Midrash su Proverbi 12:21

Further said R. Jochanan in the name of R. Simon b. Jochai: "It is permitted to quarrel with the wicked in this world, because it is said (Pr. 28, 4.) They that forsake the Torah praise the wicked, but those who observe the Torah contend with them." We also have a Baraitha to the same effect. R. Dostai b. Mathun says: "It is permitted to quarrel with the wicked in this world; as it is said (Pr. 28, 4.) They that forsake the Torah praise the wicked, but those who observe the Torah contend with them; and if some one should whisper to you saying: 'Behold! it is written (Ps. 37, 1.) Of David! Do not fret thyself because of the evil-doers.' Tell him that he whose heart smites him [who has no clear conscience] says so, for the real meaning of the passage is: Do not compete with the evil-doers, i.e., to be among evil-doers; And neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity, to be like them. And it is also said (Pr. 23, 17.) Let not thy heart be envious against sinners, but in the fear of the Lord (remain) at all times." Is that so? Behold! R. Isaac said: "If you see a wicked man upon whom fortune smiles, do not quarrel with him, for it is said (Ps. 10, 5.) Prosperous are his ways at all times; and moreover, he always wins by law, as it is said (Ib.) Far aloof (remain) Thy punishments from him; and moreover, he sees [revenge] in his enemies, as it is said (Ib.) All his assailants, he puffeth at them." There is no difficulty [in understanding this]; one deals with secular affairs and the other deals with. divine affairs, and, if you wish, you may say both passages deal with divine affairs and there is no difficulty; for one deals with a wicked man upon whom fortune smiles, and the other with the wicked man upon whom fortune does not smile; and, if you wish, you may say both deal with a wicked man upon whom fortune smiles; yet there is no difficulty, for one deals with a perfectly righteous man and the other with one who is not righteous throughout; for R. Huna said: "What means the passage (Habakuk 1, 13.) Wherefore wilt thou look upon those that deal treacherously: be silent when the wicked swallows us him that is more righteous than he? How can it be possible that a wicked man should swallow up a righteous man? Behold! It is written (Ps. 37, 33.) The Lord will not leave him in his hand, and it is written (Pr. 12, 21.) No wrong can come unawares to the righteous! We must therefore say: "One, more righteous than he is, the wicked person does destroy, but he cannot destroy the perfectly righteous man." And, if you wish, you may say that when fortune smiles upon a man, it is different [and even one perfectly righteous should not fret at him].

(Fol. 59) R. Juda said: "He who eats three ticklas of asafoetida before a meal will be exposed to a dangerous skin disease." Said R. Abahu: "It happened that I have once eaten one tikle of asafoetida, and had I not immediately jumped into water, I would have been exposed to that skin-disease. I have applied to myself the passage (Ecc. 7, 12) Wisdom preserveth the life of him that hath it." To the Prince of the Exile was brought a deer, whose hind legs were cut off. After Rab examined it at the bunch of converging sinews in the thigh, he declared it to be Kosher (fit to be eaten). He had intended to give them permission to serve it half roasted, when Samuel said to him: "Does not the master fear the suspicion of a serpent [the bite of which has caused the falling off of the hind legs]?" Whereupon Rab remarked: "What is its test [to discover its exact nature]?" The way of testing it is to place it in a stove upon fire; then it will discover itself. This was done, and the consequence was that it crumbled and fell in pieces. Samuel then applied the following passage to Rab (Pr. 12, 21) There shall no mischief befall the righteous. Rab then applied the following passage to Samuel (Dan. 4, 6) No secret causeth thee trouble.

As he was about to cross the Nile, the tax-collectors gathered about him and asked: “What are you carrying in the cabinet?” “Barley,” he replied. They retorted: “It is not barley, but wheat.” “Then charge me the duty for wheat,” said he. “But it may be pepper,” they argued. “Then take the tax for pepper,” he insisted. They said to him: “It must be gold coins.” Finally, they compelled him to open the box. When they beheld her countenance, which was as radiant as the sun, they said to him: “Truly, she is not meant for a commoner.” And the princes of Pharaoh saw her, and praised her unto Pharaoh (Gen. 12:15). When Abraham saw this, he began to weep, and to supplicate the Holy One, blessed be He: “Master of the Universe, is this to be my reward for my abiding faith in You? For the sake of Your compassion and Your loving-kindness, do not put my trust in You to shame.” Sarah likewise cried out: “Master of the Universe, I knew nothing at all, but when he told me that you commanded him: Get thee out of thy country, I trusted in Your word. Now I have been separated from my father, my mother, and my husband, and this evil man will approach me and abuse me. Act for the sake of Your great name, and because of my trust in Your word.” The Holy One, blessed be He, replied: You may be certain that no harm will befall you or your husband, as it is written: There shall no mischief befall the righteous, but the wicked are filled with evil (Prov. 12:12).

Furthermore, I will make an example of Pharaoh and his household, as it is said: And the Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of the word of Sarai (Gen. 12:17). What is indicated by the phrase Because of the word of Sarai? An angel descended with a staff from heaven at that moment, and when Pharaoh later approached her to remove her shoe, he struck him upon the hand, and when he approached to touch her clothing, the angel struck him again. However, the angel consulted Sarah before administering each blow. How do we know that? We know that because it is written: Because of the word of Sarai. Scripture does not say “Because of” or “For the sake of” or “On account of her merit,” but simply, Because of the word of Sarai. If Sarah told the angel to strike him, he struck him, and if she told him to desist, momentarily, he desisted. The officials, the officers, and all the members of his household were smitten by the angel simultaneously, as it is said: And the Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of the word of Sarai. Every plague already known to man, and those yet to be experienced by mankind, descended upon him, his household, his many servants, the walls, the columns, the utensils, and all his possessions to fulfill the verse: There shall no mischief befall the righteous, but the wicked are filled with evil (Prov. 12:21).

What is written above concerning the matter (in Gen. 12:1): NOW THE LORD SAID UNTO ABRAHAM: GO < FROM YOUR NATIVE LAND > … UNTO THE LAND THAT I WILL SHOW YOU. "Unto such and such a land" is not written here, but UNTO THE LAND THAT I WILL SHOW YOU. So Abraham was on the move until he came to the land of Israel. May the name of the Holy One be blessed!³¹Tanh., Gen. 3:5. He desired to test the righteous one and to make his good works known. For his sake there immediately came a famine. When he encountered the famine, he said to his wife, Sarah: See, there is a famine here. Our masters have said: There was never a famine in the world more severe than < that > one. Abraham said to Sarah: Consider Egypt. It would be nice to settle there inasmuch as famine has come. The supply is available there, and meat is plentiful. Let us go there. At that time they went down to Egypt. When they arrived at the gate³²Gk.: pule. of Egypt, Abraham said to Sarah: My girl³³Literally: “daughter.” For a similar use of “daughter,” see Ruth 8:2, Ps. 45:11 [10]. Egypt is a place of whoredom, as stated (in Ezek. 23:19-20): … < SHE WAS A WHORE IN THE LAND OF EGYPT, AND SHE LUSTED OVER THEIR PARAMOURS > WHOSE FLESH IS LIKE THE FLESH OF ASSES. Let us, however, put you in a box and lock you in it. Then he did so. When they arrived at the gate of Egypt, the customs officers said to him: What are you carrying in the box? He said to them: Beans. They said to him: No, it is pepper. Give us the duty for pepper. He said to them: I shall hand it over. They said to him: It is not that. Rather this box is full of gold coins. He said to them: I shall hand you over the duty for gold coins. When they saw that he was accepting whatever they would say about it, they said: Unless he had something of value in his possession, we < could > not be raising the price for him. At that moment they said to him: You are not moving from here until you open the box. Then he said to them: It is up to me to give you whatever you want, but you are not to open the box. Nevertheless, they insisted on opening the box against his will and saw Sarah. When they saw her, they said: In the case of one like this, it is not seemly to touch her. Immediately they took < her > and brought her to Pharaoh. So they brought her into his palace³⁴Lat.: palatium. When Abraham saw that they had taken her and brought her unto Pharaoh, Abraham began to cry. < Sarah > also said: Sovereign of the World, Abraham came with you under a promise,³⁵Gen. R. 42:2. since you had said to him (in Gen 12:3): I WILL BLESS THOSE WHO BLESS YOU. Now I did not know anything except that, when he told me that you had said to him (in Gen. 12:1): GO, I believed your words. But now, < when > I have been left isolated from my father, my mother, and my husband, this wicked man has come to mistreat me. He (Abraham) had acted because of your great name and because of our trust in your words. The Holy One said to her: By your life, nothing evil shall harm you, as stated (in Prov. 12:21): NO HARM SHALL BEFALL THE RIGHTEOUS, BUT THE WICKED ARE FULL OF EVIL. So in regard to Pharaoh and his house, I will make an example³⁶Gk.: dogma or deigma. of them. Thus it is written (in Gen. 12:17): THEN THE LORD AFFLICTED PHARAOH AND HIS HOUSE WITH GREAT PLAGUES AT THE WORD OF SARAI.³⁷Cf. yKet. 7:11 (31d). In that very hour an angel came down from the heavens with a rod in his hand. < When > Pharaoh came to take off her shoe, he smote him with his hand. < When > he came to touch her clothes, he would smite him. And the angel would consult with Sarah on each and every blow. If she said that he should be afflicted, he was afflicted. When she would say: Wait for him until he recovers himself, the angel would wait for him, as stated (in Gen. 12:17): AT THE WORD OF SARAI. What is the meaning of AT THE WORD OF SARAI? That < here > is not stated "On the matter of," nor "over the cause of," nor "for the sake of," nor "in consequence of," but AT THE WORD OF SARAI.³⁸Like the other alternatives, AT THE WORD OF would generally be understood idiomatically in the sense of “on account of,” but the midrash argues for the expression to be taken literally. Thus, if she said that he should be afflicted, he was afflicted; and, if not, he was not afflicted. R. Judah b. R. Shallum the Levite said: The Holy One did not allow a wicked man to occupy himself with a righteous woman. Our masters have said: < When > he came to take off her shoe, leprosy immediately came over him,³⁹Cf. Lev. R. 16:1. and his governors⁴⁰Gk.: eparchoi. were also afflicted with him—also the princes, also the servants, and also his family. And the walls also were afflicted along with him,⁴¹On walls having leprosy, see Lev. 14:34-53. as stated (in Gen. 12:17): THEN THE LORD AFFLICTED PHARAOH AND HIS HOUSE. Why? (Ibid., cont.:) AT THE WORD OF SARAI, ABRAM'S WIFE….

(Fol. 121) It happened that a certain man was drowned in the lake Samki and that R. Shila married his widow. Rab said then to Samuel: "Come, let us put him under a ban." Whereupon Samuel replied: "Let us first send word to him [and inquire as to his theory."] They sent to him the following: "If one disappears in waters without an end is his wife permitted to be married or not?" "His wife is not allowed to be married," was his reply. "And is the lake of Samki considered as water with an end or like water without an end? [they inquired again.] Whereupon he replied that it is considered like waters without an end. "Why then did the master do that [marry her?"] "I made a mistake, because I thought that since the water is stationary it ought to be likened to water with an end, however, it is not so, since there are waves, and the waves may have cast him out alive." Samuel then appliel to Rab the following passage (Pr. 12, 21) No wrong can come unawarded to the righteous. Rab in return applied to Samuel the following passage (Ib. 11, 14) But help through the multitude of counsellors, [because he advised him the right course.]