출애굽기 6:5의 미드라쉬

(Lev. 25:14:) “When you sell property to your kinsman.” This text is related (to Prov. 28:22), “An evil-eyed person moves quickly after wealth, [and he does not know that loss will come to him].” This verse speaks about many people. “An evil-eyed person moves quickly after wealth.” This was Cain. The Holy One, blessed be He, said, “You moved quickly to inherit the world. By your life, you shall have a loss [in the matter].” Ergo (in Prov. 28:22), “and he does not know that loss will come to him.” And what happened to him? That he wandered about the world, as stated (in Gen. 4:12), “you shall become a ceaseless wanderer on the earth.” Another interpretation (of Prov. 28:22), “An evil-eyed person moves quickly after wealth”: This was Ephron the Hittite.¹See Tanh. (Buber), Exod. 6:5; and the parallels listed there; and Tanh. (Buber), Deut. 4:4. When Abraham's wife Sarah died, Abraham went to Ephron for him to sell him the cave. Ephron said to him, “Give me its price.” He said to him (in Gen. 23:15), “What is a piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver between you and me?” Abraham began piling up the silver for Ephron, as stated (in Gen. 23:16), “So Abraham heeded Ephron, and Abraham weighed out […].” Ben Ma'ma said, “Although R. Hanina has said, ‘All the shekels in the Torah are sela'im,’ these [shekels] are an exception, since they are centenaria.²The word is Latin. One centenarium was worth 100,000 sesterces. According to a fourth-century inscription of northern Africa, a centenarium was a hundred pieces (e.g., of gold). See A. Souter, A Glossary of Later Latin to 600 A.D. (Oxford: Clarendon, 1957). [So it was] four hundred centenaria [that] Abraham piled up before Ephron.” When Ephron saw the silver, he moved quickly and hastily, as stated (in Gen. 23:6), “bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, “You have moved quickly after money. By your life, you shall have a loss in the matter.” And what was his loss? R. Judah bar Shallum the Levite said, “Every [mention of] Ephron which is written here [in Scripture], before he took the silver from Abraham, is written plene as 'prwn (i.e., with the vowel o represented by the Hebrew consonant w); but this [usage] (in Gen. 23:16) is deficient (hsr), ‘and Abraham weighed out the silver for Ephron ('prn). It is written with the w missing (hsr).” Another interpretation (of Prov. 28:22), “An evil-eyed person moves quickly after wealth”: This is the one who lends at interest, because he is anxious to become wealthy. He lends in order to receive interest from the borrower and becomes wealthy from the interest. But a curse is given through his riches, as stated (ibid., cont.), “and he does not know that loss will come to him.” Another interpretation (of Prov. 28:22), “An evil-eyed person moves quickly after wealth”: This represents those who engage in business in the sabbatical year, in that they move quickly to become rich. They do not observe the sabbatical year, and think they will become rich. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to them, “By your life, you shall have a loss in the matter.” Since he did not observe the sabbatical year, the curse began entering into his money, and he sells [all that he had]. What is written above the matter (in Lev. 25:2), “the land shall observe a Sabbath for the Lord.” And after that it is written (in vs. 14), “When you sell property.” R. Eleazar Haqappar said, “It is written (in Cant. 5:15), ‘His legs are pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold.’ This column has a capital above and a pedestal³Gk.: basis. below.”⁴See Lev. R. 25:8. R. Samuel ben Guriah said, “You have no section in the Torah which does not have a capital above and a pedestal below.⁵The parallel in Lev. R. 25:8 explains that each section can be expounded with reference to what precedes and follows it. What is written above of the matter (in Lev. 25:1-2)? ‘Then the Lord spoke unto Moses on Mount Sinai, saying, “Speak unto the Children of Israel [….] ‘the land shall observe [a Sabbath for the Lord].’”’ Then after that [comes] the section on the jubilee (in vs. 8), ‘And you shall count seven [Sabbaths of years].’ If one has not observed the sabbatical year and the jubilee, or [even] one of them, in the end, I will make it that he will sell his land, [as stated] (in vs. 14), ‘When you sell property to your kinsman.’⁶T’Arakh. 5:9; below, 9:8. [If] he repents, [all] is well; but if not, he will end up selling his field, as stated (in vs. 25), ‘When your relative becomes poor and sells some of his property.’ [If] he repents, that is preferable; but if not, he will end up selling his house, as stated (in vs. 29), ‘And when someone sells a dwelling house.’ [If] he repents, that is preferable; but if not, he will end up going around [begging] at doorways, as stated (in vs. 35), ‘And when your relative becomes poor [… you shall maintain him as a foreigner and sojourner and let him live near you].’ [If] he repents, that is preferable; but if not, he will end up being sold to you, as stated (in vs. 39), ‘And when your relative becomes poor] near you and is sold to you.’ [If] he repents, that is preferable; but if not, he will end up being sold to the gentiles, as stated (in vs. 47), ‘And when a foreigner and a sojourner near you becomes wealthy, [while your relative near him becomes poor and is sold to a sojourning foreigner near you….].’ Now it is not merely the individual himself [at issue here], but that person and all Israel; for so you find in the days of Jeremiah, because they profaned the sabbatical year, they were sold to the gentiles, as stated (in II Chron. 36:17-18), ‘So He brought up the king of the Chaldeans upon them [….] And all the vessels of the house of God […] and the treasures of the house of the Lord […].’ Behold the case of [all] Israel.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses, “See how they will be sold to the gentiles because they profaned the sabbatical year.” He said to him, “Master of the world, did You not say this (in Lev. 25:35), ‘And when your relative becomes poor, and his strength fails near you, [you shall maintain him as a foreigner and sojourner and let him live near you]?’ Fulfill what You said to them and called them, ‘My relatives (ah) and friends,’ as stated (in Ps. 122:8), ‘For the sake of My relatives (ah) and friends’: (Lev. 25:35:) ‘And when your relative becomes poor, and his strength fails near you,’ [i.e.,] when their strength fails before Nebuchadnezzar, the Divine Presence, as it were, will be with them. It is so stated (in Is. 43:14), ‘for your sake I have sent to Babylon.’ (Lev. 25:35, cont.:) ‘You shall maintain (literally, hold on to) him.’ Hold them (i.e., Israel), lest they perish. But how? (Lev. 25:35, cont.:) ‘As a foreigner and sojourner and let him live near you.’ Although they became foreigners and sojourners in Babylon, if You do not give them grace, they will perish, [so just] ‘let him live near You.’” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, “Because of their sins I have sold My house to the Chaldeans.” It is so stated (in Lev. 25:29), “And when someone sells a dwelling house.” This is the house of the Holy One, blessed be He, as stated (in Ps. 132:13), “For the Lord has chosen Zion; he has desired it for His dwelling.” And what happened [to it]? (II Kings 25:9 = Jer. 52:13:) And he burned the house of the Lord [...].” (Lev. 25:29, cont.:) “A walled city.” This is the city of the Holy One, blessed be He, as stated] (in II Chron. 36:19), “and they broke down the wall of Jerusalem […].” That is what the Holy One, blessed be He, says (in Lev. 25:47), “And when a foreigner and a sojourner [near you] becomes wealthy.” This wealthy foreigner is Nebuchadnezzar, and this sojourner is the Median Empire. (Ibid., cont.:) “And is sold to a sojourning foreigner.” This [sojourning foreigner] is the Greek Empire. (Ibid., cont.:) “Or to a foreigner's family.” This is the Edomite Empire (i.e., Rome). Moses said to the Holy One, blessed be He, “Master of the world, why were they sold to these empires?” He said to him, “Because they profaned the sabbatical year.” It is so stated (in II Chron. 36:20–21), “Then he carried off unto Babylon those left from the sword,” and the end of the Scripture is “[until the land made up] its Sabbaths; as long as it lay desolate, it observed Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.” Therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses at the end of all of these sections, “Is it your wish that they do not go into exile? [Then] warn them concerning the sabbatical years and the jubilees.” That is what He has said at the end of all the sections (in Lev. 26:2), “You shall observe My Sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary. I am the Lord.” What is the meaning of “I am the Lord?” I am the one who is going to give you a good reward, if you observe them; but if not, I am going to exact retribution from them through the Empires. Therefore, say to them to be careful about the sabbatical year. Thus it is stated (in Lev. 25:2), “the land shall observe a Sabbath for the Lord,” so that they do not attain [the punishments in] those sections written below (in Lev. 26:14-45). (Lev. 25:14:) “When you sell property to your kinsman or buy from your neighbor's hand, do not deceive.” [Thus] you shall not deceive one another. The Holy One, blessed be He, said, “For I also sold the whole world to Abraham and did not deceive him. He [then went back and sold it to Me,” as stated (Genesis 14:19), “the Buyer⁷Qoneh. A more traditional rendering of this word here would be MAKER. of heaven and earth.” When? When Abraham observed the commandments of the Holy One, blessed be He. Before the Torah was given to Israel, our father Abraham kept it [and observed all the commandments that are in the Torah]. R. Samuel bar Nahman said in the name of R. Alexandra, “Abraham even observed the [rabbinic precept of] eruvim of cooked foods.”⁸See Tanh. (Buber), Gen. 3:1, and the notes there. Thus it is stated (in Gen. 26:5), “Because ('qb 'shr) Abraham heeded [My voice and kept My charge: My commandments, My statutes, and My Torahs].” What is the meaning of 'qb?⁹Gen. R. 95:3; Cant. R. 5:16:1; PR 21:12; cf. Ned. 32a. R. Simeon ben Laqish said, “At the age of three years Abraham recognized the Holy One, blessed be He.”¹⁰So also Numb. R. 18:21. According to other traditions Abraham recognized his creator at the age of forty-eight (Gen. R. 30:8; 46:2; Cant. R. 5:16:1), at the age of fifty (PR 21:12), or at the age of one (Gen. R. 95:3). How is this shown? 'Qb is a number. (I.e., 'ayin) is seventy, q (i.e., qof) is one hundred, [and] b (i.e., bet) is two, for a total of one hundred seventy-two. Now (according to Gen. 25:7) Abraham lived one hundred seventy-five [years]. Deduct from them. [The result is] three, when he was little. Ergo, at the age of three years Abraham recognized the Holy One, blessed be He. When the Holy One, blessed be He, saw how Abraham loved the commandments, He began buying heavenly and earthly [places] for him, as stated (in Gen. 14:19), “Blessed be Abram of God most high, Buyer of heaven and earth.” So also it says (Gen. 13:15), “For all the land (or earth) which you see, to you I will give it.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said, “All the world is wholly Mine; and I bought it for Abraham, because he has observed My commandments. But you, through your sins, have caused him to be [like] an alien who rents a house from its owners, for so Jeremiah has said (in Jer. 14:8), ‘why are you like a foreigner in the land […]?’ When you sinned before Me, I sold you, as stated (in Ps. 44:13), ‘You shall sell Your people for no money […].’ For that reason, if someone has to sell a house, a field, or [some] article, you shall not deceive one another.” It is therefore written (in Lev. 25:14), “shall not deceive his brother.” (Lev. 25:15-18:) “According to the years after the jubilee […]. According to the multitude of years, you shall increase […]. A man shall not deceive his brother […]. So you shall carry out my statutes and judgements.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel, “Just as I sold my people and returned again to reinstate them, as stated (Jer. 3:14), ‘”Turn back, faithless children,” says the Lord; “for I am a master to you.”’ It is also written (in Is. 52:3), ‘For thus says the Lord, “You were sold for free, and you shall be redeemed for no money.”’ So too you should not sell the land absolutely, as stated (in Lev. 25:23), ‘[it] shall not be sold permanently.’ The Land [of Israel] is dear to me because I have made it holier than all the [other] lands in the world.” You yourself know, when the Land of Israel was distributed to the tribes, it did not pass from tribe to tribe. Rather [it was distributed] to each tribe separately. You yourself know. Look at how many lawsuits the daughters of Zelophehad brought, so that their inheritance would not pass from one tribe to another. Moreover the Holy One, blessed be He, conceded to their words, as stated (in Numb. 27:7), “The daughters of Zelophehad speak what is right.” (Numb. 36:9:) “Thus no inheritance shall be transferred from one tribe to another.” Therefore, if a redeemer is found for it, fine; but if not, whoever buys it acquires it until the jubilee. Then on the jubilee he releases it. Thus it is stated (in Lev. 25:41), “Then he shall depart from you, he and his children with him and he shall return to his family.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel, “When the year of the redemption draws near, I will redeem you, as stated (in Is. 63:4), ‘For a day of vengeance was in My heart, but there came My year of redemption.’”

Another interpretation (of Prov. 28:22): AN EVIL-EYED PERSON MOVES QUICKLY AFTER WEALTH. This was Ephron the Hittite.²See above, Tanh. (Buber), Exod. 6:5; and the parallels listed there; below, Tanh. (Buber), Deut. 4:4. When Abraham's wife Sarah died, Abraham went to Ephron for him to sell him the cave. Ephron said to him: Give me its price. He said to him (in Gen. 23:15): WHAT IS A PIECE OF LAND WORTH FOUR HUNDRED SHEKELS OF SILVER BETWEEN YOU AND ME? SO BURY YOUR DEAD. Abraham began piling up the silver for Ephron, as stated (in Gen. 23:16): SO ABRAHAM HEEDED EPHRON, AND ABRAHAM WEIGHED OUT THE SILVER FOR EPHRON…. Ben Ma'ma said: Although R. Hanina has said: All the shekels in the Torah are sela'im, these < shekels > are an exception, since they are centenaria.³The word is Latin. One centenarium was worth 100,000 sesterces. According to a fourth-century inscription of northern Africa, a centenarium was a hundred pieces (e.g., of gold). See A. Souter, A Glossary of Later Latin to 600 A.D. (Oxford: Clarendon, 1957). s.v. < It was > four hundred centenaria < that > Abraham piled up before Ephron. When Ephron saw the silver, he moved quickly and was persuaded, as stated (in Gen. 23:6): BURY YOUR DEAD IN THE CHOICEST OF OUR TOMBS. The Holy One said to him: You have moved quickly after money. (Prov. 28:22): AN EVIL-EYED PERSON MOVES QUICKLY AFTER WEALTH. By your life, you shall have a loss in the matter. (Prov. 28:22, cont.): AND HE DOES NOT KNOW THAT POVERTY (HSR) WILL COME TO HIM. And what was his loss (rt.: HSR)? R. Judah bar Shallum the Levite said: Every EPHRON which is written here < in Scripture >, before he took the silver from Abraham, is written plene as 'PRWN (i.e., with the vowel O represented by the Hebrew consonant W); but this < usage > (in Gen. 23:6) is deficient (HSR): AND ABRAHAM WEIGHED OUT THE SILVER FOR EPHRON ('PRN). It is written with the W missing (HSR).

(Exod. 21:1:) AND THESE ARE THE ORDINANCES…. This text is related (to Ps. 147:19–20): HE DECLARES HIS WORDS TO JACOB, <HIS STATUTES AND ORDINANCES TO ISRAEL>. HE HAS NOT DONE SO FOR ANY NATION; <AND, AS FOR HIS ORDINANCES, THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN THEM>.¹¹Tanh., Exod. 6:5. Aquila the son of Hadrian's sister wanted to convert to Judaism, but he was afraid of his uncle Hadrian.¹²See Exod. R. 30:12. He said to him: I want to engage in a business. He said to him: Do you perhaps lack silver or gold? Here, you have the treasury¹³Gk.: thesauros. before you. He said to him: I want to engage in a business in order to gain knowledge of humanity, and I want to consult you on how to do it. He said to him: Go and engage in any business¹⁴Gk.: pragmateia. that you see established on earth, since in the end it will increase (hit'allah) <in value >. Now he intended to convert to Judaism. He came to the land of Israel and studied the Torah. When R. Eliezer and R. Joshua came to him after some time, they found him and saw his face transformed. They said to each other: Aquila has been studying the Torah. When they came to him, he began to ask them questions, and they would answer him. He went up to Hadrian. He said to him: Why is your face transformed? Has your business failed, or is someone troubling you? He told him: No. Then why has your face been transformed? He said to him: Because I have been studying Torah. And not only that, but I have been circumcised. He said to him: And who told you <to do so>? He said to him: I consulted with you. He said to him: When? He said to him: When I told you I wanted to engage in a business, you told me: Engage in any business that you see established on earth, since in the end it will increase (hit'allah) <in value>. So I went back over all the peoples and did not find <any> people established on earth like Israel. Now in the end they will be exalted (hit'allah), just as Isaiah has said (in Is. 49:7): THUS SAYS THE LORD, THE REDEEMER OF ISRAEL, HIS HOLY ONE, TO {ONE WHO DESPISES ONE's} [A DESPICABLE] SOUL, TO AN ABHORRENT NATION, TO A SLAVE OF RULERS: < KINGS SHALL SEE, AND NOBLES SHALL RISE UP. AND THEY SHALL PROSTRATE THEMSELVES ON ACCOUNT OF THE LORD, WHO IS FAITHFUL, EVEN THE HOLY ONE OF ISRAEL, BECAUSE HE HAS CHOSEN YOU.> His associate regent¹⁵Gk.: sygkathedros. said to him: Are these whom you have been annihilating going to be those before whom kings will stand, as stated (in Is. 49:7): KINGS SHALL SEE AND RISE UP; NOBLES ALSO SHALL PROSTRATE THEMSELVES? Hadrian hit him on the jaw. He said to him: One only puts a bandage on a wound. Would [someone] put it on sound flesh? Would he not put it on a wound? Now if one sees some common soldier,¹⁶Lat.: galearius (“solder’s servant,” “batman”). he does not stand in his presence.¹⁷The exact intent of the passage is doubtful. Enoch Zundel in his commentary, ‘Anaf Yosef, on the parallel in Tanh., Lev. 4:5, suggests that, as a bandage on a wound restores the flesh to normal without improving on it, so Israel may be restored to normal but not beyond to a position outranking kings. Similarly, the lowliest soldier may win promotion but will never outrank the emperor. Therefore, Hadrian need never fear the Jews. What did his associate regent do? He went up on the roof, fell down, and died. Thus the Holy Spirit cries out (in Jud. 5:31): SO SHALL ALL YOUR ENEMIES PERISH, O LORD. Hadrian said to Aquila: Why did you do this? He said to him: Because I wanted to learn Torah. He said to him: You could have learned it without becoming circumcised. He said to him: Without circumcising, one could not learn it, as stated (in Ps. 147:19): HE DECLARES HIS WORDS TO JACOB, [HIS STATUTES AND ORDINANCES (mishpatim) TO ISRAEL. TO JACOB:] To whoever from Jacob practices circumcision. HIS STATUTES: This means Torah. AND ORDINANCES: These are the laws. [Thus it is stated] (in Exod. 15:25): THERE HE ESTABLISHED FOR THEM [A STATUTE AND AN ORDINANCE (mishpat)]. The Holy One said to Moses: I have given them the Torah; you give them the ordinances (mishpatim). The Holy One said to them: If you desire to survive in this world, observe the ordinances (mishpatim), for {one} [a world] cannot survive without justice (mishpat). The generation of the flood would not have perished from the world, had they not transgressed against justice (mishpat). R. Eleazar ben Pedat said: What is written about them (in Job 4:20)? FROM MORNING TO EVENING THEY ARE SHATTERED; THEY PERISH FOREVER WITHOUT ANYONE NOTICING (rt.: SYM). Ergo (in Exod. 21:1): AND THESE ARE THE ORDINANCES (mishpatim) <THAT YOU SHALL SET (rt.: SYM) BEFORE THEM>.¹⁸See Gen. R. 26:6; 31:5; Exod. R. 30:13.