the prayers were fixed according to the Tamid sacrifices. The morning prayer according to the morning Tamid offering. The afternoon prayer according to the Tamid of the late afternoon. The evening prayer has no set moment, it was established according to the limbs and fat pieces that were consumed by the fire of the altar.

(Ibid. 21) "And when you say in your heart: How shall we know the thing which the L-rd has not spoken?": Jeremiah said about the remaining (Temple) vessels (Jeremiah 27:22) "They shall be brought to Bavel and there shall they remain." Chananiah (ben Azur) said (Ibid. 28:3) "I will restore to this place all the vessels of the house of the L-rd." Whom shall we heed? It is, therefore, written (Devarim, Ibid. 22) "What the prophet shall speak in the name of the L-rd and the thing not be and not come to pass, that is the thing which the L-rd has not spoken." "In presumption has the prophet spoken it.": He is liable (to the death penalty) for (willful) presumption, and not for unwittingness.

But, of the Babylonians, he who spoke of them words of consolation (in the beginning) — (Jeremiah 27:6) "I have given all these lands into the hand of Nevuchadnezzar, king of Bavel, My servant; even the beasts of the field have I given him to serve him" — He reverted to words of retribution — (Ibid. 51:64) "And you shall say: 'Thus shall Bavel sink and it shall not rise because of the evil I am bringing upon her, and she shall grow faint.' Until here the words of Jeremiah." He who (in the beginning) spoke of the Babylonians words of consolation, (in the end) reverted to words of retribution.

... Another reading: “Comfort, oh comfort My people” (Isaiah 40:1) Said the Holy Blessed One: Who needs to be comforted? For one whose wife died, not the husband? Thus was Zion analogized - “He has made me dwell in darkness, Like those long dead” (Lamentations 3:6). Is it not Me who you need to comfort ‘Comfort Me Comfort Me My people’? Similarly, to what may this matter be compared? To one whose two children were taken captive during their father’s life. To whom do we offer comfort, not to the father? So too, “My children have gone forth from me And are no more” (Jeremiah 10:20). Similarly, to what may this matter be compared? To one whose house burned down. To whom do we offer comfort, not to the owner of the house? So this must be the Holy Blessed One, whose house was burned down, as it says: “He burned the House of the LORD” (Kings II 25:9). Similarly, to what may this matter be compared? To one whose vineyards were cut down. Do we not offer comfort to the owner of the vineyard? So too, “For the vineyard of the LORD of Hosts Is the House of Israel” (Isaiah 5:7). And similarly, to what may this matter be compared? To a shepherd whose flocks were ravaged by a lion. To whom do we offer comfort, not to the shepherd? So too, “My people were lost sheep” (Jeremiah 50:6). Nevertheless, go and appease the House of Israel — immediately, all of the prophets enter and approach her. And she says to them: “Why then do you offer me empty consolation? Of your replies only the perfidy remains.” (Job 21:34) Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: Do your words need polishing? Until this moment my ears have been filled with the chastisements that you have rebuked me with, and now you come to comfort me?? Hosea walked to comfort her. He said: The Holy Blessed One send me to you to comfort you. She said to him: what do you have [in your hand]? He said to her: “I will be to Israel like dew” (Hosea 14:6). She said: yesterday you told me “Ephraim is stricken, Their stock is withered; They can produce no fruit” (9:16) and now you say thus to me — which should I believe, the first or the second?? Joel walked to comfort her. He said: The Holy Blessed One send me to you to comfort you. She said to him: what do you have [in your hand]? He said to her: “And in that day, The mountains shall drip with wine” (Joel 4:18). She said: yesterday you told me “Wake up, you drunkards, and weep, Wail, all you swillers of wine— For the new wine that is denied you!” (1:5) and now you say thus to me — which should I believe, the first or the second?? Amos walked to comfort her. He said: The Holy Blessed One send me to you to comfort you. She said to him: what do you have [in your hand]? He said to her: “In that day, I will set up again the fallen booth of David” (Amos 9:11). She said: yesterday you told me “Fallen, not to rise again, Is Maiden Israel” (5:2) and now you say thus to me — which should I believe, the first or the second?? Micah walked to comfort her. He said: The Holy Blessed One send me to you to comfort you. She said to him: what do you have [in your hand]? He said to her: “Who is a God like You, Forgiving iniquity And remitting transgression” (Micah 7:18). She said: yesterday you told me “All this is for the transgression of Jacob, And for the sins of the House of Israel” (1:5) and now you say thus to me — which should I believe, the first or the second?? Nahum walked to comfort her. He said: The Holy Blessed One send me to you to comfort you. She said to him: what do you have [in your hand]? He said to her: “Never again shall scoundrels invade you” (Nahum 2:1). She said: yesterday you told me “The base plotter Who designed evil against the LORD Has left you” (1:11) and now you say thus to me — which should I believe, the first or the second?? Habakuk walked to comfort her. He said: The Holy Blessed One send me to you to comfort you. She said to him: what do you have [in your hand]? He said to her: “You have come forth to deliver Your people, To deliver Your anointed” (Habakuk 3:13). She said: yesterday you told me “How long, O LORD, shall I cry out And You not listen, Shall I shout to You, “Violence!” And You not save?” (1:2) and now you say thus to me — which should I believe, the first or the second?? Zephaniah walked to comfort her. He said: The Holy Blessed One send me to you to comfort you. She said to him: what do you have [in your hand]? He said to her: “At that time, I will search Jerusalem with lamps [And I will punish the men Who rest untroubled on their lees]” (Zephaniah 1:12). She said: yesterday you told me “A day of darkness and deep gloom” (1:15) and now you say thus to me — which should I believe, the first or the second?? Hagai walked to comfort her. He said: The Holy Blessed One send me to you to comfort you. She said to him: what do you have [in your hand]? He said to her: “while the seed is still in the granary, and the vine, fig tree, pomegranate, and olive tree have not yet borne fruit. For from this day on I will send blessings” (Hagai 2:19). She said: yesterday you told me “You have sowed much and brought in little” (1:6) and now you say thus to me — which should I believe, the first or the second?? Zecharia walked to comfort her. He said: The Holy Blessed One send me to you to comfort you. She said to him: what do you have [in your hand]? He said to her: “and I am very angry with those nations” (Zecharia 1:15). She said: yesterday you told me “The LORD was very angry with your fathers.” (1:2) and now you say thus to me — which should I believe, the first or the second?? Malachi walked to comfort her. He said: The Holy Blessed One send me to you to comfort you. She said to him: what do you have [in your hand]? He said to her: “And all the nations shall account you happy, for you shall be the most desired of lands—said the LORD of Hosts.” (Malachi 3:12). She said: yesterday you told me “I take no pleasure in you” (1:10) and now you say thus to me — which should I believe, the first or the second?? The Holy Blessed One said to Avraham: Walk, comfort Jerusalem — maybe she will receive comfort from you. Avraham walked and said to her: receive comfort from me. She said to him: How can I receive comfort from you when you made me [Jerusalem] like a mountain, as it says: “On the mount of God there is vision” (Genesis 22:14)? Yitzchak walked and said to her: receive comfort from me. She said to him: How can I accept comfort from you, from whom Eisav the Wicked emerged who made me a field and whose sons burned me with fire? Yaakov walked and said to her: receive comfort from me. She said to him: How can I accept comfort from you, who made me as if I didn’t exist “This is none other than the abode of God’ (Genesis 28:17)? Moshe walked and said to her: receive comfort from me. She said to him: How can I accept comfort from you, who wrote curses and harsh decrees about me, as it is written: “Wasting famine, ravaging plague” (Deuteronomy 32:24)? Immediately, they all walked before the Holy Blessed One and said: Master of the Universe — she does not accept our comfortings, as it is written: “Unhappy, storm-tossed one, uncomforted!” (Isaiah 54:11). The Holy Blessed One said: I and you shall walk to comfort her, i.e. “Comfort O comfort my people” — ‘Comfort Her, O comfort her, my people.’ It is not fitting that anyone but me should walk, because I have transgressed what it written in the Torah: “you must not work your firstling ox” (Deuteronomy 15:19) and Israel I called “My first-born son” (Exodus 4:22) and I told them “Put your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon” (Jeremiah 27:12). I wrote in my Torah: “You shall not hate your kinsfolk in your heart” (Leviticus 19:17) and I hated her — therefore it is upon me to appease her. I wrote in my Torah: “You shall not turn over to his master a slave” (Deuteronomy 23:16) and I passed them over to idol-worshippers, as it says: “Unless their Rock had sold them, The LORD had given them up” (Deuteronomy 32:30). I wrote in my Torah: “you shall not reap all the way to the edges of your field” (Leviticus 19:9) and I vented [play of the word for “reap”] my anger upon them, as it says: “The LORD vented all His fury” (Lamentations 4:11). I wrote in my Torah: “he who started the fire must make restitution (Exodus 22:5), and I ignited her on fire, as it says: “From above He sent a fire” (Lamentations 1:13), and I will build a fire in the future, as it says: “And I Myself—declares the LORD—will be a wall of fire all around it” (Zechariah 2:9). Immediately, the Holy Blessed One walked to her and said: My Daughter, why all of this anger? She said before God: Master of the Universe, is it not justified that I be angry — you dispersed me among the nations, and cursed me with evil curses, and whipped me until my face looked like the rim of the caldron, and despite all of this I sanctified Your great name! The Holy Blessed One said to her: corresponding to the meritorious deeds you did there are accounts that must be repaid, as you transgressed what is written in the Torah: “Honor your father and mother” (Exodus 20:12), and regarding you it is written: “Fathers and mothers have been humiliated within you” (Ezekiel 22:7); it is written: “Whoever sheds the blood of man [By man shall his blood be shed]” (Genesis 9:6), and regarding you it is written: “Base men in your midst were intent on shedding blood” (Ezekiel 22:9); it is written: “You shall not murder; you shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:13), and regarding you it is written: “[False] swearing, dishonesty, and murder, And theft and adultery are rife” (Hosea 4:2). She said before God: Master of the Universe, since you dispersed me among the nations, is it not justified that I not keep Shabbat and fulfill your mitzvot? God said to her: My Daughter, the time has come to be redeemed. Immediately, she said before God: Master of the Universe, I shall nor be comforted until you show me those same wicked people who caused me to suffer and disgraced Your name. Immediately God said to her: My Daughter, I will surely bring them and exact revenge from them in front of you until they are eating their own flesh, as it says: “I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh, They shall be drunk with their own blood as with wine. And all mankind shall know That I the LORD am your Savior, The Mighty One of Jacob, your Redeemer” (Isaiah 49:26). Immediately she said: Who shall give You to me like a brother? Like which brother — like Cain to Hevel, he killed him; like Yishmael to Yitzchak, he hated him; like Eisav to Yaakov, he also hated him; like Yosef’s brothers to Yosef, they also hated him; rather like Yosef to his brothers, [you find] after all of the troubles they put him through, it is written: “And so, fear not. I will sustain you and your children.” Thus he reassured them, speaking kindly to them” (Genesis 50:21), and we know this from a kal va’chomer: If Yosef could speak to his brothers kind and comforting words, then when the Holy Blessed One came to comfort Jerusalem, all the more so. You find that everything that Jeremiah smote, Isaiah cam and healed. Jeremiah said: “There is none to comfort her” (Lamentations 1:2), Isaiah came and healed: “Comfort, oh comfort My people” (Isaiah 40:1).