이사야 49:3의 미드라쉬

(Exodus 15:2) "The L rd is my strength and my song": "My strength" is Torah, viz. (Psalms 29:11) "The L rd will give strength to His people," and it is written (Ibid. 99:4) "And (they will praise) the strength of the King, who loves (the Torah of) justice." Variantly: "My strength" is kingship, viz. (Ibid. 21:2) "O L rd, in Your strength the king rejoices," and (I Samuel 2:10) "And He will give strength to His king." Variantly: "My strength" is "My stronghold," as it is written (Jeremiah 16:19) "The L rd is my strength and my stronghold." And (Psalms 28:7) "The L rd is my strength and my shield. In Him does my heart trust, and I was helped, etc." You are a trust, a help, and a support to all who enter the world — but to me (David) more than to all. He made me distinct and I made Him distinct. He made me distinct — (Devarim 26:18) "And the L rd made you distinct unto Him this day )to be unto Him His chosen people.") And I, likewise, made Him distinct — (Ibid. 17) "You have made the L rd distinct this day to be unto you a G d." All the peoples of the world declare the praises of the Holy One Blessed be He, but mine are more pleasing before Him than theirs. As it is written (II Samuel 23:1) "And these are the last words of David: The utterance of David, the son of Yishai, and the utterance of the man set on high, the anointed of the G d of Yaakov, the fairest of the songs of Israel": Israel says (Devarim 6:4) "Hear, O Israel, the L rd our G d, the L rd is one," and the Holy Spirit cries out and says (Ibid. 33:29) "Happy are you, Israel! Who is like you, etc.?" Israel says (Ibid. 4:7) "Who … is like the L rd our G d in all our calling unto Him? And the Holy Spirit cries out and says (Ibid.) "And who is a great nation" ("that has G d near to it!") Israel says (Psalms 89:18) "For You are the glory of their strength, etc." And the Holy Spirit cries out and says (Isaiah 49:3) "Israel, in whom I glory!" (Exodus, Ibid.) "and He was a salvation unto me": You are a salvation unto all who enter the world, but unto me, more so. Variantly: "and He was a salvation unto me" — in the past, and thus will He be in the future.

(Lev. 9:1) “And it came to pass on the eighth day….” This text is related (to Ps. 75:5), “I say to the merrymakers, ‘Do not make merry….’” What is the meaning of [the words], “I say to the merrymakers (rt.: hll), ‘do not make merry (rt.: hll)?’”⁴This root can also mean “act with abandon” and is to be taken in that sense here. For another interpretation of the word, see Lev. R. 20:2. [The verse refers] to whoever sings in a mahanaim dance (mahol),⁵As in Cant. 7:1 [6:13]. In comparing these two words, the midrash assumes that both words come from the root HLL and ignores the fact that in the first case the H is a he while in the second case the H is a het. and so it says (in Jud. 21:21), “to dance (lehol) in the dances.” [Because no happiness endures for a mortal] (Ps. 75:5), “I say to the merrymakers, ‘Do not make merry (rt.: hll).’” Why? The one who is happy today shall not be happy tomorrow; and the one who is depressed today shall not be depressed tomorrow. And so it says (in Eccl. 2:2), “Of laughter I said, ‘It is mad (rt.: hll)….’”⁶Cf. PRK 26:2–3. Are you willing to understand? As behold, even the happiness of the Holy One, blessed be He, did not endure. When? When the Holy One, blessed be He, created His world. He was very happy, as stated (in Ps. 104:31), “the Lord shall be happy in His works.” It also says (in Gen. 1:31), “Then God saw everything which He had made; and behold, it was very good.” [These verses are] to teach you that the Holy One, blessed be He, found pleasure in and took pride in His works. Then He gave the first Adam an easy commandment, but he did not fulfill it. Immediately He rendered him a verdict⁷Gk.: apophasis. [of death], as stated (in Gen. 3:19), “for dust you are, and unto dust you shall return.” So He, as it were, did not remain in His happiness but said, “I created everything only for the human, and now he dies. What pleasure is there for Me? [Now surely if the Holy One, blessed be He,] did not remain [happy], how much the less shall people [remain happy! It is therefore stated (in Ps. 75:5), “I say to the merrymakers, ‘do not make merry.’”] How happy Abraham was! He was blessed in the world, magnified, slew some kings and handed over heaven and earth to the Holy One, blessed be He. Also when the Holy One, blessed be He, gave him a son at age one hundred, he circumcised him and reared him. Then finally he was told (in Gen. 22:2), “Please take your son, your only son…, [and go unto the land of Moriah,] and offer him there as a burnt offering.” So he made a three-day journey, as stated (in Gen. 22:4), “On the third day….” When he returned from Mount Moriah, he buried Sarah. He did not find a place to bury her until he bought one for four hundred silver shekels. Then after that, old age came upon him. Now surely if such was the case with Abraham the righteous, how much the more is it the case with the wicked! Isaac did not remain in his happiness: He escaped from the sword and from the men of Gerar. And [God] informed them about who he was, so that they came to him. Thus it is stated (in Gen. 26:26, 28), “Then Abimelech came unto him from Gerar […. And they said, ‘We have clearly seen that the Lord is with you.’]” But he did not remain in his happiness. Rather (according to Gen. 27:1), “Now it came to pass, that when Isaac was old and his eyes were too weak to see.” So just as [this loss of happiness] happened in the case of Isaac the burnt offering of the Holy One, blessed be He, (according to Gen. 22:2), how much the more does it happen in the case of the wicked! Jacob was the first-born of the Holy One, blessed be He, as stated (in Exod. 4:22), “Israel is My first-born son.” How happy he was! He saw a ladder, and (according to Gen. 28:12-13) “the angels of god were ascending and descending [….] And behold, the Lord stood upon it and said, I am the Lord….” Then he went to Laban, fled from Esau, became Laban's servant for twenty years and in the end became wealthy, sired children and returned in peace. He also met Esau and was saved from him, and paid his vow. But in the end he did not remain in his happiness. Instead (according to Gen. 34:1), “Now Dinah [the daughter whom Leah had borne to Jacob] went out…,” and was raped]. There also came upon him the trouble over Joseph. Now surely if Jacob the righteous – one to whom the Holy One, blessed be He, had said, “In whom I will be glorified,” as stated (in Is. 49:3), “Israel, in whom I will be glorified” – did not remain in his happiness, how much the less will the wicked [so remain! It is therefore stated (in Ps. 75:5), “I say to the merrymakers, ‘Do not make merry.’”] How happy Joshua was! He slew thirty-one kings, gave Israel the land to possess, and distributed it. In addition all Israel gave him a [helping] hand and said (in Josh. 1:18), “Anyone who disobeys your command… [shall be put to death.” Such an honor was] something of which [even] Moses our master did not merit. Still he (i.e., Joshua) did not remain in his happiness, but rather died childless. It is therefore stated (in Ps. 75:5), “I say to the merrymakers, ‘Do not make merry.’” How happy Eli was, when he was king, chief justice, and high priest! It is so stated (in I Sam. 1:9), “now Eli [the priest] was sitting on the throne by the doorpost of the Temple of the Lord.” “Now Eli the priest was sitting on the throne,” because he was king. [He was] “by the doorpost of the Temple of the Lord,” because he was chief justice. Still he did not remain in his happiness. Instead (according to I Sam. 4:18), “And it came to pass that when he (i.e., a messenger) mentioned the ark of God, he (i.e., Eli) fell backward from off the throne….” Moreover, his two sons, Hophni and Phinehas died. So just as this [shift in fortune] happened with Eli the righteous, how much the more [does it happen with] the wicked! You find neither man nor woman who saw joys like Elisheba bat Amminadab, [the wife of Aaron, as stated (in Exod. 6:23), “And Aaron took for a wife Elisheba bat Amminadab”].⁸PRK 26:2; Zev. 102a; Tanh. (Buber), Lev. 6:2. She saw her husband become high priest serving in the high priesthood and [as a] prophet. In addition, Moses, her husband's brother, was king and prophet. Moreover, her sons were deputies [to the high priest] in the priesthood, and her brother Nahshon was head of all of the princes of Israel.⁹According to Numb. 10:13, Nahshon was in command of the troops of Judah, and the troops of Judah headed those of the other tribes. See also Numb. 2:3; I Chron. 2:10. Still she did not remain in her happiness. Rather, when two of her sons went in to offer a sacrifice, (according to Lev. 10:2,) “Fire came forth from before the Lord and consumed them, so that they died before the Lord.” It is therefore stated (in Ps. 75:5), “I say to the merrymakers, ‘Do not make merry.’” And so Solomon said (in Eccl. 2:2), “Of laughter I said, ‘It is mad.’” There is a story about one of the great Babylonian [scholars], who married off his son,¹⁰PRK 26:2; Lev. R. 20:2. and made a great banquet for the sages. He said to his son, “Go up and bring us a jar of such and such a wine from the attic.” He went up to the attic. [There] a snake [from] among the jars bit him, and he died. His father remained with those who were reclining [at his table]. So he delayed and did not come. [Finally,] his father said, “Let me go up and see what my son is doing.” His father went up [and] found him cast down dead among the jars. What did that saint do? He waited by himself until the guests had eaten and drunk sufficiently. When they had finished, he said, “You came to say a bridegrooms' blessing over my son. [But instead] say a mourners' blessing over him. You came to bring my son to the wedding canopy. [Instead] bring him to [his] grave.” They said about R. Zakkay of Kabul and they opened about him (in the words of Eccl. 2:2), “Of laughter I said, ‘It is mad; and what does joy do?’”

(Lev. 19:2:) “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel, “Before I created My world, the ministering angels praised My name through you and sanctified Me through you by saying (in I Chron. 16:36), ‘Blessed is the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting.’” When the first Adam was created, the angels said, “Master of the world, is this the one in whose name we are praising You?” He told them, “No. This person is a thief, since it is stated (of him in Gen. 3:17), ‘and you ate of the tree.’” [When] Noah came, they said to Him (i.e., to the Holy One, blessed be He), “Is this the one?” He told them, “[No]. This person is a drunkard, since it is stated (of him in Gen. 9:21), ‘Then he drank of the wine [and became drunk].’” [When] Abraham came, they said to Him, “Is this the one?” He told them, “This is a stranger (ger), from which Yishmael came out.” [When] Isaac came, they said to Him, “Is this the one?” He told them, “This one loves My enemy, as stated (in Gen. 25:28), ‘Now Isaac loved Esau.’” When Jacob came, they said to Him, “Is this the one?” He told them, “Yes, for so it says (in Gen. 35:10), ‘God said to him, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but your name shall be Israel.”’ So all Israel was called by his name.” At that time the Holy One, blessed be he, sanctified them because of His name, as stated (in Is. 49:3), “Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, “Since you were sanctified for My name before I created My world, be holy as I am holy.” It is so stated (in Lev. 19:2), “[You shall be holy,] because I am holy.” To what is the matter comparable? To a king who betrothed a wife. He said to her, “Because you have been betrothed (literally, sanctified) to my name, I am a king and you, a queen. Just as it (i.e., my name) is an honor for me, so it is an honor for you. Why? Because you are my wife.” Thus the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses, “Go and sanctify (i.e., go and betroth) Israel,” as stated (in Exod. 19:10), “and sanctify (rt.: qdsh) them today and tomorrow.” The Holy One, blessed be He, sanctified them and said to them (in Exod. 19:6), “But you shall be for Me a kingdom of priests, a holy (rt.: qdsh) nation.” Why? (Lev. 19:2:) “Because I the Lord am holy.” And you also shall be sanctified (rt.: qdsh) just as you have sanctified Me, as stated (in Lev. 19:2) “Speak unto the whole congregation of the Children of Israel, and say unto them, ‘You shall be holy (rt.: qdsh).’” The Holy One, blessed be He, said unto them, “If you are worthy, you shall be called a congregation of holy ones (rt.: qdsh); [but if] you are unworthy, you shall be called an evil congregation, as stated (Numb. 14:27) ‘How long shall this evil congregation?’”