출애굽기 23:20의 미드라쉬

(Exod. 23:20:) BEHOLD, I AM SENDING AN ANGEL <BEFORE YOU TO GUARD YOU ON THE WAY>…. This text is related (to Jer. 3:19): THEN I SAID: HOW WOULD I⁴¹This translation fits the context of the midrash. PUT (rt.: ShYT) YOU AMONG THE CHILDREN,… !⁴²Tanh., Exod. 6:17; see below, Tanh. (Buber), Numb. 4a:15. R. Eleazar ben Pedat says: What is this <expression>: WOULD I PUT (rt.: ShYT) YOU? It had occurred to me that we, I and you, would be < alone > in the world.⁴³Tanh., Exod. 6:17, adds, “I as father and you as children.” How did you manage for me to bring the peoples of the world in among you?⁴⁴Cf. Tanh., Exod. 6:17: “How did you manage to bring the peoples of the world in between me and you?” This expression is nothing but an expression of setting apart (as in Gen. 30:40): AND HE PUT (rt.: ShYT) HIS OWN FLOCKS <APART>…. R. Hama bar Hanina said: What is the meaning of WOULD I PUT (rt.: ShYT) YOU?⁴⁵Cf. Exod. R. 32:2. There was a great love between me and you.⁴⁶Below, Tanh. (Buber), Lev. 7:12; Numb. 4a: 15; Exod. R. 32:2. How did you manage that I should hate you? (Jer. 3:19:) HOW WOULD I PUT (rt.: ShYT) YOU AMONG THE CHILDREN! This expression is nothing but an expression of hatred, as used (in Gen. 3:15): I WILL PUT (rt.: ShYT) ENMITY <BETWEEN YOU AND THE WOMAN>. Another interpretation (of Jer. 3:19:) HOW WOULD I PUT (ShYT) YOU AMONG THE CHILDREN ! R. Joshua ben Levi said: I spoke in <your> defense.⁴⁷Gk.: synegoria. You behaved toward me so that I denounced you and pronounced you guilty (rt.: HYB). The expression (rt.: ShYT) is nothing but an expression of guilt (rt.: HYB), as used (concerning one guilty of negligence in Exod. 21:30): IF A RANSOM IS PUT (rt.: ShYT) UPON HIM, <HE SHALL GIVE WHATEVER IS PUT (rt.: ShYT) UPON HIM TO REDEEM HIS LIFE>. Another interpretation (of Jer. 3:19:) HOW WOULD I PUT (ashit; rt.: ShYT) YOU AMONG THE CHILDREN! R. Berekhyah the Priest said: You were as dear to me as someone who has a single field, which he fertilizes, cultivates, and weeds. So dear were you to me. Your behavior toward me was for you to commit lawlessness. Now this word (ashit) is nothing but an expression for lawlessness, as used (in Is. 5:6): AND I WILL MAKE (ashit) IT (i.e., the Holy One's vineyard) A DESOLATION. (Jer. 3:19, cont.:) AND GIVE YOU A DESIRABLE LAND, a land that the great ones of the world (i.e., the patriarchs) desired.⁴⁸Below, Tanh. (Buber), Numb. 4a: 16. Abraham said to the Hittites (in Gen. 23:4): GIVE ME A BURIAL SITE. The Holy One also endeared it to {the children of} Isaac, as stated (in Gen. 26:3): RESIDE IN THIS LAND, <AND I WILL BE WITH YOU AND BLESS YOU>…. Jacob said (according to Gen. 50:5): IN MY GRAVE WHICH I DUG FOR MYSELF <IN THE LAND OF CANAAN, THERE YOU SHALL BURY ME>. Ergo (in Jer. 3:19): A DESIRABLE LAND. (Ibid., cont.:) <THE MOST> [BEAUTIFUL HERITAGE] <OF ALL THE NATIONS>. What is the meaning of <THE MOST> BEAUTIFUL (tsevi) HERITAGE? Just as in the case of a deer (tsevi), when one slaughters it, strips off its hide, and tries to return the flesh into the hide, it does not contain it, so the land of Israel does not contain its produce. What is written (in Is. 30:24)? AS FOR THE OXEN AND ASSES THAT WORK THE GROUND, THEY SHALL EAT FERMENTED FODDER, WHICH HAS BEEN WINNOWED WITH SHOVEL AND PITCH FORK. First they winnow with the SHOVEL and after that with the PITCH FORK. Why? Because there was more grain than straw. Even so there was produce in <further> winnowing the straw. Where is it shown? Where it is stated (ibid.): FERMENTED MASH, WHICH HAS BEEN WINNOWED WITH SHOVEL AND PITCH FORK. Mashes are from produce. Ergo (in Jer. 3:19): [A DESIRABLE LAND,] <THE MOST> BEAUTIFUL (tsevi) HERITAGE (understood in the sense of THE MOST DEERLIKE HERITAGE), a land which does not contain its produce, a land which was so good that all the kings of the world desired it. It is written (in Josh. 12:9): THE KING OF JERICHO, ONE; THE KING {FOR AI} [OF AI WHICH IS BESIDE BETHEL], ONE. Now there are only three miles⁴⁹Lat.: mille. between Jericho and Ai; yet it says: THE KING OF JERICHO. It is simply that whoever has a possession outside of the land without having a possession in the land of Israel was not called a king.⁵⁰Sifre, to Deut. 7:12 (37); Gen. R. 85:14. Why? Because they longed for the land of Israel. R. {Isaac} [Johanan] said: What is written (in Josh. 7:21): I SAW AMONG THE SPOILS A <FINE> SHINAR MANTLE, <i.e.> a Babylonian⁵¹Gk.: Babylonikon; Lat.: Babylonicum. robe of royal purple,⁵²Gk.: porphura; Lat.: purpura. which the king of Babylon wore to rule in Jericho. Ergo (in Jer. 3:19): THE MOST BEAUTIFUL HERITAGE OF THE NATIONS.⁵³According to this reasoning, the various kingships were so close to each other in Israel because every king needed a seat in Israel in order to be regarded as a king. (Ibid., cont.:) AND I SAID YOU SHALL CALL ME FATHER. Just as a father is obliged <to provide > for his daughter's enjoyments, so did I bring down rain for you. (Exod. 16:14:) WHEN THE LAYER OF DEW HAD GONE UP, <THERE ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH LAY SOMETHING FINE AND FLAKY>…. (Jer. 3:20:) SURELY AS A WOMAN BREAKS FAITH WITH HER LOVER <SO YOU HAVE BROKEN FAITH WITH ME, O HOUSE OF ISRAEL>. R. Judah bar Simon said: Oh that <you were> like an unfaithful wife. This <kind of> a woman, who has a lover, gives him food, drink, and love. When his power is diminished, she leaves him and goes away. SURELY AS A WOMAN BREAKS FAITH WITH HER LOVER. I have not done so to you. The manna came down for you, and the well rose up. I did not deprive you of anything when you were unfaithful with me. See, I gave you an angel who watched over you. (Exod. 23:20:) SEE, I AM SENDING YOU AN ANGEL <TO WATCH OVER YOU>. When you became worthy and received the Torah, I went before you in person. But now, when you have been found guilty, here I am <merely> (ibid.:) SENDING AN ANGEL BEFORE YOU. [Another interpretation:]⁵⁴Tanh., Exod. 6:18. The Holy One said to Moses: I am sending <an angel> before you but not before them. He said: If you send <him> out before me, I do not want <him>; but Joshua saw the angel and fell down before him. What did he say to him (in Josh. 5:13)? ARE YOU FOR US OR FOR OUR ADVERSARIES? When he said to him: ARE YOU FOR US? he began to cry in great anguish.⁵⁵Literally: “From under the nails of his feet.” (Ibid., vs. 14:) Then he said: NO, BUT [I] AM THE CAPTAIN OF THE LORD'S HOST. NOW I HAVE COME.⁵⁶Gen. R. 97:3 (traditional text only). Here are two times that I have come to give Israel an inheritance. I am the one who came in the days of your master, Moses; but he rejected me. (Ibid., cont.:) NOW I HAVE COME. THEN JOSHUA FELL ON HIS FACE. He saw him and fell on his face, but when Moses saw <him>, he rejected him. The Holy One said (in Exod. 23:20): SEE, I AM SENDING AN ANGEL BEFORE YOU, to you and to whomever observes the Torah [as you <do>. Resh Laqish said: It is written (in Ps. 91:4): HE WILL COVER YOU WITH HIS PINIONS AND YOU WILL FIND REFUGE UNDER HIS WINGS, <i.e.> all who observe the Torah.] (Ibid., cont.:) HIS FIDELITY IS A SHIELD AND BUCKLER. Therefore (in Exod. 23:20): < I AM SENDING MY ANGEL BEFORE YOU > TO GUARD YOU ON THE WAY….

(Exod. 33:8:) AND IT CAME TO PASS THAT WHEN MOSES WOULD GO OUT {TO} [UNTO] THE TENT, they would stand at the sides and honor him by saying: Blessed is the woman who gave birth to Moses.⁶⁴Cf. Luke 11:27. What would he see in it?⁶⁵Exod. R.45:4. (Exod. 33:9:) AND IT CAME TO PASS THAT WHEN MOSES WOULD GO [TO THE TENT], THE PILLAR OF CLOUD WOULD DESCEND. They knew that the Divine Presence was being revealed to Moses. (Exod. 33:10): ALL THE PEOPLE WOULD RISE <AND BOW DOWN, EACH AT THE ENTRANCE OF HIS TENT>. The Holy One said to him: Moses, return unto the camp. He said to him. I am not going back. The Holy One said to him: Be aware that Joshua is in the Tabernacle. To what is the matter comparable? To a matron,⁶⁶Lat.: matrona. who became angry with the king and left the palace.⁶⁷Lat: (palatium). Now she had been raising a certain orphan girl in the palace. The king sent after the matron and said to her: Return unto the palace; but she did not want to return. The Holy one said to her: I am telling you to return, but you are unwilling. Be aware that the orphan girl is being installed in the palace. So (in Exod. 33:11): THE LORD WOULD SPEAK UNTO MOSES FACE TO FACE <AS ONE SPEAKS UNTO HIS FRIEND>. What did he speak? Return unto the camp. But he did not wish to return. The Holy One said: I am telling you to return, but you do not wish <to do so>. By your life, Joshua is in the Tent of meeting.⁶⁸According to Exod. 33:11, HIS ATTENDANT, JOSHUA BIN NUN, A YOUTH, WOULD NOT MOVE OUT OF THE TENT. Moses said to him: Sovereign of the World, was it not for your sake that I was angry with them? (Exod. 33:12:) SEE, YOU SAY UNTO ME: <BRING THIS PEOPLE UP>. See, you cannot forsake them.⁶⁹By using the words of Exod. 33:12, in which the Holy One tells him to BRING THIS PEOPLE UP, Moses reminds him that any plan to forsake them is contradictory. See Exod. R. 45:4. The Holy One said to him: I have already told you (in Exod. 23:20): AND I AM SENDING⁷⁰The wording here is somewhat different from the Masoretic Text, but the translation would be the same. AN ANGEL BEFORE YOU. Moses said to him: Are you delivering me to an angel? (Exod. 33:15:) UNLESS YOUR PRESENCE GOES ALONG, DO NOT MAKE US GO UP FROM HERE. (Exod. 33:13:) AND NOW, IF I HAVE TRULY FOUND FAVOR IN YOUR EYES, < PLEASE MAKE YOUR WAYS KNOWN TO ME>….

Behold, I send an angel before thee, to keep thee (Exod. 23:20). Scripture says elsewhere in reference to this verse: But I said: “How would I put thee among the sons, and give thee a pleasant land, the goodliest inheritance of the nations!” And I said: “Thou shalt call Me, My father, and shall not turn away from following Me” (Jer. 3:19). How would I put thee among the sons. R. Eleazar the son of Pedat stated: The expression put thee is employed to indicate “to be set apart.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said: It is my opinion that you and I must be together in this world, since I am the Father and you are My son. Why, then, do you allow other nations to come between us? Hence I would put thee is an expression that indicates “to set apart,” as in the verse: And put his own droves apart (Gen. 30:40).

Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have you dealt treacherously with Me, O house of Israel (ibid., v. 20). R. Judah the son of R. Shalum²⁸In text: R. Judah of the school of R. Shalum stated: Israel acted like a woman who departs treacherously from her husband. While her husband feeds her and supplies her with drink, she loves him, but when he is less attentive, she leaves him. Therefore it says: As a wife treacherously departeth from her friend. I did not act toward you in that fashion. Instead manna descended for you, a well opened up, and you lacked nothing, yet you rebelled against Me. The Holy One, blessed be He, said: When the nations rebelled against Me, I sent guardian angels to serve them, but when you did so, I sent an angel to keep you, as it is said: Behold, I sent an angel before thee, to keep thee (Exod. 14:20). When you are worthy, and accept the Torah, and fulfill My wishes, I shall go before you, as it is said: And the Lord went before them by day and night (Exod. 13:21), but now that you practice idolatry like the other peoples of the world, I will not go before you but shall send only an angel before you.

Behold, I sent an angel before thee (Exod. 23:20). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: I will send an angel before you but not before them. Whereupon Moses replied: If you send it before me alone, I do not desire it. Rather Let the Lord, I pray thee, go in the midst of us (Exod. 34:9). Observe the difference between the early generations and the later ones. When the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: Behold, I will send an angel before you, he replied: I desire no one but You, whereas, when Joshua the son of Nun beheld an angel, he prostrated himself on the ground, as it is said: And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and bowed down. And he said to him: “Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?” (Josh. 5:13–14).

R. Isaac queried: What did the angel do when he heard the question: Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? He began to cry out from the nails of his feet (i.e., to weep uncontrollably), and he said to him: Nay, I am captain of the hosts of the Lord; I am now come (ibid.). Twice I have come to lead Israel, I am he who came in the days of Moses your master, and he rejected me because he did not wish me to accompany him, and now I have come once again. Forthwith Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and bowed down, and said unto him: What saith my lord unto his servant? (ibid., v. 14). However, though Moses rejected him, the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: I send an angel before thee to keep thee by the way (Exod. 23:20), and, as well, before everyone who observes the law.

To keep thee by the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared (Exod. 23:20). This one verse from Scripture makes it evident that the earthly Temple corresponds to the heavenly Temple.

Behold, I send an angel before thee (Exod. 23:20). Scripture says elsewhere in reference to this verse: For He will give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways (Ps. 91:11). When a man performs one precept, one angel is assigned to guard him; when he performs two precepts, two angels are given to him; when he performs all the precepts, many angels are assigned to him, as it is said: For He will give His angels charge over thee. Who are these angels? They are the beings who will protect him from demons, as it is said: A thousand may fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand (ibid., v. 7). What is meant by may fall? It means that they force (their opponents) to surrender to him, as it is said in the Book of Chronicles: Of Manasseh also there fell away some to David (I Chron. 12:20), and it is written as well: As he went to Ziklag, there fell to him of Manasseh (ibid., v. 29).