이사야 49:4의 미드라쉬

You find that the Holy One, blessed be He, discloses prior to their death the reward to be given to those who devote themselves to the Torah. It happened that when R. Abahu was about to depart from this world, the Holy One, blessed be He, revealed to him thirteen streams of balsam oil. Thereupon, he said to his disciples: “Happy are you who devote yourselves to the study of the Torah.” “Master,” they asked, “what is it that you have seen?” He replied, “The Holy One, blessed be He, gave me thirteen streams of balsam oil in reward for studying the Torah.” And then he went on to say, Yet I have said, “In vain have I labored, I have spent my strength for nought and vanity; yet surely my right is with the Lord, and my recompense with my God” (Isa. 49:4).

R. Meir said: The idolatrous dead are truly dead, but the deceased in Israel do not actually die. They survive because of the merit (of their forebears). Thus, you find that the Israelites, who erected the golden calf, would have vanished from the world if Moses, our Master, had not mentioned the merit of the patriarchs, as it is said: Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, thy servants (Exod. 32:13). Therefore, it is difficult for the Holy One, blessed be He, to decree the death of the righteous, as it is said: Weighty in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints (Ps. 116:15). What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He revealed to the righteous the reward that awaits them in the world-to-come so that they would plead for their own death. When R. Abahu was about to depart from this world, the Holy One, blessed be He, disclosed to him the reward stored up for him and he was astounded by it. He said: “Is all this for Abahu?” Whereupon he applied to himself the verse And I said: “I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for naught and vanity; yet surely my right is with the Lord, and my recompense with my God” (Isa. 49:4). Immediately, he began to long for death.

[(Exod. 39:33:) AND THEY BROUGHT THE TABERNACLE UNTO MOSES.] This text is related (to Prov. 31:25): {MAJESTY} [STRENGTH] AND SPLENDOR ARE HER CLOTHING; AND YOU WILL LAUGH²⁴Wattishaq. The biblical context certainly requires the verb to be translated, AND SHE LAUGHS; but wattishaq may also be rendered, AND YOU WILL LAUGH (in the masculine). It is this latter meaning that the midrash assumes throughout this section. AT THE LATTER DAY. There is a story about R. Abbahu.²⁵Gen. R. 62:2; Exod. R. 52:3; yAZ 3:1 (42c). When he was departing this world, the Holy One showed him his reward as it was prepared for him in the world to come. He made thirteen rivers of balsam²⁶Gk.: balsamon. pass before him. When he saw them, he was astonished and said: Are all these for Abbahu? Then he read to himself the verse (Is. 49:4): I HAVE USED UP MY STRENGTH FOR A VOID AND VANITY; SURELY MY JUDGEMENT IS WITH THE LORD AND MY RECOMPENSE IS WITH MY GOD. [Ergo (Prov. 31:25): AND YOU WILL LAUGH AT THE LATTER DAY.] Zavday ben Levi, Levi ben Paytam,²⁷Probably ben Petros. and R. Judah ben Levi, each of them individually, [cited] a verse at the time of their departure from the world.²⁸Above, Tanh. (Buber), Gen. 10:15, and the note there. One cited (Ps. 32:6): THEREFORE LET EVERY SAINT PRAY UNTO YOU <IN ANTICIPATION OF THE TIME OF DISCOVERY >…. The next cited (Ps. 31:20 [19]): HOW ABUNDANT IS THE GOOD <WHICH YOU HAVE LAID UP FOR THOSE WHO FEAR YOU>. And the other cited (Ps. 5:12 [11]): BUT LET ALL WHO TAKE REFUGE IN YOU REJOICE. <LET THEM EVER SING FOR JOY, AND YOU SHALL SHELTER THEM.> Ergo, at the time of their departure from the world, the Holy One showed them their reward. Ben 'Azzay said (Ps. 116:15): PRECIOUS IN THE EYES OF THE LORD IS THE DEATH OF HIS SAINTS. When does the Holy One show his righteous ones the honor which he has prepared for them? Near their death. Ergo (in Prov. 31:25): AND YOU WILL LAUGH AT THE LATTER DAY….²⁹Exod. R. 52:3; M. Pss. 92:8; see yBer. 9:3 (13d); Gen. R. 35:2; PRK 11:15. All these parallels identify R. Simon as R. Simon b. Johay.