בְּכָל־זֹ֭את חָֽטְאוּ־ע֑וֹד וְלֹֽא־הֶ֝אֱמִ֗ינוּ בְּנִפְלְאוֹתָֽיו׃
그럴지라도 저희가 오히려 범죄하여 그의 기사를 믿지 아니하였으므로
Midrash Tanchuma
R. Simeon the son of Yosinah interpreted the verse For all this they sinned still, and believed not in His wondrous works (Ps. 78:32) as follows: The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Jacob: If you had ascended and trusted Me, you would never have been compelled to descend, but since you did not have faith, your descendants will be oppressed by these four kingdoms with imposts, taxes on their crops, and poll-tax. Will this oppression continue forever? Jacob cried out. And the Holy One, blessed be He, replied: And thou, do not fear, O My servant Jacob; neither be dismayed, O Israel; for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return and sit in quiet and ease, and none shall make him afraid (Jer. 30:10). I will save thee from the land of thy captivity, from Gaul, Spain, and its neighbors. And Jacob shall return from Babylon; and sit in quiet, from Media; and ease, from Greece; and none shall make him afraid refers to Edom, for I will make an end of all the nations, whither I have scattered thee, yet of thee I will not make an end (ibid., v. 11). That is to say, I will make an end of all the nations that reap their fields completely, but since (the people of) Israel do not reap their fields completely,3Thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of your field (Lev. 19:9–10). of thee I will not make an end. However, I will punish you, O Israel, in this world in order to cleanse you of your iniquities for the sake of the world-to-come. Hence it is said: And he dreamed.
Vayikra Rabbah
Rabbi Naḥman began: “You, have no fear, My servant Jacob” (Jeremiah 30:10) – it is speaking of Jacob, as it is written: “He dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set on the ground…[God’s angels were ascending and descending on it]” (Genesis 28:12). Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: These are the guardian angels of the nations of the world, as Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: It teaches that the Holy One blessed be He showed him the guardian angel of Babylon ascending seventy rungs, [the guardian angel] of Media [ascending] fifty–two, [the guardian angel] of Greece [ascending] one hundred and eighty, and [the guardian angel] of Edom ascending, but [Jacob] did not know how many.4The guardian angel of Edom, a nation traditionally understood to be the forebear of Rome, seemed to be ascending continuously and not descending. At that moment, Jacob our patriarch grew fearful. He said: ‘Is it possible that this one has no descent?’ The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘“You, have no fear, My servant Jacob,” even if it ascends and sits near Me, I will bring it down from there.’ That is what is written: “If you raise yourself like the eagle, or place your nest among the stars, [from there I will bring you down, the utterance of the Lord]” (Obadiah 1:4).
Rabbi Berekhya, Rabbi Ḥelbo, and Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai said in the name of Rabbi Meir: It teaches that the Holy One blessed be He showed Jacob the guardian angel of Babylon ascending and descending, of Media ascending and descending, of Greece ascending and descending, and of Edom ascending and descending. The Holy One blessed be He said to Jacob: ‘You, too, will ascend.’ At that moment, Jacob our patriarch grew fearful and said: ‘Perhaps, God forbid, just as there was descent for these, so it will be for me.’ The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘“You, have no fear,” if you ascend, there will be no descent for you forever.’ He did not believe, and he did not ascend.
Rabbi Berekhya, Rabbi Ḥelbo, and Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai said: Rabbi Meir would expound: “Nonetheless, they continued to sin and did not believe in His wonders” (Psalms 78:32), this is Jacob our patriarch, who did not believe and did not ascend. The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘Had you believed and ascended, you would never have descended. Now that you did not believe and did not ascend, your descendants will be subjugated by the four kingdoms in this world with land taxes, produce taxes, animal taxes, and head taxes.’ At that moment, Jacob grew fearful. He said before the Holy One blessed be He: ‘Master of the universe, is it, perhaps, forever?’ He said to him: “Do not be afraid, Israel, as, behold, I will save you from afar” (Jeremiah 30:10).
Just as it says: “They came to me from a distant land, from Babylon” (Isaiah 39:3). “And your descendants from the land of their captivity” (Jeremiah 30:10), that is from Gaul, from Spain, and from its allies. “And Jacob will return” (Jeremiah 30:10) from Babylon, “and be calm” (Jeremiah 30:10), from Media, “and tranquil” (Jeremiah 30:10), from Greece, “and there is none to cause trembling” (Jeremiah 30:10), from Edom. “For I will bring annihilation upon all the nations to which I dispersed you” (Jeremiah 30:11), upon the nations of the world who reap their entire fields, I will bring annihilation. “But I will not bring annihilation upon you” (Jeremiah 30:11); but upon Israel, who do not reap their entire fields, as it says: “You shall not reap the corner of your field” (Leviticus 23:22), I will not bring annihilation. “I will chastise you with justice” (Jeremiah 30:11), I will afflict you with suffering in this world in order to cleanse you of your iniquities in the future. When? It is in the seventh month.5Some suggest that there are missing words in the midrash, and the text is to be understood as saying that during the time of justice, namely on Rosh HaShana, in the seventh month, the suffering needed in order to cleanse one of iniquities can be foregone for those who have supported the poor. This is derived from the juxtaposition of the law requiring leaving a corner of one’s field for the poor and the verses regarding Rosh HaShana (Leviticus 23:22–24; Rabbi David Luria).
Rabbi Berekhya, Rabbi Ḥelbo, and Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai said in the name of Rabbi Meir: It teaches that the Holy One blessed be He showed Jacob the guardian angel of Babylon ascending and descending, of Media ascending and descending, of Greece ascending and descending, and of Edom ascending and descending. The Holy One blessed be He said to Jacob: ‘You, too, will ascend.’ At that moment, Jacob our patriarch grew fearful and said: ‘Perhaps, God forbid, just as there was descent for these, so it will be for me.’ The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘“You, have no fear,” if you ascend, there will be no descent for you forever.’ He did not believe, and he did not ascend.
Rabbi Berekhya, Rabbi Ḥelbo, and Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai said: Rabbi Meir would expound: “Nonetheless, they continued to sin and did not believe in His wonders” (Psalms 78:32), this is Jacob our patriarch, who did not believe and did not ascend. The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘Had you believed and ascended, you would never have descended. Now that you did not believe and did not ascend, your descendants will be subjugated by the four kingdoms in this world with land taxes, produce taxes, animal taxes, and head taxes.’ At that moment, Jacob grew fearful. He said before the Holy One blessed be He: ‘Master of the universe, is it, perhaps, forever?’ He said to him: “Do not be afraid, Israel, as, behold, I will save you from afar” (Jeremiah 30:10).
Just as it says: “They came to me from a distant land, from Babylon” (Isaiah 39:3). “And your descendants from the land of their captivity” (Jeremiah 30:10), that is from Gaul, from Spain, and from its allies. “And Jacob will return” (Jeremiah 30:10) from Babylon, “and be calm” (Jeremiah 30:10), from Media, “and tranquil” (Jeremiah 30:10), from Greece, “and there is none to cause trembling” (Jeremiah 30:10), from Edom. “For I will bring annihilation upon all the nations to which I dispersed you” (Jeremiah 30:11), upon the nations of the world who reap their entire fields, I will bring annihilation. “But I will not bring annihilation upon you” (Jeremiah 30:11); but upon Israel, who do not reap their entire fields, as it says: “You shall not reap the corner of your field” (Leviticus 23:22), I will not bring annihilation. “I will chastise you with justice” (Jeremiah 30:11), I will afflict you with suffering in this world in order to cleanse you of your iniquities in the future. When? It is in the seventh month.5Some suggest that there are missing words in the midrash, and the text is to be understood as saying that during the time of justice, namely on Rosh HaShana, in the seventh month, the suffering needed in order to cleanse one of iniquities can be foregone for those who have supported the poor. This is derived from the juxtaposition of the law requiring leaving a corner of one’s field for the poor and the verses regarding Rosh HaShana (Leviticus 23:22–24; Rabbi David Luria).
Midrash Tehillim
Nevertheless, they sinned and did not believe in His wonders. Rabbi Berachiah and Rabbi Shimon ben Yosei in the name of Rabbi Meir say, "The Holy One, blessed be He, showed Jacob a ladder, and it had seventy rungs going up and down. Every fifty-two years it went up and down. Greece goes down 180, and Edom goes up higher than its boundary, and sees and is afraid." The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him (Edom) "Do not be afraid, Jacob, My servant. Just as these fell, so will those fall." The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Jacob, "You too shall ascend." Jacob said before Him, "Master of the Universe, I am afraid I may fall." The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, "God forbid, do not be afraid." And from where do you say that the Holy One, blessed be He, showed Jacob the Temple built, and a sword, and offerings being brought, and priests serving, and the Shechinah departing, as it is said, "And he dreamed, and behold a ladder"? There is no dream without a interpretation. Behold, this ladder is the Temple, and its top reached the heavens - these are the offerings brought, whose aroma ascends to the heavens. And behold, angels of God are going up and down it - these are the priests who ascend and descend on the ramp, who are called angels, as it is said, "For the angel of the Lord of Hosts is he." "And behold, the Lord stood upon it" - as it is said, "I saw the Lord standing upon the altar." Rabbi Shimon ben Yosei says, "Rabbi Meir interpreted 'Nevertheless, they sinned,' and did not believe, that if they had gone up and not come down again, they would not have had to undergo the servitude that we are undergoing."