Midrash su Salmi 72:19
וּבָר֤וּךְ ׀ שֵׁ֥ם כְּבוֹד֗וֹ לְע֫וֹלָ֥ם וְיִמָּלֵ֣א כְ֭בוֹדוֹ אֶת־כֹּ֥ל הָאָ֗רֶץ אָ֘מֵ֥ן ׀ וְאָמֵֽן׃
E benedetto sia il suo nome glorioso per sempre; E che tutta la terra si riempia della sua gloria. Amen e Amen.
Esther Rabbah
“It was during the days of Aḥashverosh; that [hu] Aḥashverosh who reigned from India to Kush, one hundred and twenty-seven provinces.” “Who reigned” – but had not yet reigned.5This is obscure. Perhaps it means that he had not been an heir to the throne. “From India [Hodu] to Kush” – but isn’t it a short distance from Hodu to Kush?6It is unclear what places the Rabbis identified as Hodu and Kush. The Babylonian Talmud (Megila 11a) records two opinions: one that they are at opposite ends of the earth (consistent with their identification with India and Ethiopia) and the other that they were adjacent to one another, as is implied here. Rather, just as he reigned from Hodu to Kush, so he reigned over one hundred and twenty-seven provinces. On a similar note: “For he [Solomon] ruled over the entire region beyond the river, from Tifsaḥ to Gaza” (I Kings 5:4), but isn’t it a short distance from Tifsaḥ to Gaza? Rather, just as he reigned from Tifsaḥ to Gaza, so he reigned from one end of the world to the other end.
Similarly, “From your palace to Jerusalem, kings bring gifts to You”7The literal reading of the verse is “From Your Temple above Jerusalem, to You will kings bring gifts.” The midrash is reading the verse to mean that the kings will bring gifts from the king’s palace to the Temple in Jerusalem. (Psalms 68:30) – is it not but a short distance from your palace [i.e. the king’s palace] to [the Temple in] Jerusalem? Rather, just as it is commonplace that the sacrificial offerings [go] from the palace to [the Temple in] Jerusalem, so too, processions with gifts are destined to be commonplace for the messianic king. That is what is written: “All kings will prostrate themselves before him” (Psalms 72:11). Rabbi Kohen, brother of Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba, said: Just as the Divine Presence is found between the Temple and Jerusalem, so will the Divine Presence fill the world from one end to the other end. That is what is written: “May the whole earth be filled with His glory, amen and amen” (Psalms 72:19).
Similarly, “From your palace to Jerusalem, kings bring gifts to You”7The literal reading of the verse is “From Your Temple above Jerusalem, to You will kings bring gifts.” The midrash is reading the verse to mean that the kings will bring gifts from the king’s palace to the Temple in Jerusalem. (Psalms 68:30) – is it not but a short distance from your palace [i.e. the king’s palace] to [the Temple in] Jerusalem? Rather, just as it is commonplace that the sacrificial offerings [go] from the palace to [the Temple in] Jerusalem, so too, processions with gifts are destined to be commonplace for the messianic king. That is what is written: “All kings will prostrate themselves before him” (Psalms 72:11). Rabbi Kohen, brother of Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba, said: Just as the Divine Presence is found between the Temple and Jerusalem, so will the Divine Presence fill the world from one end to the other end. That is what is written: “May the whole earth be filled with His glory, amen and amen” (Psalms 72:19).
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