시편 84:7 미드라쉬: Otzar Midrashim, Shemot Rabbah & Vayikra Rabbah

Chapter 1: Rabbi Yochanan opened: "Those who pass through the valley of weeping (alluding to Gehinnom) turn it into a water spring; moreover, the early rain covers it with blessings." (Psalms 84:7). This teaches that the evil person confesses like the leper (who has to cover his upper lip) confesses, and says "I am so-and-so, son of so-and-so. I committed such-and-such sin in such-and-such place on such-and-such day in front of so-and-so in such-and-such and such-and-such gathering. There are three gates (reading שערים as per mss.) in Gehinnom, one in the sea, one in the wilderness, and one in settled land. From where is the one in the sea? As it is said: "From the belly of Sheol (another name for Gehinnom) I cried out, And You heard my voice." (Jonah 2:3). From where is the one in the wilderness? As it is said: "They went down [with all that belonged to them] alive into Sheol..." (Numbers 16:33). From where is the one in settled land? As it is said: "Declares the LORD, who has a fire in Zion, Who has an oven in Jerusalem." (Isaiah 31:9). There are five types of fire in Gehinnom: Fire that eats and drinks, that drinks and doesn't eat, that eats and doesn't drink, that doesn't eat and doesn't drink, and there is fire that eats fire. There are burning coals the size of mountains in it, and there are burning coals the size of hills in it. There are burning coals the size of the Dead Sea in it, and there are burning coals the size of large stones in it. There are rivers of pitch and sulfur in it, dragging and boiling hot coals of broom-wood. The sentence of an evil person: Angels of destruction push him so that he falls on his face and others receive him from them and push him in front of the fire of Gehinnom, and it opens its mouth wide and swallows him, as it is said: "Assuredly, Sheol has opened wide its gullet And parted its jaws in a measureless gape; And down into it shall go, That splendor and tumult, That din and revelry." (ibid. 5:14), to the one who doesn't have a single positive action that tilts him to the side of merit, but one who has in his hand Torah and good deeds and great afflictions come upon him is saved from the judgement of Gehinnom, as it is said: "Though I walk through a valley of deepest darkness, I fear no harm... Your rod and Your staff—they comfort me." (Psalms 23:4). "Your rod," those are the afflictions, "and Your staff," that is the Torah.

Another interpretation: “Concerning Pharaoh king of Egypt” – Rabbi Levi said: This is analogous to a king who had an orchard and he planted non-fruit-bearing trees and fruit trees in it. His servants said to him: ‘What pleasure do you get from these non-fruit-bearing trees?’ He said to them: ‘Just as I need fruit trees, so too I need the non-fruit-bearing trees, as were it not for the non-fruit-bearing trees, with what would I make bathhouses and furnaces?’ That is why it says: “Concerning the children of Israel and concerning Pharaoh” – just as the praise of the Holy One blessed be He rises to Him from the Garden of Eden from the mouths of the righteous, so too it rises from Gehenna from the mouths of the wicked, as it is stated: “They pass through a valley of tears,¹This is a reference to Gehenna. they render it a place of springs” (Psalms 84:7). What is “they render it a place of springs”? They shed tears like springs until they cool Gehenna with their tears. The praise rises from there, as it is stated: “Blessings cover the early rain [moreh]” (Psalms 84:7).²The reference is to God who is the Teacher [moreh] of all creatures. What do they say? Rabbi Yoḥanan said: You have said well, You have judged well, You have purified well, You have impurified well, You have condemned well, You have taught well, and You have ruled well.
The Garden of Eden is destined to shout and say: Give me the righteous, I have no interest in the wicked, as it is stated: “I hate those who regard empty folly” (Psalms 31:7). Whom do I seek? Those who trusted in Your name, as it is stated: “But I trust in the Lord” (Psalms 31:7).
Gehenna is destined to shout and say: I have no interest in the righteous. Whom do I seek? The wicked: “Empty folly,” those who engage in folly. The Holy One blessed be He says: ‘Give this one the righteous and this one the wicked,’ as it is stated: “The leech has two daughters” (Proverbs 30:15).³This represents the grave and the two paths emanating from it, the Garden of Eden and Gehenna.

“When you will come to the land of Canaan, which I am giving to you as a possession, and I will place a mark of leprosy on a house in the land of your possession” (Leviticus 14:34).
“When you will come to the land of Canaan…and I will place a mark of leprosy on a house in the land of your possession.” That is what is written: “Indeed, God is good to Israel, to those pure of heart” (Psalms 73:1). One might [think God is good] to all; the verse states: “For those pure of heart,” those whose hearts are pure in the performance of mitzvot. “Happy is the person whose strength is in You” (Psalms 84:7). One might [think this applies] to all; the verse states: “Paths in their heart” (Psalms 84:7) – it is for those for whom the paths of Torah are paved in their heart. “Be good, Lord, to those who are good” (Psalms 125:4). One might [think it applies] to all; the verse states: “To the upright of heart” (Psalms 125:4). “The Lord is good; He is a stronghold on the day of trouble” (Nahum 1:7). One might [think it applies] to all; the verse states: “and He knows who takes refuge in Him” (Nahum 1:7). “The Lord is good to those who hope for Him” (Lamentations 3:25). One might [think it applies] to all; the verse states: “To the soul that seeks Him” (Lamentations 3:25). “The Lord is close to all who call Him” (Psalms 145:18). One might [think it applies] to all; the verse states: “To all who call Him in truth” (Psalms 145:18).
“[A psalm of Asaf…] But I, my feet came close to veering” (Psalms 73:1–2). Rav and Levi, one said it was Asaf son of Koraḥ, and one said it was a different Asaf. The one who said it was Asaf son of Koraḥ [interprets the verse to mean]: I would have already been dwelling with my father in Gehenna. The one who said it was a different Asaf: I would have already been dwelling with the wicked in Gehenna. Why? “For I was jealous of the revelers [baholelim]” (Psalms 73:3). In the West,¹The Land of Israel. they say: Those whose hearts are filled with wicked thoughts [holelot]. Rabbi Levi would call them: Arrogant cynics, who bring woe [alelai] to the world.
“I saw the peace of the wicked” (Psalms 73:3). It is written: “There is no peace for the wicked” (Isaiah 57:21), and you say: “Peace of [shelom] the wicked”? Rather, I saw the retribution [shilumim] of the wicked.
“For there are no chains toward their death; indeed, they are healthy” (Psalms 73:4). I did not cause them to contemplate with illnesses,²I did not bring upon them difficult illnesses that might cause them to contemplate the cause of their suffering. Some commentaries cite alternate versions of the text (see Rabbi David Luria; Etz Yosef). and I did not bind them in chains. But rather, “they are healthy [bari ulam]” – I rendered them as healthy [beriim] as the Hall [ulam], as we learned: The entrance to the Hall was forty cubits high and twenty cubits wide and there were five oak cornices above it.³Mishna Midot 3:7. These oak cornices were very sturdy and demonstrated the architectural strength of the Hall. The reference here is to the Hall in the Temple, which was situated between the Courtyard and the Sancturay.
Rabbi Dostai ben Rabbi Yanai in the name of Rabbi Meir and the Rabbis, Rabbi Dostai said in the name of Rabbi Meir: This woman spins one maa of coarse thread and one maa of fine thread. These thin ones are for threads and those are for cords.⁴This is in explanation of the phrase “For there are no chains toward their death, indeed, they are healthy.” Rabbi Dostai explains that although when a woman spins thread some threads come out thick and some thin, in the case of the wicked, they may go through life with no hardship at all. The Rabbis say: They have no string of punishments from which they will die, but rather, they are healthy until judgment day. That is what is written: “He made the Hall of [veulam] the throne where he would judge, the Hall of [ulam] judgment” (I Kings 7:7).
“They are excluded from human toil” (Psalms 73:5). Not to plow, not to sow, and not to reap. “No plagues of man afflict them” (Psalms 73:5), Rav Hamnuna said: Not even the plagues that afflict those in whose regard it is written: “You, My flock, flock of My pasture, you are men” (Ezekiel 34:31). Therefore, Moses cautions Israel: “When you will come to the land of Canaan.”⁵Although the evildoers of the nations of the world do not suffer in this world and are punished in the World to Come, Moses warns Israel that they will suffer for their sins in this world in order that they may be rewarded in the World to Come.