Midrash su Levitico 26:43

Resh Lakish said: "Whoever observes carefully the precepts concerning Tzitzith will, as a reward, have two thousand eight hundred servants to wait upon him; for it is said (Zech. 8, 23.) Thus said the Lord of Hosts, 'In those days it shall come to pass that ten men out of all the languages of the nations, shall take hold — yea, they shall take hold of the skirts of him that is a Jew, saying. Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.' " We are taught that R. Nechemia says: "As a punishment for gratuitous hatred, the penalty is strife at the home of that man; and his wife will have miscarriages; and the sons and daughters of that man will die prematurely." R. Elazar, the son of R. Juda, said: "The punishment for the sin of neglecting to separate Challah is an unblessed harvest gathering; a curse will be sent upon the prices of food; and they will sow, but strangers will eat them up, as it is said (Lev. 26, 16.) Then will I also do this unto you; I will inflict on you terror, consumption and fever that consume the eyes and cause sorrow to the heart; and you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it up. Do not read Behala (terror) but B'chala (on account of Challah), and if the separation of Challah is observed, then, blessings will follow, as it is said (Ezek. 44, 30.) And the first of your dough shall you give to the priest, to cause a blessing to rest on thy house." The punishment for the sin of neglecting laws concerning Terumah and tithes, is that the sky will withhold rain and dew; high prices [in food] will prevail; there will be no profits, and men will run about to earn a livelihood and will not succeed; as it is said (Job 24, 19.) Drought and heat speedily consume the snow waters; so doth the grave those who have sinned. What does that prove? In the academy of R. Ishmael it was taught that it means: "On account of your failure to discharge the duties which I commanded you to perform during the summer you will be robbed during the snow-water winter." But if they do give [Terumah and tithes] they will be blessed, as it is said (Malachi 3, 10.) Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse that there may be provision in my house, and prove me but herewith, saith the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open for you the windows of heaven, and pour out for you a blessing Aad b'li duy? What is meant by Aad b'li duy? Rami b. Chama in the name of Rab said: "Until your lips grow tired of saying it is enough;" The penalty for the sin of robbery is an invasion of locusts; famine prevails, and people will be fed on the flesh of their own sons and daughters; as it is said (Amos 4, 1.) Hear this word, O ye cows of Bashan, that are on the Mount of Samaria, who oppresseth the poor, who crusheth the needy. (Fol. 33a) Raba said: "For instance, those women of Mechuza who eat but do nothing [they force their husbands to deal dishonestly and to rob]; and it is also written (Ib. ib. 9.) I had smitten you with blasting and mildew, etc., and your vineyards, your fig-trees and your olive trees did the caterpillar devour. It is also written (Joel 1, 4.) What the caterpillar left hath the cankerworm eaten, and that which the cankerworm left hath the crickets eaten; and it is also written (Is. 9, 19.) And he snatcheth on the right hand and is (yet) hungry; and he eateth on the left hand, and is not (yet) satisfied; every man shall eat the flesh of his own arm. Do not read Zero'o (his arm) but read Zaro (his children)." As punishment for the sin of delaying sentence, perverting sentence, corrupting sentence, and neglecting to study the Torah, the sword [of an enemy], with its terrible preying system, pestilence and famine, will come. People will eat but will never be satisfied; they will eat their bread by weight; as it is written (Lev. 26, 25.) And I will bring over you the sword, avenging the quarrel of my covenant. And it is also written (Ib. ib. 26.) When I break unto you the staff of bread; and ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver your bread by weight, and ye shall eat and not be satisfied, i.e., the word Brith (covenant) refers to the Torah, for it is written (Jer. 33, 25.) If my covenant (Brith) were not by day and night, etc., and it is written (Lev. 26, 43.) Because even they despised my ordinances. As punishment for the sin of swearing in vain, swearing falsely, defaming of the name of God, and desecration of the Sabbath, wild beasts multiply, cattle are destroyed, the people decrease, and the roads become desolate, as it is said (Lev. 25, 23.) And if notwithstanding these things, ye will not be reformed by me. Do not read B'aile (these things) but read it B'ala (swearing), and it is written (Ib. ib. 22.) And I will send out against you the beasts of the field, etc. [Hence we know that the above punishment is for swearing falsely]. It is written concerning swearing falsely (Ib. 19.) And ye shall not swear by my name falsely and thou shalt not thus profane the name of God (Chilalta); concerning the defamation of the name of God it is written (Ib. 22, 12.) So that they profane not my Holy name (T'chalalu), and concerning the desecration of the Sabbath, it is written (Ex. 31, 14.) Every one that defileth it (Mechalaleha) shall surely be put to death. We infer from the word, Chillul (profanation) which appears in all three places [that the punishment for defaming God's name and desecrating the Sabbath is the multiplication of wild beasts, as it is in the case of swearing falsely]. As a punishment for the sin of shedding blood, the Temple is destroyed and the Shechina departs from Israel, as it is written (Num. 35, 33.) And ye shall not defile, etc., and ye shall not render unclean the land which ye inhabit, in the midst of which I dwell, i.e., but if ye do render unclean the land which ye inhabit, then ye will neither inhabit it nor will I live in your midst. As a punishment for the sin of adultery, idolatry and for the neglect of the laws concerning land in the Sabbatical years and the years of Jubilee exile comes, and other nations come and occupy the places of those exiled; as it is written (Lev. 18, 2.) For all these abominations have the men of the land done, etc., and again (Ib.) And the land became defiled, etc. Wherefore I have visited its iniquity upon it, etc. It is also written (Ib. ib. 28.) That the land may not submit you forth when ye defile it. Concerning the warning against idolatry, it is written (Ib. 26, 30.) And I shall cast your carcasses, etc. It is also written further And I will make desolate your sanctuary, etc. And ye will be scattered among the nations. Concerning the warning in the matters of the Sabbatical year and the year of Jubilee, it is written (Ib. ib. 34.) Then shall the land satisfy its Sabbath, all the days of its desolation, when ye are in the land of the enemies, etc. All the days of its supposed desolation shall it rest.

“Her mother-in-law said to her: Where did you glean today and where did you work? Blessed be he who acknowledged you. She told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked, and she said: The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz” (Ruth 2:19).
“Her mother-in-law said to her: Where did you glean today?” It is taught in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua: More than the owner does for the poor person, the poor person does for the owner, as Ruth said to Naomi: “The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz.” She did not say “who worked with me,” but rather “with whom I worked.” I performed many actions and many favors for him because he gave me one slice of bread.¹⁹⁶The mitzva of giving charity is more beneficial for the giver than the money is to the receiver. This is true not only in the World-to-Come but even in this world, as indicated by the word “today” in the verse (Etz Yosef). “[They will be punished for their iniquity] because [ya’an uvya’an] [they rejected my ordinances]” (Leviticus 26:43), yaan is ani.¹⁹⁷The punishment to which the verse refers will be administered due to mistreatment of the poor [ani – ayin, nun, yod] which is an anagram of yaan [yod, ayin, nun]. Rabbi Shilo of Naveh said: The destitute [haevyon], your wealth is dependent on him [honakh bei].¹⁹⁸Evyon is an acronym for yehav hon. If you do not support him, you will be forced to give away your wealth.
Rav Naḥman said: It is written: “[Give to him] because for [biglal] this matter [the Lord God will bless you]” (Deuteronomy 15:10) – there is a wheel [galgal] that spins over everyone in the world, like a water wheel;¹⁹⁹A wheel to which are attached buckets, which alternately fill with water and spill out their water. one that is full empties and one that is empty becomes filled.²⁰⁰Eventually the rich become poor and the poor become rich. Bar Kappara said: You do not have a person who does not experience this circumstance [poverty], and if not him, his son experiences it, and if not his son, his grandson experiences it. It was taught that Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov says: The vengeance against idolaters is in the hands of Israel, and the vengeance against Israel is in the hands of their poor. The vengeance against idolaters is in the hands of Israel, as it is stated: “I will place My vengeance upon Edom by means of My people Israel” (Ezekiel 25:14). The vengeance against Israel is in the hands of their poor, as it is stated: “He will cry to the Lord against you, and it will be a sin in you” (Deuteronomy 15:9). Rabbi Avun said: This poor person stands at your door and the Holy One blessed be He stands to his right. If you give to him, He who is standing to his right blesses you, and if not he will exact retribution from that man, as it is stated: “Because He will stand to the right of the indigent” (Psalms 109:31).
Rabbi Abbahu said: We must be grateful to the impostors among them. It was told that Rabbi Yoḥanan and Reish Lakish descended into the bathhouse of Tiberias and a poor person encountered them. He said to them: ‘Give me charity.’ They said to him: ‘When we exit we will give you charity.’ When they exited, they found that he was dead. They said: ‘Since we did not give him charity during his lifetime, we will tend to him in his death.’ When they rose to wash him, they found a purse of dinars with him. They said: ‘Rabbi Abbahu spoke well: We must be grateful to the impostors among them, as were it not for the impostors among them, when a person sees one of them asking him for charity and he does not give him immediately, he would be punished with death.’

R. Nehemiah held: Punishment is desirable, for just as sacrifices are a means of atonement, so is chastisement. Concerning sacrifice it is written: And it shall be accepted for him (Lev. 1:4), and about punishment it is stated: And they shall be paid the punishment of their iniquity (ibid. 26:43). The fact is that punishment is more important (for atonement) than sacrifice. For sacrifices involve property, while punishment involves the body. Thus it says: Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life (Job. 2:4).