Midrash su Giobbe 28:28

Resh Lakish said: "What is meant by the passage (Is. 33, 6.) And the stability of thy times and the strength of thy happiness shall be wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is his treasure, i.e., The stability, alludes to the Order of Zerain. Of thy time, refers to the Order of Moed; The strength, refers to the Order of Nashim; Of thy happiness, alludes to the Order of Nezikin; Shall be wisdom, refers to the Order of Kadshim; And knowledge, alludes to the Order of Taharoth. And after all these, The fear of the Lord [shall be] his treasure." Rabba said: "When a man is brought to Judgment [after he dies] he is asked: 'Hast thou dealt honestly? Hast thou had regular time for the study of the Torah? Hast thou married? Hast thou waited for salvation (Messiah)? Hast thou been a searcher after wisdom? Hast thou [cultivated thy mind to] conclude (to bring out one thing from another)?' And after all these if The fear of the Lord is his treasure, it (His Torah) counts; if not, it does not count. It is likened to the man who said to his messenger: 'Bring up to the upper floor a Kur of wheat.' The messenger went and when he had brought it up the man asked of him: 'Hast thou mixed a Kab of the Sand of Chumta in it?' 'No,' answered the messenger. Whereupon the master said: 'It were better if thou hadst not brought it up altogether.' " It was taught in the academy of R. Ishmael that a man has the right to mix a Kab Chumtin in every Kur of crop and he need not worry [in fear of doing wrong, for the sand preserves the crop]. Rabba b. R. Huna said: "Whoever possesses knowledge of the Torah without having (Ib. b) fear of the Lord is likened unto a treasurer who has been entrusted with the inner keys [of the treasury] but from whom the outer keys were withheld." R. Janai announced: "Oh, for him who has no courtyard but makes a gateway for his court!" R. Juda said: "The world would not have been created by the Holy One, praised be He! if not for the purpose that people should fear Him, for it is said (Ecc. 3, 14.) And God hath so made it that man should be afraid of Him." R. Simon and R. Elazar were sitting; they noticed that R. Jacob b. Acha was walking and passing by them. "Let us stand up before a man who fears sins." said one, to which the other replied: "Let us get up before a man who is a great scholar." Whereupon the former remarked to the latter: "I tell thee to get up before a man who fears sins and thou sayest to me to get up before a man who is a great scholar." It may be deduced [from the following] that the one who said "For a man who fears sins," was R. Elazar, for R. Jochanan in the name of R. Elazar said: "The Holy One, praised be He! has nothing [better] in His world but fear of Heaven, as it is written (Deu. 10, 12.) And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God. It is also written (Job 21, 28.) And he said unto the man. Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom. And in Greek Hen means one. The deduction is correct.

Because the midwives feared God (ibid., v. 21).¹¹See Sotah 11b. Tradition tells us that the two mid-wives, Shipra and Puah, were really Miriam and Jochebed. See Exodus Rabbah 1:13. How did the Holy One, blessed be He, reward them? He gave them houses. What houses did he give them? The house of priesthood and the house of kingship. Jochebed received priesthood and kingship, since Aaron became the high priest and Moses became a king: There was a king in Jerusalem (Deut. 33:5). What reward did Miriam receive for herself? Wisdom, as is said: The fear of the Lord is wisdom (Job 28:28), and it is written about Bezalel: And He hath filled him with the spirit of God, for he descended from her.

Now from where did all this glory come?¹⁸Tanh., Exod. 10:4; Exod. R. 48:4. From the tribe of Judah, since it is stated (in Exod. 35:30): <BEZALEL BEN URI BEN HUR> OF THE TRIBE OF JUDAH. This text is related (to Job 28:27–28): THEN HE SAW AND DECLARED IT; HE ESTABLISHED IT AND ALSO PROBED IT; AND HE SAID TO THE MAN (i.e., to Moses): SEE, THE FEAR OF THE LORD IS WISDOM; AND TO DEPART FROM EVIL IS UNDERSTANDING. R. Aha and our masters differ.¹⁹Gen. R. 24:5. Our masters say: Two times he uttered the oracle privately to himself. Then after that he spoke to Israel. Thus it is stated (in Job. 28:27): THEN HE SAW AND DECLARED IT. That was one <time>. (Ibid., cont.:) HE ESTABLISHED IT AND ALSO PROBED IT. That was the second <time>. Then after that he said (in vs. 28): AND HE SAID TO THE MAN (Moses). But R. Aha said: Four times, as stated (in vs. 27): THEN HE SAW AND DECLARED IT; HE ESTABLISHED IT AND ALSO PROBED IT.²⁰Exod. R.40:1. Ergo: Four times.²¹R. Aha understands each verb as referring to a separate revision of the oracle. From whom do you learn it? From Jochebed²²Moses’ mother. and Miriam. What is written (in Exod. 1:15)? THEN THE KING OF EGYPT {PROCLAIMED} [SAID] TO THE <HEBREW> MIDWIVES.²³The midrash assumes that the midwives were Jochebed and Miriam, even though Exod. 1:15 names them Shiphrah and Puah. On the identification of Jochebed and Miriam with Shiphrah and Puah, see Sot. 11b; Sifre to Numb. 10:29–36 (78); Exod. R. 1:16. What did he say to them (in vs. 16)? LOOK AT THE BIRTHSTOOL. Why did he do so? Because the astrologers²⁴Gk.; astrologoi. had said to them: On this day the redeemer of Israel shall be born, but we do not know whether he is an Egyptian or not. At that time he assembled all the Egyptians and said to them: Lend me your sons for one day, since it is stated (in Exod. 1:22): EVERY SON BORN <YOU SHALL THROW INTO THE NILE>. "< Every son> of Israel" is not written here, but EVERY SON, whether Israelite or Egyptian. (Exod. 1:17:) BUT THE MIDWIVES FEARED <GOD>. So how did the Holy One repay them? (Vs. 3:) HE ESTABLISHED HOUSEHOLDS FOR THEM: Priestly households, Levitical households, and kingship. Jochebed received priesthood and kingship as her reward < through her sons>, Moses²⁵According to Deut. 33:5, HE (Moses) BECAME KING IN JESHURUN. See Tanh., Exod. 10:4; Exod. R. 48:4. and Aaron. What did Miriam receive as her reward? Wisdom, for it is stated (in Job 28:28): SEE, THE FEAR OF THE LORD IS WISDOM. From her he brought forth Bezalel, who was wise, as stated (in Exod. 31:3): AND I HAVE FILLED HIM WITH THE DIVINE SPIRIT <IN WISDOM, UNDERSTANDING, AND KNOWLEDGE >.

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.

Another explanation of the verse: And God spoke (Exod. 20:1). Scripture says elsewhere in reference to this verse: Then did He see it, and declare it; He established it, yea, and searched it out (Job 28:27), and after that is written: And unto man He said. The Torah teaches us that if you are a student of the law, you must not be so presumptuous as to speak before the congregation until you have reviewed the matter two or three times.