Midrash su Numeri 28:4

R. Bisna asserted: The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel: My sons, do for Me what I have done for you: I fed you in the desert, therefore you must sacrifice a lamb unto me: Thou shalt offer in the morning (Exod. 29:39). Then washed I thee with water; yea, I cleansed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil. I clothed thee also with richly woven work, and shod thee with sealskin, and I wound fine linen about thy head, and covered thee with silk. I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck. And I put a ring upon thy nose, and earrings in thy ears, and a beautiful crown upon thy head (Ezek. 16:9–12).

"he is Mine": What is the intent of this? It is written (Devarim 15:19) "the male shall you sanctify to the L rd your G d." (How am I to understand this?) As sanctify it so that you receive reward, or if you sanctify it, it is sanctified, and, if not, it is not sanctified? It is, therefore, written "he is Mine" — in any event. What is the intent, then, of "the male shall you sanctify"? Sanctify it (i.e., dedicate it to the L rd) for the sake of receiving reward. Similarly, (Leviticus 6:5) "And the Cohein shall burn wood upon it every morning, etc." What is the intent of this? Is it not written (Isaiah 40:16) "and (the whole forest of Levanon is not sufficient to burn, etc."? What, then, is the intent of "And the Cohein shall burn wood upon it"? For the sake of receiving reward. Similarly, (Numbers 28:4) "the one lamb shall you offer, etc." What is the intent of this? Is it not written (Isaiah, Ibid.) "nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt-offering"? What, then, is the intent of "The one lamb, etc."? For the sake of receiving reward. Similarly, (Exodus 25:8) "and they shall make for Me a sanctuary, etc." What is the intent of this? Is it not written (Jeremiah 23:24) "Do I not fill heaven and earth?" What, then, is the intent of "And they shall make for Me a sanctuary"? For the sake of receiving reward for making it. Once, the disciples spent a Sabbath in Yavneh, R. Yehoshua not among them. When they returned to him he asked them: "What novelty did you hear in Yavneh?" They answered: "After you, our master" (i.e., there is no one to do so after you). R. Yehoshua: "Who spent the Sabbath there?" They: "R. Elazar b. Azaryah." R. Yehoshua: "Is it possible that R. Elazar b. Azaryah spent the Sabbath there without telling you something novel?" They: He expounded this principle (Devarim 31:12) "Gather the people — the men, the women, and the children." Now do little children know the difference between good and evil? But (He did so) in order to bestow reward upon their bringers, to increase the reward of the doers of His will, as it is written (Isaiah 42:21) "The L rd desires for the sake of His righteousness to magnify Torah and to exalt it." At this, he said to them: "What can be more novel than this? I am seventy years old, and I never merited hearing such a thing until this day! Happy are you, father Abraham, from whose loins Elazar b. Azaryah emerged! The generation is not an orphan in whose midst R. Elazar b. Azaryah resides!" They: Our master, he also expounded this principle: (Jeremiah 23:7) "Therefore, behold, days are coming, says the L rd, when it will no more be said: 'As the L rd lives, who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt, etc.'" To what may this be compared? A man desired children and had a daughter — whereupon (when he made a vow) he vowed upon her life. Thereafter, he had a son, and (in vowing) he left off (vowing by) his daughter and vowed upon the life of his son. R. Shimon b. Yochai says: To what may this be compared? A man was journeying and was accosted by a wolf, from which he was rescued — whereupon he would (always) talk about his encounter with the wolf. He was later accosted by a lion, from which he was rescued — whereupon he left off talking about his encounter with the wolf and spoke about his encounter with the lion. Similarly, (Genesis 29:19) "And he called the name of the place Beth-El." The first name was superseded by the second. Similarly, (Ibid. 17:5) "And your name will no longer be called Avram." The first name was superseded by the second. Similarly, (Ibid. 15) "Sarai, your wife, etc." The first name was superseded by the second. (Ibid. 32:28) "Your name will no longer be called Yaakov but Yisrael." The first name remained and the second was superadded. The name of Yitzchak was not changed, for he was thus (originally) called by the Holy One Blessed be He. There are three who were named by the Holy One Blessed be He — Yitzchak, Shlomoh, and Yoshiyahu. Yitzchak — (Ibid. 17:19) "But Sarah your wife will bear a son for you and you shall call his name Yitzchak." Shlomoh (I Chronicles 22:9) "for Shlomoh will be his name." Yoshiyahu (I Kings 13:2) "A son will be born to the house of David. Yoshiyahu will be his name." Others say: Also Yishmael among the gentiles. We find the names of righteous ones and their deeds to be revealed to the L rd before their creation, viz. (Jeremiah 1:5) "Before I created you in the womb, I knew you." Where do we find (the same for) the names of wicked ones? It is written (Psalms 58:4) "The wicked are estranged from the womb, etc."

Rabbi Yitzḥak began: “But you did not call Me, Jacob, for you wearied of Me, Israel” (Isaiah 43:22). Rabbi Yoḥanan understood it [the verse in Isaiah 43:22] from this, as it is written: “A prophecy of Damascus: Behold, Damascus is removed from being a city and it will be a heap of ruins. Abandoned are the cities of Aroer; [they will be for flocks, and they will lie down, and none will threaten]” (Isaiah 17:1–2). What is it that stands in Damascus and evokes Aroer? Isn’t Aroer within the region of Moav? Rather, there were three hundred and sixty-five houses of [different types of] idolatry in Damascus, and they would worship [in] each one of them on its day. They had one day when they would go around to all of them on that day and worship [all of] them, and Israel assembled them together and worshipped them; that is what is written: “The children of Israel continued to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, and they served the Be'alim, and the Ashtarot, and the gods of Aram, and the gods of Sidon, and the gods of Moav, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines; they forsook the Lord, and they did not serve Him” (Judges 10:6), not even in conjunction with other gods.
Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: Shall a priestess not be like an innkeeper?²“Shall a priestess not be like an innkeeper” was apparently a popular saying. Here it means: Should not God be worshipped as much as other gods? Rabbi Yosei son of Rabbi Ḥanina: The Holy One blessed be He said: My children did not even make me like the dessert that comes at the end. Rabbi Levi said: [This is comparable] to a king’s servant who prepared a feast for his soldiers and invited all the king’s legions and did not invite his master. The king said to him: ‘If only you had treated me like all of my soldiers.’ So too, The Holy One blessed be He said: If only My children had treated me like the dessert that comes at the end; rather, “but you did not call Me, Jacob, for you wearied of Me, Israel” (Isaiah 43:22). Regarding the Baal, what is written? “They called in the name of the Baal from the morning until noon, saying: ‘The Baal, answer us.’ But there was no voice, and none responded” (I Kings 18:26). He sits and talks all day and does not tire, but when standing to pray, he tires; he sits and talks all day and does not tire, but when sitting to study,³The verb refers specifically to the practice of reviewing the Oral Torah. he tires. That is: “But you did not call Me, Jacob” – if only I had not known you, Jacob – “for you wearied of Me, Israel” (Isaiah 43:22). “You did not bring Me the sheep of your burnt offerings” (Isaiah 43:23) – these are the two daily offerings, as it is stated: “The one lamb you shall offer in the morning” (Numbers 28:4). “And you did not honor Me with your offerings” (Isaiah 43:23) – these are the portions of the offerings of sacred sanctity that are burned on the altar. “I have not burdened you with a meal offering” (Isaiah 43:23) – this is the handful of flour taken from the meal offering. “And I have not wearied you with frankincense” (Isaiah 43:23) – this is the handful of frankincense.
“You did not buy a cane [kaneh] for Me with silver” (Isaiah 43:24). Rabbi Huna said in the name of Rabbi Yosei: Cinnamon [kinamon] grew in the Land of Israel and goats and deer would eat it. “And with the fat of your offerings you did not satisfy Me,” (Isaiah 43:24) – these are the portions of the offerings of lesser sanctity that are burned on the altar. “Rather, you burdened Me with your sins, you wearied Me with your iniquities” (Isaiah 43:24) – look what your sins have caused me, Jacob. Isn’t it enough that you count the days for the banquet of the men, but even made a banquet for the women; that is what is written: “Also, Vashti the queen made a women’s banquet.”