하박국 3:1 미드라쉬: Midrash Tehillim

Another thing, a meditation for David. King Solomon said (Proverbs 21:23), "He who guards his mouth and his tongue guards his soul from troubles." Similarly, it says (Ecclesiastes 5:4), "Do not be hasty with your mouth." The prophets said to the Holy One, Blessed be He, "Why do You do good to the heathen nations in this world?" He said to them, "Because I wrote (Deuteronomy 7:10), 'And repays those who hate Him.'" Similarly, it says (Isaiah 45:9), "Woe to him who argues with his Maker, as a potsherd among the potsherds of the earth!" Habakkuk came and did the same thing, making a figurine of bread in the land, and said, "I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts" (Habakkuk 2:1). What is the "rampart" that he fashioned? "And I will look out," (Habakkuk 2:1) said the Holy One, Blessed be He. "I am looking for all who break their pledge to come to Me." He began to cry out (Psalms 13:2), "How long, O Lord, will You forget me forever?" The Holy One, Blessed be He, answered him, "You are a son of Torah and not a son of the earth. It is written for you in one tablet, Aleph Bet, and then you shall say, 'Inform me of the end.' " And similarly, it says (Habakkuk 2:2), "And the Lord answered me, 'Write the vision down, inscribe it clearly on the tablets." The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to him, "When I told you in the first exile that Babylon would be filled for seventy years, what is written (Chronicles II 36:22-23)? 'Cyrus, King of Persia, etc.' Even now, when the end comes, I will redeem you." Similarly, it says (Isaiah 34:8), "For it is a day of vengeance for the Lord and a year of recompense for the vindication of Zion." When Habakkuk heard this, he fell on his face and pleaded before the Holy One, Blessed be He, saying, "Master of the Universe, do not judge me willfully but rather ignorantly," as it says (Habakkuk 3:1), "A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet upon his shigionoth." Similarly, David said, "Meditation for David. When he was being pursued by Saul" (Psalms 57:1). Similarly, it says (Samuel I 26:2), "And Saul arose and went down to the Wilderness of Ziph. When he came to kill him, Abishai said to David, 'I will go and strike him down,' for it says (Samuel II 16:9), 'Thus says Abishai the son of Zeruiah, 'Let me go and strike him down.'" And the people said to him, "You shall not go out, for if you go out, it will be a snare for you" (Samuel II 18:3).

A prayer for Moses, the man of God. As it is written (Proverbs 15:8), "The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord." This refers to Balaam and Balak. When Balaam said to Balak (Numbers 23:1-29), "Build me seven altars," the Lord said to him, "I do not accept sacrifices from the wicked." (Ecclesiastes 4:6) "Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind." This means that the handful of fine flour that the Israelites bring before me as a regular offering is better than all the sacrifices you offer me, which are an abomination to me. And why do I desire the prayer of the righteous? As it is written (Proverbs 15:8), "The prayer of the upright is His delight." This refers to Israel. Therefore, let us pray to Moses. The Rabbis and Rabbi Judah ben Simon said that there are four parts to prayer, and they arranged words before the Lord. Jeremiah said (Jeremiah 32:16), "Then I prayed to the Lord," and he said after giving the deed of purchase. By arranging words, what is written above them is elevated (Jeremiah 24:1), "Behold, the baskets of figs came to the city." And Habakkuk arranged a prayer, as it is written (Habakkuk 3:1), "A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet." What is written above this matter? (Habakkuk 1:3) "Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong?" David also said, as it is written (Psalm 17:1), "A prayer of David. Hear a just cause, O Lord." What is written above this matter? (Psalm 10:1) "Why, O Lord, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?" And so Moses arranged a prayer, as it is written (Deuteronomy 9:26), "So I prayed to the Lord, and said: 'O Lord God.'" What is written above this matter? (Exodus 32:11) "Why should your anger burn against your people?" Rabbi Judah ben Simon said, "In the middle of their prayer, they should place a cantor's name." Jeremiah said (Jeremiah 32:16), "Then I prayed to the Lord." And what does it mean when it says (Psalm 17:1), "A prayer of David. Hear, O Lord, my righteous plea; listen to my cry. Give ear to my prayer-- it does not rise from deceitful lips."? David also said (Psalm 17:14), "By your hand save me from such people, Lord, from those of this world whose reward is in this life. May what you have stored up for the wicked fill their bellies; may their children gorge themselves on it, and may there be leftovers for their little ones." Moses said (Deuteronomy 9:26), "I prayed to the Lord and said, 'Sovereign Lord, do not destroy your people, your own inheritance that you redeemed by your great power and brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand.'" And what is meant by (Exodus 32:10), "Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation." But God responded, "I have forgiven them, as you asked" (Numbers 14:20). Rabbi Helbo said that Moses wrote thirteen copies of the Torah on the day he left the world, one for each tribe, and one was placed in the ark, so that if Israel should ever forge one of them, they would not be able to do so. And he did not bless the tribe of Shimon because of what they did in Shittim. Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin said in the name of Rabbi Levi, "Nevertheless, Judah was preferred with them, as it says (Joshua 19:9), 'From the portion of the children of Judah was the inheritance of the children of Simeon.'" Simeon is compared to a bull whose dealings were evil, so they tied a lion to his tail, but he still had strength. Thus, Judah was compared to a lion, as it says (Genesis 49:9), "Judah is a lion's cub." Therefore, they were preferred with him. Rabbi Yudan said, "He did not establish a judge," and similarly it says (Judges 3:31), "After Ehud came Shamgar son of Anath, who struck down six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad. He too saved Israel." He did not establish a king, and similarly it says (1 Kings 16:15), "In the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, Zimri reigned in Tirzah seven days." And Moses said eleven psalms in response to the eleven tribes.

Another thing is prayer to Moses. As it says in Deuteronomy 9:18, "And I fell down before the Lord, as at the first." Rabbi Berachiah and Rabbi Helbo in the name of Rabbi Samuel bar Nahmani said that Moses did not leave a corner of the heavens without falling on it, as it says, "And I fell down before the Lord." We find that many prophets and righteous people prayed before the Lord, but the scripture only attributes it to Moses because his actions were unique among all creatures. How does a person stand and pray for an hour or two, and when he prays a lot, he prays for one day? But Moses prayed for forty days and forty nights. The Lord said to the ministering angels, "Have you seen his strength?" As it says in Psalm 103:20, "Bless the Lord, his angels, the mighty in strength." This is Moses, who told Israel the words of the Lord, as it says in Exodus 20:19, "You speak with us, and we will hear." What they could not hear, he put forth to them in the tens of thousands. So prayer is like this for Moses. A parable: Three people came to take freedom from the king. The first one came and paid respects and said, "What do you want?" He said, "For the rebellion that I rebelled, I ask that you give me freedom." He gave it to him. The second one came and he gave it to him. The third one came and said, "What do you want?" He said, "My lord the king, I do not ask for anything for myself, but for a certain country that is desolate and belongs to you, decree that I may build it." The king said, "This is a great crown for you." Similarly, David came to pray. The Lord said to him, "What do you want?" He said, "Hear my prayer," as it says in Psalm 17:1, "Hear my just cause, O Lord." Habakkuk came and said, "What do you want?" He said before Him what he said before you by mistake: Hananiah and his companions were thrown into the fiery furnace and escaped, while Rabbi Hananiah ben Teradion and his companions were burned. When he saw this, he exclaimed and said, "Master of the universe, these are righteous and those are righteous, these are pure and those are holy, so why do these escape and those are burned?" (Habakkuk 1:13) Therefore, the law fails, and justice never goes forth, for the wicked surround the righteous, so justice comes out perverted (Habakkuk 1:4). However, Nebuchadnezzar is uncircumcised and impure, while Daniel is holy and pure, so he clothed Daniel in purple (Esther Rabbah 7:14). Ahasuerus is uncircumcised and impure, while Mordecai is holy and pure, so he crowned Mordecai (Esther Rabbah 10:10). Pharaoh is uncircumcised and impure, while Joseph is holy and pure, so he made Joseph ruler (Esther Rabbah 7:12). For the wicked surround the righteous, so justice comes out perverted. At that moment, the Holy One, blessed be He, was revealed to him and said, "After you call out in protest, not so shall it be, for the righteous shall live by faith, but if he shrinks back, My soul shall have no pleasure in him." (Habakkuk 2:4) At that moment, he began to say by mistake, "I uttered a prayer to Habakkuk the prophet about my mistakes." Moses came to him and said, "What do you seek?" He replied, "Please forgive the iniquity of this people." He said to him, "This is a great crown for you, that I pass over my will before you, as it is said, 'A prayer of Moses, the man of God.' " He did not need to say, "Moses, the man of God." It can be compared to a king who was angry with his son and sought to kill him. He said to him, "Please, my love for you, forgive him and do not kill him." And so he did. The next day, the king began and said, "If I had killed my son myself, I would have stumbled. But remember my loved ones who asked for mercy for him, and what shall I do for him? I shall make him a father to kings." Thus said the Lord (Deuteronomy 9:14), "Let me alone and I will destroy them." Moses said to him (Numbers 11:15), "If this is how you treat me, please kill me." What does "kill me" mean? "Kill the one who kills." If I speak against them, they will kill me, but if I do not do your bidding, I am obliged to be killed before you. From here and from here I am the one who is killed. Kill the one who kills. Please kill me. What is written (Exodus 32:20), "And God said, 'I have forgiven according to your word.'" Afterwards, the Lord said, "If I had killed Israel, I would have stumbled myself. I hold good for Moses who asked for mercy for them, as it is said (Exodus 32:11), 'And Moses pleaded.' What shall I do for him? I will make him a father to the prophets." Let there be prayer for Moses, the man of God. When Israel came out of Egypt, he stood and prayed, saying, "I do not know the way." The Lord said to him (Exodus 23:20), "Behold, I send an angel before you." Moses said to him, "Even if you send many angels, I will not leave you if you are not before me." He said to him, "I swear by your life, I will do your decree." (Exodus 33:14) "My presence shall go and I will give you rest."