Midrash su Cantico dei cantici 7:8

“This, your stature, is likened to a date palm, and your breasts to clusters” (Song of Songs 7:8).
“This, your stature, is likened to a date palm.” Rabbi Ḥonya [said] in the name of Rabbi Dosa bar Tevet: The Holy One blessed be He created two evil inclinations in His world, the inclination of idol worship and the inclination of licentiousness. The inclination of idol worship has already been eradicated, but the inclination of licentiousness exists. The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘Anyone who can overcome the [urge to engage in] licentiousness, I attribute to him credit as though he overcame both of them.’
Rabbi Yehuda said: [This is analogous] to a snake charmer who had snakes. He charmed the large one and left the small one and said: ‘Anyone who can overcome this [small] one, I will ascribe him credit as though he overcame both of them.’ So too, the Holy One blessed be He eradicated the inclination of idol worship and left the one of licentiousness. He said: ‘Anyone who overcomes the inclination of licentiousness, credit is attributed to him as though he overcame both of them.’
When was the inclination of idol worship eradicated? Rabbi Benaya said: [In the days of] Mordekhai and Esther. The Rabbis say: [In the days of] Ḥananya, Mishael, and Azarya. The Rabbis responded to Rabbi Benaya: Was it eradicated by an individual? Rabbi Benaya responded to the Rabbis: Were Mordekhai and Esther individuals? This supports Rabbi Benaya: Rabbi Tanḥuma, Rabbi Meyasha, and Rabbi Yirmeya [said] in the name of Rabbi Shmuel bar Kahana: It is written: “Sackcloth and ashes were arranged for the multitudes” (Esther 4:3); most of that generation was righteous.⁴⁸The fact that many people donned sackcloth and ashes and engaged intensely in prayer indicates that Mordekhai and Esther were not the only righteous individuals.
This supports the Rabbis: Rabbi Pinḥas and Rabbi Ḥilkiya in the name of Rabbi Shmuel: It is written: “Your survivors will remember Me among the nations where they were taken captive” (Ezekiel 6:9). “Your survivors,” these are Ḥananya, Mishael, and Azarya, who were survivors from the fiery furnace. Among the nations where they settled is not written here, but rather, “among the nations where they were taken captive.” The Holy One blessed be He spoke to Israel: “Ephraim: What do I have to do with idols anymore?” (Hosea 14:9).⁴⁹God tells the prophet that Ephraim, representing Israel, will say this. What do I have to do with the inclination of idol worship? “I have responded [aniti]” (Hosea 14:9); I have subdued myself [uneiti] for His sake. “I will gaze upon him [va’ashurenu]” (Hosea 14:9), did I not recite song [shira] before You? That is to say: It is I who subjugated the inclination of idol worship.⁵⁰In this passage, the midrash reads the verse in Hosea to mean that Israel, referred to as Ephraim, claims to have subjugated itself before God and refrained from idolatry. God responds that it was He who eliminated the inclination for idol worship.
If so, why did Israel’s existence become uncertain during the days of Haman? The Rabbis and Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai, the Rabbis say: Because Israel engaged in idol worship. Rabbi Shimon said: Because they ate from the cooked dishes of the gentiles. They said to him: But was it not only the residents of Shushan the capital who partook in the feast? That is what is written: “Upon the completion of those days the king made a banquet for all the people who were present in Shushan the capital” (Esther 1:5). He said to them: But are not all Israel responsible for one another, as it is written: “They will stumble over one another” (Leviticus 26:37), one in the iniquity of his counterpart?
He said to them: If it is according to your opinion, you have brought upon all of Israel liability for elimination, as it is written: “One who sacrifices to gods, [save to the Lord only,] shall be destroyed” (Exodus 22:19). They said to him: Nevertheless, they did not worship it with all their hearts, as it is stated: “For He does not afflict willingly” (Lamentations 3:33).⁵¹Just as they did not worship idols with their hearts, God did not afflict them “willingly [milibo],” or literally, “with His heart” (Yefei Kol). Nevertheless, “and torment the children of men” (Lamentations 3:33); He placed over then an extremely harsh man to subject them to an ordeal, this is Nebuchadnezzar, who arose and made their wound more painful.
Rabbi Berekhya said in the name of Rabbi Levi: In two places, Israel acted with the Holy One blessed be He. At Sinai, they acted with their mouths but did not act with their heart, as it is stated: “But they beguiled Him with their mouth and lied to Him with their tongue…their heart was not steadfast toward Him” (Psalms 78:36–37). In Babylon, they acted with their heart but did not act with their mouth,⁵²When Nebuchadnezzar forced them to bow to his idol, they remained loyal to God in their hearts but not outwardly. as it is stated: “For He does not afflict willingly” (Lamentations 3:33), and nevertheless, “and torment the children of men” (Lamentations 3:33). He placed over them a man, as it is stated: “A man who is an adversary and an enemy. This wicked Haman” (Esther 7:6), and made their wound more painful.
In the opinion of the Rabbis, Israel engaged in idol worship in the days of Nebuchadnezzar. In the opinion of Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai, Israel did not engage in idol worship in the days of Nebuchadnezzar. In the opinion of the Rabbis, Israel engaged in idol worship, how so? Nebuchadnezzar set up an idol and designated twenty-three people from each and every nation and twenty-three from amongst Israel.⁵³These individuals were to bow down to the idol at its inaugural ceremony. Three of those designated from Israel were Ḥananya, Mishael, and Azarya, who did not prostrate themselves, but the other twenty did.
In the opinion of Rabbi Shimon, Israel did not engage in idol worship, how so? Nebuchadnezzar set up an idol and designated three people from each and every nation and three from amongst Israel. Ḥananya, Mishael, and Azarya, who were the three from Israel, arose and asserted themselves and did not engage in idol worship. They went to Daniel and said to him: ‘Daniel our master, Nebuchadnezzar set up an idol and designated three people from each and every nation and designated us from amongst Israel. What do you say, shall we prostrate ourselves to it or not?’ He said to them: ‘Behold, the prophet is before you, go to him.’ They immediately went to Ezekiel. They said to him as they said to Daniel: ‘Shall we prostrate ourselves to it or not?’ He said to them: ‘I have already received a tradition from my teacher Isaiah: “Hide for a brief moment until the fury has passed” (Isaiah 26:20).’⁵⁴Ezekiel advised them to go into hiding until they would be able to escape (Matnot Kehuna).
They said to him: ‘Do you want them to say that all the nations prostrate themselves to this idol?’ He said to them: ‘What do you say?’ They said to him: ‘We want to diminish it, in that we will be there and will not prostrate ourselves to it, so that they will say: All the nations prostrate themselves to this idol other than Israel.’ He said to them: ‘If that is your wish, wait for me until I consult the Omnipotent.’ That is what is written: “Men of the elders of Israel came to seek the Lord and they sat before me” (Ezekiel 20:1). Who were they? They were Ḥananya, Mishael, and Azarya. He said before the Holy One blessed be He: ‘Master of the universe, Ḥananya, Mishael, and Azarya request to give their lives for the sanctity of Your name. Will You stand by them or not?’ He said: ‘I will not stand by them.’ That is what is written: “Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and say to them…Do you come to seek Me? (Ezekiel 20:3). After you caused Me to destroy My house, to burn My Sanctuary, and to exile My children among the nations; after that you come to seek Me? “As I live, I will not acquiesce to you” (Ezekiel 20:3).
At that moment, Ezekiel wept, lamented, and wailed to himself: ‘Woe to the enemies of Israel,⁵⁵This is a euphemism for Israel itself, employed when referring to difficult events or situations. the remnant of Judah is lost. Only these remain from Judah, as it is stated: “Among them from the children of Judah were Daniel, Ḥananya, Mishael, and Azarya” (Daniel 1:6),⁵⁶These individuals were selected when Nebuchadnezzar asked for youths from the line of the kings of Judah who were handsome, wise, and knowledgeable. Thus, these were the elite of the remnant of Judah. and this is the answer that they receive?’ He was weeping and walking. When he arrived, they said to him: ‘What did the Holy One blessed be He say to you?’ He said to them: ‘I will not stand by you.’ They said to him: ‘Whether He stands or whether He does not stand, we are giving our lives to sanctify His name.’ Know that it is so, for as long as they had not come before Ezekiel, what did they say to Nebuchadnezzar? “We have no need to reply to you in this matter. Behold our God, whom we worship, exists; He is able to deliver us” (Daniel 3:16–17). After they came to Ezekiel and heard the response, they said to Nebuchadnezzar: “But if not, let it be known to you, king” (Daniel 3:18), whether He delivers or whether He does not deliver, “let it be known to you, king, that we will not worship your gods, and we will not prostrate ourselves to the golden image that you have erected” (Daniel 3:18).
When they went out from before Ezekiel, the Holy One blessed be He revealed Himself and said: ‘Ezekiel, what do you think, that I will not stand by them? I will certainly stand by them.’ That is what is written: “So said the Lord God: Concerning this too, I will acquiesce to the house of Israel” (Ezekiel 36:37). ‘But leave them and do not say anything to them. I will leave them to proceed unsuspecting.’ That is what is written: “He who walks innocently will walk securely” (Proverbs 10:9).
What did they do? They went and dispersed themselves among the populace and said, ‘Even if He does not deliver, “let it be known to you…”’⁵⁷They dispersed themselves among the crowd so that everyone would hear them refuse to prostrate themselves. That is why people take oaths and say: ‘To the One who established the world on three pillars.’ Some say that these are Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and some say that these are Ḥananya, Mishael, and Azarya.
“This, your stature, is likened to a date palm [tamar]” (Song of Songs 7:8), just as it was decreed that Tamar be burned, yet she was not burned,⁵⁸See Genesis 38:24–26. so too, it was degreed that they be burned yet, they were not burned. Into what was the fire transformed? Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Shmuel bar Neḥemya, Rabbi Elazar said: It became like a planet. Rabbi Shmuel bar Neḥemya said: It became like the radiance of the heavens.

“The king said to her: What troubles you, Queen Esther, and what is your request… Esther said: If it pleases the king, let the king and Haman come today to the banquet… The king said: Hasten Haman…The king and Haman came to the banquet that Esther had prepared…Haman emerged on that day joyful and glad of heart, but upon Haman’s seeing Mordekhai at the king’s gate, and he did not stand, and he did not move on his account, Haman became filled with fury…Haman restrained himself…and brought his supporters and Zeresh his wife, etc.” (Esther 5:3–5; 8–10).
Among all of them, there was no one capable of giving counsel like Zeresh his wife. He [Haman] had three hundred and sixty-five advisers, corresponding to the days of the solar year. His wife said to him: The person [Mordekhai] about whom you are asking, “If he is of the progeny of the Jews…you will not prevail against him” (Esther 6:13) – unless you approach him with cleverness, with [a strategy] that has never been attempted against members of his nation. If you drop him into a fiery furnace, Ḥananya and his cohorts have already been rescued [from it]; if [you place him in] the lions’ den, Daniel already emerged from it. If you incarcerate him in prison, Joseph already emerged from it. If you ignite a fire in a vat beneath him, Menashe [king of Judah] already pleaded, and the Holy One blessed be He acceded to his plea and he emerged from it. If you exile him to the wilderness, his ancestors already procreated in the wilderness, and they were confronted with numerous ordeals and passed them all and were rescued. If you blind his eyes, Samson took numerous Philistine lives when he was blind. Rather, hang him on a gibbet, as no member of his people has survived it.
Immediately, “the matter was pleasing to Haman and he prepared the gibbet” (Esther 5:14). From what tree was that gibbet crafted? The Rabbis said: When he came to prepare it, the Holy One blessed be He called to all the trees of Creation: ‘Who will give [of its wood] so this wicked one [Haman] will be hanged on it?’
The fig said: ‘I will give of myself, as Israel brings first fruits from me. Moreover, Israel was likened to the first fruits [of a fig]; that is what is written: “Like a first fruit on a fig tree in its first season”’ (Hosea 9:10).
The grapevine said: ‘I will give of myself, as Israel was analogized to me; that is what is written: “You transported a vine from Egypt”’ (Psalms 80:9).
The pomegranate said: ‘I will give of myself, as Israel was analogized to me; as it is stated: “Your temple is like a pomegranate slice”’ (Song of Songs 4:3).
The nut said: ‘I will give of myself, as Israel was likened to me; that is what is written: “I have descended to the nut garden”’ (Song of Songs 6:11).
The citron said: ‘I will give of myself, as Israel takes from me for a mitzva; that is what is written: “You shall take for you on the first day the fruit of a pleasant tree…”’¹This verse refers to the mitzva to take the four species on Sukkot. Rabbinic tradition identifies the “pleasant tree” as the citron. (Leviticus 23:40).
The myrtle said: ‘I will give of myself, as Israel was analogized to me; as it is stated: “And he was standing among the myrtles”’ (Zechariah 1:8).
The olive said: ‘I will give of myself, as Israel was analogized to me; as it is stated: “The Lord called your name a flourishing olive-tree, fair of fruit and form”’ (Jeremiah 11:16).
The apple said: ‘I will give of myself, as Israel was analogized to me; as it is stated: “Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the boys” (Song of Songs 2:3), and as it is written: “And the fragrance of your face like apples”’ (Song of Songs 7:9).
The palm said: ‘I will give of myself, as Israel was analogized to me; that is what is written: “This, your stature, is likened to a palm”’ (Song of Songs 7:8).
Acacia trees and cypress trees said: ‘We will give of ourselves, as the Sanctuary was crafted and the Temple was constructed from us.’
The cedar and the date said: ‘We will give of ourselves, as we are analogized to the righteous, as it is stated: “The righteous man flourishes like a palm tree; like a cedar in Lebanon he grows tall”’ (Psalms 92:13).
The willow says: ‘I will give of myself, as Israel was analogized to me, as it is stated: “Like willows by streams of water” (Isaiah 44:4); and they take from me for the mitzva of the four species in the lulav.’
At that moment, the thorn said before the Holy One blessed be He: ‘Master of the universe, I, who have nothing to ascribe [litlot] to myself, I will give of myself, and that impure one will be hanged [veyitaleh]. My name is thorn, and he [Haman] is a painful thorn; it is appropriate for a thorn to be hanged on a thorn.’ They found [suitable wood from a thorn] and erected [the gibbet].
When they brought it before Haman, he prepared it at the entrance to his house and measured himself on it to show his servants how Mordekhai should be hanged on it. A divine voice replied to him: ‘The tree is suitable for you; this tree has been prepared for you since the six days of Creation.’ The Rabbis there [i.e. Babylonia] say: Where in the Torah is there [an allusion] to Haman? It is, as it is stated: “Was it from the tree [hamin haetz]” (Genesis 3:11), which is expounded to read: Haman haetz.
Another matter: “it was on the third day” (Esther 5:1). Israel is never subject to trouble for more than three days, as in Abraham’s regard it is written: “On the third day, Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place from a distance” (Genesis 22:4). The tribes, “he gathered them into custody for three days” (Genesis 42:17). Jonah, as it is stated: “Jonah was in the innards of the fish three days and three nights” (Jonah 2:1). And the dead will live only after three days, as it is stated: “On the third day He will raise us” (Hosea 6:2).²At the resurrection of the dead, all will be revived for the day of judgement, when some will be granted “eternal life,” and others will receive “reproaches and everlasting abhorrence” (Daniel 12:2). The midrash here is stating that the righteous will experience the anxiety of the impending judgement for three days before they are granted eternal life. This miracle, too, transpired after three days of their fasting; that is what is written: “It was on the third day, that Esther donned royalty” (Esther 5:1). She sent and invited Haman to a banquet with the king on the fifteenth of Nisan. Once they ate and drank, Haman said: ‘The king promotes me, his wife honors me, and there is no one in the kingdom greater than I am,’ and his heart was overjoyed; that is what is written: “Haman emerged on that day joyful and glad of heart” (Esther 5:9).

13) (Vayikra 18:5) "and he shall live in them": and not die in them. R. Yishmael was wont to say: Whence is it derived that if one is told in private to serve idolatry or be killed, he should transgress and not be killed? From "and he shall live in them," and not die in them. — But perhaps even in public he should accede. It is, therefore, written (Vayikra 22:32) "And you shall not desecrate My holy name, and I shall be sanctified in the midst of the children of Israel." If you sanctify My name, I, too, will sanctify My name through you. For just as Chananiah, Mishael, and Azaryah, when all the peoples of the world were prostrated before the idol, stood (straight) as palms — as related of them in the tradition (Shir Hashirim 7:8) "This, your stature, is like a palm" — (Ibid. 9) "I said: 'I shall rise on the palm, I shall grasp its branches'" — This day I shall rise through them in the eyes of the peoples of the world, the deniers of Torah. This day I shall exact punishment for them of their foes — This day I shall resurrect their dead. "I am the L–rd," the Judge, to exact punishment, and trusted to reward.