욥기 38:42의 미드라쉬

(Numb. 19:2:) THIS IS THE STATUTE OF THE TORAH. Blessed be the name of the Supreme King of Kings, the Holy One, who created the world in wisdom and understanding; for his wonders have no limit and his greatness is beyond reckoning.¹Tanh., 6:1; Numb. R. 18:22. (Ps. 33:7:) HE HAS GATHERED THE WATERS OF THE SEA LIKE A MOUND, AND HE HAS PUT THE DEEPS IN STOREHOUSES. Now what is the meaning of HE GATHERS THE WATERS OF THE SEA LIKE A MOUND? When the Holy One created the world, he said to the prince of the sea: Open your mouth and swallow all the waters of creation.²BB 74b. He said to him: Sovereign of the World, it is enough for me to continue with what is <already> mine. Then he began to weep. He kicked him to death, as stated (in Job 26:12): IN HIS POWER HE STILLED THE SEA, AND IN HIS UNDERSTANDING HE STRUCK DOWN RAHAB. [You find that the prince of the sea was named Rahab. What did the Holy One do? He subdued <the waters> and trampled them down;] and so it was that the sea accepted them, as stated (in Amos 4:13): HE TRAMPLES ON THE HEIGHTS³M. Pss. 93:5. Cf. Gen. R. 23:7, according to which the sea (i.e., the Mediterranean) is higher than the whole world. OF THE EARTH; THE LORD [GOD] OF HOSTS IS HIS NAME. So for <the waters> he set sand in place as bar and gates, according to what is stated (in Job 38:8): AND <WHO> BLOCKED OFF THE SEA WITH DOORS…. Moreover, it says (in Jer. 5:22): DO YOU NOT FEAR ME? SAYS THE LORD. [WILL YOU NOT TREMBLE BECAUSE OF ME,] WHEN I HAVE PLACED SAND AS A BOUNDARY FOR THE SEA? And it says (in Job 38: 10–11): <… AND I SET BAR AND GATES IN PLACE,> AND SAID: YOU MAY COME THIS FAR AND NO FARTHER. Then the sea said to him: Sovereign of the World, in that case my sweet waters will be mingled with the salt <waters>! He said to it: No! Each and every one will have a storehouse for oneself, as stated (in Ps. 33:7): AND HE HAS PUT THE DEEPS IN STOREHOUSES⁴See Gen. R. 4:5. If you should say that this is a great wonder for their waters not to mingle, then consider the face,⁵PRTsWP, an adaptation of the Gk.: prosopon. which the Holy One created in the children of Adam. <Although> the <size of> a full sit,⁶According to Rashi on Shab. 106a, a single sit was the distance between the tips of the of the middle and index fingers when held widely apart. A double sit was the distance between the tips of the thumb and index finger when held widely apart. For various definitions, see Jastrow, p. 977, s.v. SYT. it has so many springs (from 'YN); yet they do not mingle with one another. The waters of the eyes 'YN) are salty; the waters of the ears are oily; the waters of the nose are putrid; the waters of the mouth are sweet. For what reason are the waters of the eyes salty? Because when someone weeps for the dead, <doing so> all the time, he would immediately become blind; however, because <tears> are salty, he stops and does not weep. For what reason are the waters of the ears oily? Because when a person hears bad news, if he held it in his ears, it would collect in his heart, and he would die. Because they are oily, <the news> goes in one ear and out the other.⁷Literally: “<a person> discharges <bad news> through one <ear>, while he admits it through the other.” For what reason are the waters of the nose putrid? Because when a person emits a bad odor, if the waters of the nose were not putrid <enough> to stop it, he would soon die. And for what reason are the waters of the mouth sweet? It sometimes happens that someone eats food that does not agree with him, and he vomits. Now if the waters of the mouth were not sweet, he would not recover. Moreover, since he reads the Torah, of which it is written (in Ps. 19:11 [10]): SWEETER ALSO THAN HONEY AND THE DRIPPINGS OF THE COMB, the waters of the mouth are therefore sweet. Now here are the grounds for arguing a fortiori (qal wehomer), that if <something> <the size of> a full sit has so many springs without them mingling with one another, how much the more so in the case of the Great Sea, of which it is stated (in Ps. 104:25): THERE THE {GREAT SEA IS ALSO WIDE} [SEA IS GREAT AND WIDE]…. <This is> to teach that in everything the Holy One accomplishes his mission and that he has not created one thing in vain. Sometimes the Holy One has accomplished his mission by means of [a frog, by means of a gnat,⁸See Lev. R. 22:2-3; Eccl. R. 5:8:2, 4; PRE 49; also Shab. 77b; Exod. R. 10:1. by means of a wasp, or by means of] a scorpion. R. Hanan of Sepphoris said:⁹Cf. Gen. R. 10:7; Lev. R. 22:4; Eccl. R. 5:8:5. There is a story about a certain scorpion that went to carry out <the Holy One's> mission (to sting a certain person) beyond the Jordan; so the Holy One summoned a certain frog for him, and he crossed over upon it. Then that scorpion went and stung <the> person so that he died. <There is> also a story about a certain reaper who stood and reaped in the valley of Beth-Tofah. When burning heat came, he took grass <and> {cut} [tied] it on his head. <When> a certain mighty serpent came at him, he killed it. A certain <snake> charmer passed by him. He saw the slain serpent. He said to him: who killed that serpent? He said to him I <did>. He looked at the grass on his head. He said to him: Will you remove the grass from your head? He told him: Yes. When he had removed it, he said to him: Are you able to remove this snake with this staff? He told him: Yes. He did so. <When> he drew near to it, he had not succeeded in touching it, before he shed his body parts one by one.

(Numb. 19:2:) Blessed be the name of the supreme King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, who created the world in wisdom and understanding; for His wonders have no limit and His greatness is beyond reckoning.¹Numb. R. 18:22. (Ps. 33:7:) “He has gathered the waters of the sea like a mound, and He has put the deeps in storehouses.” Now what is the meaning of “He gathers the waters of the sea like a mound?” When the Holy One, blessed be He, created the world, He said to the ministering angel of the sea, “Open your mouth and swallow all the waters of creation,”²BB 74b. he said [back] to Him, “Master of the world, it is enough for me to continue with what is [already] mine.” Then he began to weep. [So God] kicked him to death, as stated (in Job 26:12), “In His power He stilled the sea, and in His understanding He struck down Rahab.” You find that the ministering angel of the sea was named Rahab. What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He subdued [the waters] and trampled them down; and so it was that the sea accepted them, as stated (in Amos 4:13), “He tramples on the heights³M. Pss. 93:5. Cf. Gen. R. 23:7, according to which the sea (i.e., the Mediterranean) is higher than the whole world. of the earth; the Lord God of hosts is His name.” So for [the waters] He set sand in place as bar and gates, according to what is stated (in Job 38:8, 10), “And [who] blocked off the sea with doors…. and I set bar and gates in place.” Moreover, it says (in Jer. 5:22), “’Do you not fear Me,’ says the Lord; ‘Will you not tremble because of Me, when I have placed sand as a boundary for the sea?’” And it says (in Job 38:11), “And I said, ‘You may come this far and no farther [...].’” Then the sea said to Him, “Master of the world, in that case my sweet waters will be mingled with the salt [waters]!” He said to it, “No! Each and every one will have a storehouse for itself, as stated (in Ps. 33:7), “and he has put the deeps in storehouses.”⁴See Gen. R. 4:5. If you should say that this is a great wonder for their waters not to mingle, then consider the face,⁵PRTsWP, an adaptation of the Gk.: prosopon. which the Holy One, blessed be He, created in people. [Although only] the [size of] a full sit,⁶According to Rashi on Shab. 106a, a single sit was the distance between the tips of the of the middle and index fingers when held widely apart. A double sit was the distance between the tips of the thumb and index finger when held widely apart. For various definitions, see Jastrow, p. 977, s.v. SYT. it has so many springs (from 'yn); yet they do not mingle with one another. The waters of the eyes ('yn) are salty; the waters of the ears are oily; the waters of the nose are putrid; the waters of the mouth are sweet. For what reason are the waters of the eyes salty? Because when someone weeps for the dead, [doing so] all the time, he would immediately become blind; however, because [tears] are salty, he stops and does not weep. For what reason are the waters of the ears oily? Because when a person hears bad news, if he held it in his ears, it would collect in his heart, and he would die. Because they are oily, [the news] goes in one ear and out the other.⁷Literally, “[A person] admits [bad news] through one [ear], and discharges it through the other.” For what reason are the waters of the nose putrid? Because when a person smells a bad odor, if the waters of the nose were not putrid [enough] to stop it, he would soon die. And for what reason are the waters of the mouth sweet? It sometimes happens that someone eats food that does not agree with him, and he vomits. Now if the waters of the mouth were not sweet, he would not recover. Moreover, since he reads the Torah, of which it is written (in Ps. 19:11), “sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the comb,” the waters of the mouth are therefore sweet. Now here are the grounds for arguing a fortiori (qal wehomer), that if [something the size of] a full sit has so many springs [without them mingling with one another], how much the more so in the case of the Great Sea, of which it is stated (in Ps. 104:25), “There the sea is great and wide […].” [This is] to teach that in everything, the Holy One, blessed be He, accomplishes His mission and that He has not created one thing in vain. Sometimes the Holy One, blessed be He, has accomplished His mission by means of a frog, by means of a gnat,⁸See Lev. R. 22:2-3; Eccl. R. 5:8:2, 4; PRE 49; also Shab. 77b; Exod. R. 10:1. by means of a wasp, or by means of a scorpion. R. Hanan of Sepphoris said,⁹Cf. Gen. R. 10:7; Lev. R. 22:4; Eccl. R. 5:8:5. “There is a story about a certain scorpion that went to carry out the Holy One, blessed be He's mission (to sting a certain person) beyond the Jordan; so the Holy One, blessed be He, summoned a certain frog for him, and he crossed over upon it. Then that scorpion went and stung [the] person so that he died. [There is] also a story about a certain reaper who stood and reaped in the valley of Beth-Kuzevah. When burning heat came, he took grass and tied it on his head. [When] a certain mighty serpent came at him, he killed it. A certain [snake] charmer passed by him. He saw the slain serpent. He said to him, ‘Who killed that serpent?’ [So the reaper] said to him ‘I [did].’ He looked at the grass on his head. He [then] said to him, ‘Remove the grass from your head and [then you can brag (if you still have that power)].’ When he did so, [the charmer] drew near. He had not succeeded in touching him, before [the reaper’s] body parts [all] shed.” R. Jannay was sitting as a judge at the gate of his city, [when] he saw a serpent hissing and coming toward the city. When they would secure against it in one place, it would go to another. He said, “It seems to me that this [serpent] is on its way to carry out its mission.” When it entered the city, a rumor spread in the city, “So-and-so ben so-and-so was bitten by a serpent and he is dead.” R. Elazar was strolling by the seashore of Caesarea. He found a femur bone strewn on the path. [So] he removed it from there, but he found it there again; he removed it from there [a second time] and found it there again. He said, “It seems to me that this [bone] is arranged to carry out its mission.” After [some] days, a minister came and fell over it and died. They looked into him and found evil documents against the Jews in his hand. There is a story about two people who were walking on the way. One who could see, and one was blind. They sat down to eat. They reached out their hands for the herbs of the field and ate. The one who could see became blind, and the one who had been blind became sighted. They did not move from there until the former was being supported by the latter whom he had been supporting. There is a story about a certain person who was going from the land of Israel to Babylon.¹⁰Lev. R. 22:4. While he was eating, he saw two birds fighting with each other. One of them killed its companion. Then going to get an herb, [it placed it on its mouth,] and made it live again. That person (the one who saw what had happened) went and took the very herb that had fallen from the bird. Then he went to make the dead live with it. When he arrived at the Ladder of Tyre,¹¹A well-known landing dock four hours north of Tyre. See ‘Eruv. 80a. he found a dead lion lying in the open. He touched the herb to its mouth and made it live. The lion got up and ate him. The proverb says, “Do not do good to the evil, and evil will not happen to you.”¹²Gen. R. 22:8. There is a story of Shihin (a town near Sepphoris) about a certain blind person who went down to bathe in the waters in a cave. He happened upon the well of Miriam, immersed [himself in it], and was healed. Titus the wicked entered the interior of the holy of holies.¹³Git. 56b; Lev. R. 22:3. When he had cursed and blasphemed, he stood up and slashed the veil. Then he took a Torah scroll and brought it out. Next he unrolled it; and bringing two whores, he transgressed upon them. Then he drew his sword to cut up the book. A miracle took place in that blood began to spew forth from it. He began to boast, saying that he had killed himself (i.e. God).¹⁴The author is avoiding too literal a description of the sacrilege and therefore substitutes “himself” for God as a euphemism. He began to become bolder and bolder. When he reached the sea, the sea began to grow stormier and stormier. He said, “The God of these people only has power in the sea. When Pharaoh arose, He drowned him in the sea, and Sisera as well.¹⁵See Pes. 118b. Now if He would, let there be dry land between Him and I. Then let us see who overcomes.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said, “O you wicked one, son of a wicked one, I am sending against you a tiny creature, the least of My creatures, to eradicate you from the world.” A gnat entered his nostril, and stayed in his nostril for three years. When he passed by a place where blacksmiths were working [and the gnat] heard the sound of iron, it was still. Whenever a gentile [blacksmith] would pass him, [Titus] would hire him for four dinars and say to him, “Bang your hammer in front of me the whole day.” And when he would do this the whole day, [Titus] would give him his four dinars. But when a Jewish [blacksmith] passed him, he would say to him, “Take [your hammer] and bang it [here] and I will give you your wage.” And he would bang the whole day. [But] when he was about to leave him and the Jew would say to [Titus], “Give me my wage,” he would answer and say to him, “It is enough for you that you see your enemy like this.” So would he do every day for three years. When he died they split open his head and found that [the gnat had grown] to be like a partridge and a sparrow and its claws were as hard as copper. And he died an unnatural death. Why is it named a base creature? Because it takes in but does not excrete. Moreover, sometimes it is by means of a hornet [that God's will is carried out]. Thus it is written (in Exod. 23:28), “I will send the hornet before you [to drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites from before you].” Our masters have said, “When the Holy One, blessed be He, sent the hornet before Israel to kill the Amorites, see what was written about them (in Amos 2:9), “Yet I destroyed the Amorites [before them, whose stature was like the cedars in height and who were as strong as the oaks].” It entered one's right eye and poured out its poison in it. Then [that person] burst open and dropped dead. This indeed is the way of the Holy One, blessed be He, to carry out His missions by means of small things against all who vaunt themselves against Him. He sends them a small creature to exact punishment from them, in order to inform them that there is no substance to their might. Also in the world to come the Holy One, blessed be He, is going to exact punishment from the [idol-worshiping] peoples of the world by means of small things. It is so stated (in Is. 7:18–19), “And it shall come to pass on that day that the Lord shall whistle for the fly. They all shall come […].”

(Numb. 19:2:) THIS IS THE STATUTE OF THE TORAH. Blessed be the name of the Supreme King of Kings, the Holy One, who created the world in wisdom and understanding; for his wonders have no limit and his greatness is beyond reckoning.¹Tanh., 6:1; Numb. R. 18:22. (Ps. 33:7:) HE HAS GATHERED THE WATERS OF THE SEA LIKE A MOUND, AND HE HAS PUT THE DEEPS IN STOREHOUSES. Now what is the meaning of HE GATHERS THE WATERS OF THE SEA LIKE A MOUND? When the Holy One created the world, he said to the prince of the sea: Open your mouth and swallow all the waters of creation.²BB 74b. He said to him: Sovereign of the World, it is enough for me to continue with what is <already> mine. Then he began to weep. He kicked him to death, as stated (in Job 26:12): IN HIS POWER HE STILLED THE SEA, AND IN HIS UNDERSTANDING HE STRUCK DOWN RAHAB. [You find that the prince of the sea was named Rahab. What did the Holy One do? He subdued <the waters> and trampled them down;] and so it was that the sea accepted them, as stated (in Amos 4:13): HE TRAMPLES ON THE HEIGHTS³M. Pss. 93:5. Cf. Gen. R. 23:7, according to which the sea (i.e., the Mediterranean) is higher than the whole world. OF THE EARTH; THE LORD [GOD] OF HOSTS IS HIS NAME. So for <the waters> he set sand in place as bar and gates, according to what is stated (in Job 38:8): AND <WHO> BLOCKED OFF THE SEA WITH DOORS…. Moreover, it says (in Jer. 5:22): DO YOU NOT FEAR ME? SAYS THE LORD. [WILL YOU NOT TREMBLE BECAUSE OF ME,] WHEN I HAVE PLACED SAND AS A BOUNDARY FOR THE SEA? And it says (in Job 38: 10–11): <… AND I SET BAR AND GATES IN PLACE,> AND SAID: YOU MAY COME THIS FAR AND NO FARTHER. Then the sea said to him: Sovereign of the World, in that case my sweet waters will be mingled with the salt <waters>! He said to it: No! Each and every one will have a storehouse for oneself, as stated (in Ps. 33:7): AND HE HAS PUT THE DEEPS IN STOREHOUSES⁴See Gen. R. 4:5. If you should say that this is a great wonder for their waters not to mingle, then consider the face,⁵PRTsWP, an adaptation of the Gk.: prosopon. which the Holy One created in the children of Adam. <Although> the <size of> a full sit,⁶According to Rashi on Shab. 106a, a single sit was the distance between the tips of the of the middle and index fingers when held widely apart. A double sit was the distance between the tips of the thumb and index finger when held widely apart. For various definitions, see Jastrow, p. 977, s.v. SYT. it has so many springs (from 'YN); yet they do not mingle with one another. The waters of the eyes 'YN) are salty; the waters of the ears are oily; the waters of the nose are putrid; the waters of the mouth are sweet. For what reason are the waters of the eyes salty? Because when someone weeps for the dead, <doing so> all the time, he would immediately become blind; however, because <tears> are salty, he stops and does not weep. For what reason are the waters of the ears oily? Because when a person hears bad news, if he held it in his ears, it would collect in his heart, and he would die. Because they are oily, <the news> goes in one ear and out the other.⁷Literally: “<a person> discharges <bad news> through one <ear>, while he admits it through the other.” For what reason are the waters of the nose putrid? Because when a person emits a bad odor, if the waters of the nose were not putrid <enough> to stop it, he would soon die. And for what reason are the waters of the mouth sweet? It sometimes happens that someone eats food that does not agree with him, and he vomits. Now if the waters of the mouth were not sweet, he would not recover. Moreover, since he reads the Torah, of which it is written (in Ps. 19:11 [10]): SWEETER ALSO THAN HONEY AND THE DRIPPINGS OF THE COMB, the waters of the mouth are therefore sweet. Now here are the grounds for arguing a fortiori (qal wehomer), that if <something> <the size of> a full sit has so many springs without them mingling with one another, how much the more so in the case of the Great Sea, of which it is stated (in Ps. 104:25): THERE THE {GREAT SEA IS ALSO WIDE} [SEA IS GREAT AND WIDE]…. <This is> to teach that in everything the Holy One accomplishes his mission and that he has not created one thing in vain. Sometimes the Holy One has accomplished his mission by means of [a frog, by means of a gnat,⁸See Lev. R. 22:2-3; Eccl. R. 5:8:2, 4; PRE 49; also Shab. 77b; Exod. R. 10:1. by means of a wasp, or by means of] a scorpion. R. Hanan of Sepphoris said:⁹Cf. Gen. R. 10:7; Lev. R. 22:4; Eccl. R. 5:8:5. There is a story about a certain scorpion that went to carry out <the Holy One's> mission (to sting a certain person) beyond the Jordan; so the Holy One summoned a certain frog for him, and he crossed over upon it. Then that scorpion went and stung <the> person so that he died. <There is> also a story about a certain reaper who stood and reaped in the valley of Beth-Tofah. When burning heat came, he took grass <and> {cut} [tied] it on his head. <When> a certain mighty serpent came at him, he killed it. A certain <snake> charmer passed by him. He saw the slain serpent. He said to him: who killed that serpent? He said to him I <did>. He looked at the grass on his head. He said to him: Will you remove the grass from your head? He told him: Yes. When he had removed it, he said to him: Are you able to remove this snake with this staff? He told him: Yes. He did so. <When> he drew near to it, he had not succeeded in touching it, before he shed his body parts one by one.

(Numb. 19:2:) Blessed be the name of the supreme King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, who created the world in wisdom and understanding; for His wonders have no limit and His greatness is beyond reckoning.¹Numb. R. 18:22. (Ps. 33:7:) “He has gathered the waters of the sea like a mound, and He has put the deeps in storehouses.” Now what is the meaning of “He gathers the waters of the sea like a mound?” When the Holy One, blessed be He, created the world, He said to the ministering angel of the sea, “Open your mouth and swallow all the waters of creation,”²BB 74b. he said [back] to Him, “Master of the world, it is enough for me to continue with what is [already] mine.” Then he began to weep. [So God] kicked him to death, as stated (in Job 26:12), “In His power He stilled the sea, and in His understanding He struck down Rahab.” You find that the ministering angel of the sea was named Rahab. What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He subdued [the waters] and trampled them down; and so it was that the sea accepted them, as stated (in Amos 4:13), “He tramples on the heights³M. Pss. 93:5. Cf. Gen. R. 23:7, according to which the sea (i.e., the Mediterranean) is higher than the whole world. of the earth; the Lord God of hosts is His name.” So for [the waters] He set sand in place as bar and gates, according to what is stated (in Job 38:8, 10), “And [who] blocked off the sea with doors…. and I set bar and gates in place.” Moreover, it says (in Jer. 5:22), “’Do you not fear Me,’ says the Lord; ‘Will you not tremble because of Me, when I have placed sand as a boundary for the sea?’” And it says (in Job 38:11), “And I said, ‘You may come this far and no farther [...].’” Then the sea said to Him, “Master of the world, in that case my sweet waters will be mingled with the salt [waters]!” He said to it, “No! Each and every one will have a storehouse for itself, as stated (in Ps. 33:7), “and he has put the deeps in storehouses.”⁴See Gen. R. 4:5. If you should say that this is a great wonder for their waters not to mingle, then consider the face,⁵PRTsWP, an adaptation of the Gk.: prosopon. which the Holy One, blessed be He, created in people. [Although only] the [size of] a full sit,⁶According to Rashi on Shab. 106a, a single sit was the distance between the tips of the of the middle and index fingers when held widely apart. A double sit was the distance between the tips of the thumb and index finger when held widely apart. For various definitions, see Jastrow, p. 977, s.v. SYT. it has so many springs (from 'yn); yet they do not mingle with one another. The waters of the eyes ('yn) are salty; the waters of the ears are oily; the waters of the nose are putrid; the waters of the mouth are sweet. For what reason are the waters of the eyes salty? Because when someone weeps for the dead, [doing so] all the time, he would immediately become blind; however, because [tears] are salty, he stops and does not weep. For what reason are the waters of the ears oily? Because when a person hears bad news, if he held it in his ears, it would collect in his heart, and he would die. Because they are oily, [the news] goes in one ear and out the other.⁷Literally, “[A person] admits [bad news] through one [ear], and discharges it through the other.” For what reason are the waters of the nose putrid? Because when a person smells a bad odor, if the waters of the nose were not putrid [enough] to stop it, he would soon die. And for what reason are the waters of the mouth sweet? It sometimes happens that someone eats food that does not agree with him, and he vomits. Now if the waters of the mouth were not sweet, he would not recover. Moreover, since he reads the Torah, of which it is written (in Ps. 19:11), “sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the comb,” the waters of the mouth are therefore sweet. Now here are the grounds for arguing a fortiori (qal wehomer), that if [something the size of] a full sit has so many springs [without them mingling with one another], how much the more so in the case of the Great Sea, of which it is stated (in Ps. 104:25), “There the sea is great and wide […].” [This is] to teach that in everything, the Holy One, blessed be He, accomplishes His mission and that He has not created one thing in vain. Sometimes the Holy One, blessed be He, has accomplished His mission by means of a frog, by means of a gnat,⁸See Lev. R. 22:2-3; Eccl. R. 5:8:2, 4; PRE 49; also Shab. 77b; Exod. R. 10:1. by means of a wasp, or by means of a scorpion. R. Hanan of Sepphoris said,⁹Cf. Gen. R. 10:7; Lev. R. 22:4; Eccl. R. 5:8:5. “There is a story about a certain scorpion that went to carry out the Holy One, blessed be He's mission (to sting a certain person) beyond the Jordan; so the Holy One, blessed be He, summoned a certain frog for him, and he crossed over upon it. Then that scorpion went and stung [the] person so that he died. [There is] also a story about a certain reaper who stood and reaped in the valley of Beth-Kuzevah. When burning heat came, he took grass and tied it on his head. [When] a certain mighty serpent came at him, he killed it. A certain [snake] charmer passed by him. He saw the slain serpent. He said to him, ‘Who killed that serpent?’ [So the reaper] said to him ‘I [did].’ He looked at the grass on his head. He [then] said to him, ‘Remove the grass from your head and [then you can brag (if you still have that power)].’ When he did so, [the charmer] drew near. He had not succeeded in touching him, before [the reaper’s] body parts [all] shed.” R. Jannay was sitting as a judge at the gate of his city, [when] he saw a serpent hissing and coming toward the city. When they would secure against it in one place, it would go to another. He said, “It seems to me that this [serpent] is on its way to carry out its mission.” When it entered the city, a rumor spread in the city, “So-and-so ben so-and-so was bitten by a serpent and he is dead.” R. Elazar was strolling by the seashore of Caesarea. He found a femur bone strewn on the path. [So] he removed it from there, but he found it there again; he removed it from there [a second time] and found it there again. He said, “It seems to me that this [bone] is arranged to carry out its mission.” After [some] days, a minister came and fell over it and died. They looked into him and found evil documents against the Jews in his hand. There is a story about two people who were walking on the way. One who could see, and one was blind. They sat down to eat. They reached out their hands for the herbs of the field and ate. The one who could see became blind, and the one who had been blind became sighted. They did not move from there until the former was being supported by the latter whom he had been supporting. There is a story about a certain person who was going from the land of Israel to Babylon.¹⁰Lev. R. 22:4. While he was eating, he saw two birds fighting with each other. One of them killed its companion. Then going to get an herb, [it placed it on its mouth,] and made it live again. That person (the one who saw what had happened) went and took the very herb that had fallen from the bird. Then he went to make the dead live with it. When he arrived at the Ladder of Tyre,¹¹A well-known landing dock four hours north of Tyre. See ‘Eruv. 80a. he found a dead lion lying in the open. He touched the herb to its mouth and made it live. The lion got up and ate him. The proverb says, “Do not do good to the evil, and evil will not happen to you.”¹²Gen. R. 22:8. There is a story of Shihin (a town near Sepphoris) about a certain blind person who went down to bathe in the waters in a cave. He happened upon the well of Miriam, immersed [himself in it], and was healed. Titus the wicked entered the interior of the holy of holies.¹³Git. 56b; Lev. R. 22:3. When he had cursed and blasphemed, he stood up and slashed the veil. Then he took a Torah scroll and brought it out. Next he unrolled it; and bringing two whores, he transgressed upon them. Then he drew his sword to cut up the book. A miracle took place in that blood began to spew forth from it. He began to boast, saying that he had killed himself (i.e. God).¹⁴The author is avoiding too literal a description of the sacrilege and therefore substitutes “himself” for God as a euphemism. He began to become bolder and bolder. When he reached the sea, the sea began to grow stormier and stormier. He said, “The God of these people only has power in the sea. When Pharaoh arose, He drowned him in the sea, and Sisera as well.¹⁵See Pes. 118b. Now if He would, let there be dry land between Him and I. Then let us see who overcomes.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said, “O you wicked one, son of a wicked one, I am sending against you a tiny creature, the least of My creatures, to eradicate you from the world.” A gnat entered his nostril, and stayed in his nostril for three years. When he passed by a place where blacksmiths were working [and the gnat] heard the sound of iron, it was still. Whenever a gentile [blacksmith] would pass him, [Titus] would hire him for four dinars and say to him, “Bang your hammer in front of me the whole day.” And when he would do this the whole day, [Titus] would give him his four dinars. But when a Jewish [blacksmith] passed him, he would say to him, “Take [your hammer] and bang it [here] and I will give you your wage.” And he would bang the whole day. [But] when he was about to leave him and the Jew would say to [Titus], “Give me my wage,” he would answer and say to him, “It is enough for you that you see your enemy like this.” So would he do every day for three years. When he died they split open his head and found that [the gnat had grown] to be like a partridge and a sparrow and its claws were as hard as copper. And he died an unnatural death. Why is it named a base creature? Because it takes in but does not excrete. Moreover, sometimes it is by means of a hornet [that God's will is carried out]. Thus it is written (in Exod. 23:28), “I will send the hornet before you [to drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites from before you].” Our masters have said, “When the Holy One, blessed be He, sent the hornet before Israel to kill the Amorites, see what was written about them (in Amos 2:9), “Yet I destroyed the Amorites [before them, whose stature was like the cedars in height and who were as strong as the oaks].” It entered one's right eye and poured out its poison in it. Then [that person] burst open and dropped dead. This indeed is the way of the Holy One, blessed be He, to carry out His missions by means of small things against all who vaunt themselves against Him. He sends them a small creature to exact punishment from them, in order to inform them that there is no substance to their might. Also in the world to come the Holy One, blessed be He, is going to exact punishment from the [idol-worshiping] peoples of the world by means of small things. It is so stated (in Is. 7:18–19), “And it shall come to pass on that day that the Lord shall whistle for the fly. They all shall come […].”

(Numb. 19:2:) THIS IS THE STATUTE OF THE TORAH. Blessed be the name of the Supreme King of Kings, the Holy One, who created the world in wisdom and understanding; for his wonders have no limit and his greatness is beyond reckoning.¹Tanh., 6:1; Numb. R. 18:22. (Ps. 33:7:) HE HAS GATHERED THE WATERS OF THE SEA LIKE A MOUND, AND HE HAS PUT THE DEEPS IN STOREHOUSES. Now what is the meaning of HE GATHERS THE WATERS OF THE SEA LIKE A MOUND? When the Holy One created the world, he said to the prince of the sea: Open your mouth and swallow all the waters of creation.²BB 74b. He said to him: Sovereign of the World, it is enough for me to continue with what is <already> mine. Then he began to weep. He kicked him to death, as stated (in Job 26:12): IN HIS POWER HE STILLED THE SEA, AND IN HIS UNDERSTANDING HE STRUCK DOWN RAHAB. [You find that the prince of the sea was named Rahab. What did the Holy One do? He subdued <the waters> and trampled them down;] and so it was that the sea accepted them, as stated (in Amos 4:13): HE TRAMPLES ON THE HEIGHTS³M. Pss. 93:5. Cf. Gen. R. 23:7, according to which the sea (i.e., the Mediterranean) is higher than the whole world. OF THE EARTH; THE LORD [GOD] OF HOSTS IS HIS NAME. So for <the waters> he set sand in place as bar and gates, according to what is stated (in Job 38:8): AND <WHO> BLOCKED OFF THE SEA WITH DOORS…. Moreover, it says (in Jer. 5:22): DO YOU NOT FEAR ME? SAYS THE LORD. [WILL YOU NOT TREMBLE BECAUSE OF ME,] WHEN I HAVE PLACED SAND AS A BOUNDARY FOR THE SEA? And it says (in Job 38: 10–11): <… AND I SET BAR AND GATES IN PLACE,> AND SAID: YOU MAY COME THIS FAR AND NO FARTHER. Then the sea said to him: Sovereign of the World, in that case my sweet waters will be mingled with the salt <waters>! He said to it: No! Each and every one will have a storehouse for oneself, as stated (in Ps. 33:7): AND HE HAS PUT THE DEEPS IN STOREHOUSES⁴See Gen. R. 4:5. If you should say that this is a great wonder for their waters not to mingle, then consider the face,⁵PRTsWP, an adaptation of the Gk.: prosopon. which the Holy One created in the children of Adam. <Although> the <size of> a full sit,⁶According to Rashi on Shab. 106a, a single sit was the distance between the tips of the of the middle and index fingers when held widely apart. A double sit was the distance between the tips of the thumb and index finger when held widely apart. For various definitions, see Jastrow, p. 977, s.v. SYT. it has so many springs (from 'YN); yet they do not mingle with one another. The waters of the eyes 'YN) are salty; the waters of the ears are oily; the waters of the nose are putrid; the waters of the mouth are sweet. For what reason are the waters of the eyes salty? Because when someone weeps for the dead, <doing so> all the time, he would immediately become blind; however, because <tears> are salty, he stops and does not weep. For what reason are the waters of the ears oily? Because when a person hears bad news, if he held it in his ears, it would collect in his heart, and he would die. Because they are oily, <the news> goes in one ear and out the other.⁷Literally: “<a person> discharges <bad news> through one <ear>, while he admits it through the other.” For what reason are the waters of the nose putrid? Because when a person emits a bad odor, if the waters of the nose were not putrid <enough> to stop it, he would soon die. And for what reason are the waters of the mouth sweet? It sometimes happens that someone eats food that does not agree with him, and he vomits. Now if the waters of the mouth were not sweet, he would not recover. Moreover, since he reads the Torah, of which it is written (in Ps. 19:11 [10]): SWEETER ALSO THAN HONEY AND THE DRIPPINGS OF THE COMB, the waters of the mouth are therefore sweet. Now here are the grounds for arguing a fortiori (qal wehomer), that if <something> <the size of> a full sit has so many springs without them mingling with one another, how much the more so in the case of the Great Sea, of which it is stated (in Ps. 104:25): THERE THE {GREAT SEA IS ALSO WIDE} [SEA IS GREAT AND WIDE]…. <This is> to teach that in everything the Holy One accomplishes his mission and that he has not created one thing in vain. Sometimes the Holy One has accomplished his mission by means of [a frog, by means of a gnat,⁸See Lev. R. 22:2-3; Eccl. R. 5:8:2, 4; PRE 49; also Shab. 77b; Exod. R. 10:1. by means of a wasp, or by means of] a scorpion. R. Hanan of Sepphoris said:⁹Cf. Gen. R. 10:7; Lev. R. 22:4; Eccl. R. 5:8:5. There is a story about a certain scorpion that went to carry out <the Holy One's> mission (to sting a certain person) beyond the Jordan; so the Holy One summoned a certain frog for him, and he crossed over upon it. Then that scorpion went and stung <the> person so that he died. <There is> also a story about a certain reaper who stood and reaped in the valley of Beth-Tofah. When burning heat came, he took grass <and> {cut} [tied] it on his head. <When> a certain mighty serpent came at him, he killed it. A certain <snake> charmer passed by him. He saw the slain serpent. He said to him: who killed that serpent? He said to him I <did>. He looked at the grass on his head. He said to him: Will you remove the grass from your head? He told him: Yes. When he had removed it, he said to him: Are you able to remove this snake with this staff? He told him: Yes. He did so. <When> he drew near to it, he had not succeeded in touching it, before he shed his body parts one by one.

On the first day He took a lump of snow from beneath the Throne of Glory and threw it on the face of the waters in the middle of the world and it became land as it says, “For He says to the snow, 'Be upon the earth'…” (Iyov 37:6) And He took the foundation stone and cast it onto the place of the Temple and the world was founded upon it as it says, “…or who laid its cornerstone?” (Iyov 38:6) He called to the land and it stood in its place in order that it not move back and forth like a ship on the high seas as it says, “…God, God the Lord, spoke and called to the earth…” (Tehillim 50:1) And since His light shined, it shined first on the land of Israel and from there illuminated the whole world as it says, “From Zion, the perfection of beauty, God appeared.” (Tehillim 50:2) How did He illuminate it? He donned His tallit and wrapped Himself in His light and lit up the world as it says, “[You] enwrap Yourself with light like a garment…” (Tehillim 104:2) All that day the waters covered the land and it was dissolving until He donned the garments of majesty and His glory was seen as it says, “The Lord has reigned; He has attired Himself with majesty…” (Tehillim 93:1) And He girded Himself with a belt of might and established it through His might as it says, “…He has girded Himself with might. The world also is established that it cannot be moved.” (ibid.)

(Exodus 12:1) "saying": Go and say it to them immediately. These are the words of R. Yishmael. As it is written (Exodus 34:34) "And he went out and spoke to the children of Israel what he had been commanded." R. Eliezer says: (The intent is) Go out and say it to them and return word to Me, viz. (Ibid. 19:8) "and Moses returned the words of the people to the L rd," and (Ezekiel 9:11) "And, behold, the man clothed in linen on whose loins was the scribe's slate returned word saying I have done according to all that You have commanded me," and (Iyyov 38:35) "Did you dispatch lightning bolts, so that they should go forth and say to you 'Here we are'"? The messengers of the Holy One Blessed be He are not as those of flesh and blood. The messengers of flesh and blood must return to their sender. Not so Your messengers, but "Did You dispatch lightning bolts so that they should go forth?" It is not written "and they shall return and say." Wherever they go they are before You and they say we have fulfilled Your embassy, in fulfillment of (Jeremiah 23:24) "Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?" R. Oshiyah said: When the Holy One Blessed be He decrees good and bad decrees for Israel, a report is returned to Him for the good, but not for the bad, viz. (Ezekiel 9:2-11) "And, behold, six men were coming, etc." — whereupon they fulfilled their embassy. Of those who were commanded to carry out the evil decree (i.e., to destroy), we do not learn that they returned report. Of him who was commanded over the good (i.e., the man clothed in linen), we learn that he returned report (viz. 9:11) "Ben Azzai says: "In the voice that you hear (what is taught), in that voice you teach." (i.e., "Affirmation begets affirmation."). R. Akiva says (Exodus 12:1) "saying": Go and say to them that it is in their merit that He speaks to me (Moses). And thus do we find, that in all the thirty-eight years that He was angry with Israel (i.e., from the episode of the spies and on), He did not speak with him, viz. (Devarim 2:16-17) And it was, when all the men of war (those from the age of twenty) had finished dying from the midst of the people, that the L rd spoke to me, saying." R. Shimon b. Azzai said: I do not come to detract from my master's words, but to add to them, viz.: Not to Moses alone did He speak in the merit of Israel, but to all of the prophets, viz. (Ezekiel 3:15) "And I sat there seven days, mute (i.e., without prophecy) among them," (Ibid. 16-17) "And it was at the end of seven days (of being among them) that the word of the L rd (i.e., prophecy) came to me, saying." (Likewise, after the people had asked for Divine guidance), (Jeremiah 42:7) "And the word of the L rd came to Jeremiah, etc." And thus do you find with Baruch the soon of Neriah, who complained before the L rd, (Ibid. 45:3) "You (Baruch) say: Woe unto me, the L rd has added grief to my pain!" (You say:) Why am I different from all the disciples of the prophets? Joshua served Moses and the spirit of the L rd reposed upon him. Elisha served Eliyahu and the spirit of the L rd reposed upon him. Why am I different? (Ibid.) "I wearied myself with groanings but I did not find rest," "rest" being prophecy, as in (Numbers 11:21) "And the spirit rested upon them … and they prophesied in the camp," (II Kings 2:15) "And the spirit of Eliyahu has rested on Elisha," (Isaiah 11:2) "And the spirit of the L rd will rest upon him." Come and see how the L rd answered him (Jeremiah 45:4-5) "Thus said the L rd. What I have built I am going to destroy, and what I have planted I am going to uproot, and you are seeking 'great things' for yourself?", "great things" being prophecy, as in (II Kings 8:4) "Tell me, now, of all the 'great things' that Elisha (the prophet) has wrought," and (Jeremiah 33:3) "Call Me and I will tell you (Jeremiah the prophet) 'great things' and in forms that you have not known," (G d) saying to Baruch the son of Neriah, as it were: If there is no vineyard, there is no (need of a) fence; if there is no flock, there is no shepherd. Why? (Jeremiah 45:5) "For I am going to bring evil upon all flesh. And shall I render your soul (i.e., your prophetic soul) as spoil unto you wherever you go?" — whence we see that the prophets prophesy only in the merit of Israel.

Rabbi Yehudah Bar Simon opened with (Daniel 2:22): "He reveals the deep and secret. He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him." "He reveals the deep"--this is Hell, as it says (Proverbs 9:18): "He does not know there are spirits there," and it says (Isaiah 30:33): "deep and large". "And secret"--this is Paradise, as it says (Isaiah 4:6): "for a cover and refuge from storm and rain," and it says (Psalms 31:21): "You hide them in the cover of Your presence." Alternatively, "he reveals the deep and secret"--these are the acts of the wicked, as it says (Isaiah 29:15): "Woe to the ones who seek deep from God to make their counsel secret." "And secret"--these are the acts of the wicked, as the verse states. "He knows what is in the dark"--these are the acts of the wicked, as it says in Isaiah: "Their acts are in the dark." "The light dwells with Him"--these are the acts of the righteous, as it is written (Proverbs 4:18): "The path of the righteous is like the light at dawn," and it says (Psalms 97:11): "Light is sown for the righteous." Rabbi Abba Srungia said: "The light dwells with Him"--this is the Messiah, as it says (Isaiah 60:1): "Arise, shine, for your light has come." Rabbi Yehudah Bar Simon said: From the beginning of the creation of the world, "he revealed the dark and secret". "In the beginning God created the heavens," but it is not explained. Where is it explained? Here (Isaiah 40:22): "He stretches out the heavens like a curtain." "And the land," but it is not explained. Where is it explained? Here (Job 37:6): "For He says to the snow: 'Fall on the earth.'" and (Job 38:38) "When the dust runs into a mass, and the clods cleave together." "And God said: 'Let there be light,'" and it is not explained. Where is it explained? (Psalms 104:2) "You cover Yourself with light like a garment."

(Ib. 9, 17) He that bruiseth me with s'arah (storm) and multiplieth my wounds without a cause. Rabba said: "Job, when blaspheming, used the word S'arah (stormanger), and he was also answered with S'arah. He blasphemed with S'arah, as it is written: He that bruiseth me with S'arah (storm). He thus said before the Holy One, praised be He! 'Sovereign of the Universe! Perhaps a storm wind passed before Thee and changed to Thee the word Iyob (Job) to Oyeb (enemy); and he was also answered with S'arah, as it is written (Ib. 38, 1) And the Lord answered Job from the S'arah." "Do not gird up like a mighty man thy loins; and I will ask thee, and do thou inform Me. So said He: "I have created many hairs on human beings, and for each hair I have created a separate pore; for if two should be nourished from one pore, it would blind the eyes of men; now from one pore to another, between these pores I did not make a mistake, and from lyob to Oyeb [you say that I have made a mistake]. (Ib., ib. 25) What hath divided off water-courses, etc. There are many drops that I have created in the clouds, and for each drop there is a separate place; for if two drops should go into one, they would make the earth too soft and it could not produce. Between this I did not make a mistake, and from lyob to Oyeb [you say that] I made a mistake! … And a way for the lightning that is followed by thunders. Many thunders have I created in the clouds, and for each thunder there is a separate path; for if two should go along the same path, they would destroy the world. Between these paths I did not make a mistake, and from Ilob to Oyeb [you say that] I made a mistake! (Ib. 39, 1)! Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth? Or canst thou work when the hinds do calve? The wild goat of the rock is cruel towards its offspring, and when the time (Ib. b) of bearing comes she ascends to the top of the mountain, so that the offspring should fall down and die. And I summon an eagle which receives it with its wings, and places them before her. This must happen at the exact moment, for should it occur a second earlier or a second later the children would die. Now between one and the other I did not make a mistake, and from lyob to Oyeb [you say that] I did make a mistake. Or canst thou mark when the hinds do calve? The hind has a narrow womb, and when the time of bearing comes I procure a snake that bites her womb, so that she is able to bring forth her offspring. This must happen at the exact moment, for if it occurs a second later the mother would die. Now from one second to the other I do not make a mistake; and from lyob to Oyeb [you say that] I made a mistake?" (Ib. 24, 35) job hath not spoken without knowledge, and his words are without intelligence. Raba said: "From this it may be deduced that a man is not taken to account for what he speaks in his distress."

Another interpretation (of Lev. 21:1), “Speak unto the priests”: What is written above the matter (in Lev. 20:27)? “When a man or a woman has a ghost or a familiar spirit […].” And afterwards, “Speak unto the priests.” This text is related (to Is. 8:19), “And when they say unto you, ‘Inquire of ghosts and familiar spirits.’”²Lev. R. 6:6. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel, “If they say unto you, ‘Inquire of ghosts, and forsake the God who is in the heavens,’ say to them (ibid. cont.), ‘should not a people inquire of its God?’” Just as Elijah said to Ahaziah (in II Kings 1:3), “Is it for lack of a God in Israel that you are sending to inquire of Baal-Zebub […]?” Why should we forsake the everlasting God? (Jer. 10:10:) “But the Lord is a true God; He is a living God and an everlasting King.” We therefore seek a living God; however, the god[s] of the nations of the world are dead [and (according to Ps. 115:6),] “They have a mouth, but they do not speak; they have eyes but do not see.” [But] about us it is written (in Deut. 4:4), “But you who clung to the Lord your God are all alive today.” We therefore seek a living God. However, [concerning] the god[s] of the nations of the world (according to Ps. 115:6), “Those who make them shall be like them.” What is written after [Is. 8:19], (in vs. 20)? “For instruction (Torah) and for testimony, if they do not speak according to this word, such a one shall have no dawn.”³Similarly in the 1985 JPS translation: FOR ONE WHO SPEAKS THUS THERE SHALL BE NO DAWN. So understood, the clause means that a necromancer will not live to see the dawn. Such a translation fits the immediate context of the midrash. The clause can also mean: SUCH A ONE HAS NO LIGHT, i.e., a necromancer cannot enlighten. This translation better fits the interpretations that follow. R. Johanan and R. Laqish [differed]. R. Johanan said, “The Holy One, blessed be He, said, ‘If they do not speak according to this word to the nations of the world they (sic) have no dawn; I will not shine the dawn upon them.’”⁴See the previous note. [But] R. Laqish says, “It (i.e., the word of a necromancer) shall have no dawn. The ghosts and the familiar spirits do not enlighten (literally, raise up the dawn upon) themselves, since they are [themselves] set in darkness; and all the more does this [principle] hold true for others.” So if you should say, “Of whom shall we inquire?” See, it says (in Deut. 17:9-11), “And you shall come unto the Levitical priests and unto the judge […. You shall act....] According to the Torah which they shall teach you.” (Lev. 20:27:) When a man or a woman has a ghost or a familiar spirit.” What is written after that (in Lev. 21:1)? “Speak unto the priests.” What relation does the one have to the other? It is simply that the Holy One, blessed be He, foresaw that Saul was going to be king over Israel and kill the priests [and] then inquire of a ghost and a familiar spirit. It is so stated (in I Sam. 28:7), “Then Saul said to his servants, ‘Seek me out a woman who controls a ghost.’” Resh Laqish said, “To what is Saul comparable?⁵Lev. R. 26:7; M. Sam. 24. To a king who entered a province and said, ‘All the cocks in this province are to be slaughtered tonight. [When] he wished to depart on his way in the morning, he said, ‘Is there no cock to crow here?’ They said to him, ‘Are you not the one who ordered them to be killed?’ Here also (in I Sam. 28:3) ‘Saul had put away the ghosts and the familiar spirits’; and [now] he went back and said (in vs. 7) ‘Seek me out a woman who controls a ghost.’” (Vs. 8:) “Then Saul disguised himself. What is the meaning of “disguised himself (rt.: hpsh)?” That he had become divested (rt.: hpsh) of the kingship. (Ibid., cont.:) “And he went with two men.” Who were they? Abner and Amasa. The Torah has taught proper protocol, that one does not leave on a journey by oneself; as anyone who leaves on a journey by himself become a slave to slaves. R. Ayyevu said, “Two men acted with proper protocol, Abraham and Saul. [Regarding Abraham it is written (in Gen. 22:3), ‘and he (i.e., Abraham) took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac [...].’ And here (in I Sam. 28:8), ‘and he (Saul) went with two men.’” (Ibid., cont.:) “And they came unto the woman at night.” Was it at night? It is simply that this time was for them as black as night. (Ibid., cont.:) “Then he said, ‘Please divine for me through a ghost […].” She said (in vs. 9) “You know what Saul has done, how he has rooted out the ghosts and the familiar spirits from the land.” He said immediately (in vs. 10), “As the Lord lives, no punishment shall befall you over this matter.” Resh Laqish said, “To what is Saul comparable? To a woman who was situated with her lover and swore by the life of her husband.” (Vs. 11:) “Then the woman said, ‘Whom (Mi) shall I bring up for you?’” One of those who say (as in Exod. 15:11), “Who (Mi) is like You among the powers, O Lord,”⁶Words spoken by Moses, typifying the righteous. The verse is suggested by the mi in Saul’s question. or one of those who say (as in Exod. 5:2:),⁷Words spoken by Pharaoh, typifying the wicked. “Who is the Lord?” He said to her (in I Sam. 28:11, cont.), “Bring up Samuel for me,” the master of the prophets. She did what she did and brought him up. (Vs. 12:) “When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out [with] a loud voice, and the woman spoke [unto Saul, saying], ‘Why have you deceived me? For you are Saul.’” How did she know? Our masters have said, “[A ghost] does not come up for a king as it comes up for a commoner.⁸Gk.: idiotes. For the king its face is up and its feet down, just like everyone [on earth]; but for the commoner its feet are up and its face down.” (Vs. 13:) “Then the king said to her, ‘Do not be afraid; for what do you see?’ And the woman said unto Saul, ‘I saw powers (elohim) coming up from the earth.’” Powers (here in the plural form) implies two. So who were they? Moses and Samuel. When Saul heard this, he was afraid, because he had called one, but two had arisen, as stated, “I saw powers coming up from the earth.” (Vs. 14:) “Then he said to her, ‘What does he look like?’ And she said, ‘An old man is coming up, and he is wrapped in a robe.’” They have said three things about bringing up a [ghost]. 1. The one bringing it up sees it but does not hear its voice. 2. The one asking for it hears its voice but does not see it. 3. Those standing there neither see it nor hear its voice. (Ibid.:) “An old man is coming up, and he is wrapped in a robe.” And elsewhere it says (in I Sam. 2:19), “His mother would make a little robe for him.”⁹Cf. above, Gen. 11:9. It was taught that this was the robe that grew upon him; in it he was buried; in it he rose up. It has been taught in the name of R. Nathan: A garment which goes down to the grave with a person is going to rise on him in the resurrection of the dead.¹⁰yKil. 9:4 (32b). Thus it is stated (in Job 38:14), “It is changed like clay under a seal, and they stand forth as in a garment.” (I Sam. 28:14-15) “Then Saul knew that it was Samuel; so he bowed with his face to the ground and did homage. Samuel said unto Saul, ‘Why have you disturbed me and brought me up? Have you no way to disturb your Creator except through me, in that you have made me an idol.¹¹See Gen. R. 96:5 (6).Did we not teach the following? Just as one exacts punishment from the worshiper, so does one exact punishment from those worshiped.’” Some say, “’Why have you disturbed me?’ [is meaning] that he said to him, ‘I was disturbed lest it be the Day of Judgment, and I was afraid.’” Now here is an argument a fortiori (qal wahomer): For if Samuel, the master of all the prophets, was afraid of the Day of Judgment, how much the more does the rest of humanity [have to fear]? When Rabbi would reach this verse (Amos 4:13), he would cry: “Hate evil and love good, and establish justice in the gate; perhaps the Lord, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.” He said, “So much, and [only] ‘perhaps?’” [Similar is (Zeph. 2:3),] “Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land who have fulfilled His law, seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will find shelter on the day of the Lord’s anger.” R. Haggai said, “[Similarly (in Lamentations 3:29),] ‘Let him put his mouth to the dirt, perhaps there is hope.’” [Similar is the verse (in Lamentations 12:14),] “For God will call every creature to account for everything unknown.” (I Sam. 28:15, cont.:) “And Saul said, ‘I am very distressed […], He (i.e., the Holy One, blessed be He) no longer answers me either through prophets or in dreams….” Why did he not [also] say to him, "[Or] by Urim and Thummim"?¹²According to vs. 6, the Holy One had also failed to answer Saul through this medium. R. Isaac said (Prov. 14:10), “’The heart knows its own bitterness,’ in that he had destroyed Nob, the city of priests.”¹³Lev. R. explains further, that if Saul had brought up the matter of the high priest’s Urim and Thummim, Samuel would have replied that it was he, Saul, who had done away with them by killing the priests at Nob. Samuel said to him, (I Sam. 28:17), “The Lord has done for Himself according to what He spoke through me; for the Lord has torn the kingship out of your hand and given it to your companion, to David.” He said to him, “When you were with us [in the flesh], you said to me (in I Sam. 15:28), ‘and given it to a companion of yours who is better than you’; and now you say, ‘to your companion, to David?’” He said to him. “When I was with you, I was in the world of falsehood, and I was telling you words of falsehood, because I was afraid of you, lest you kill me. Now, however, I am in the world of truth, you will only hear words of truth from me. He did not do this thing to you for no reason. Rather (according to I Sam. 28:18-19), ‘Because you did not hearken to the voice of the Lord and did not carry out his wrath against Amalek…. Moreover, the Lord will deliver Israel along with you into the hand of the Philistines; and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me.’”” With me,” [means] in my section [of heaven]. When he heard this, (according to vs. 20), “Immediately Saul fell full length to the ground, for he was terrified because of Samuel's words.” Abner and Amasa said to him, “What did [Samuel] say to you?” He said to them, “He said to me, ‘Tomorrow you will go down to battle and be victorious. In addition, your sons will be appointed to be great leaders’”. Resh Laqish said, “At that time the Holy One, blessed be He, called the ministering angels. He said to them, ‘Come and see the creature that I have created in My world. By universal custom when one goes to a banquet house, he does not take his children with him for fear of the evil eye; but this one, when he is going down to battle and knows that he will be killed, takes his sons with him and is happy over the divine justice that is striking him.’”¹⁴M. Pss. 7:2. R. Joshua of Sikhnin said in the name of R. Levi, “[This] teaches that the Holy One, blessed be He, showed Moses every generation and its expositors, every generation and its judges, every generation and its kings; and he showed him Saul and his sons falling by the sword.¹⁵Tanna deve Eliyahu Zuta, 6; cf. Sanh. 38b; AZ 5a, according to both of which the expositors and other generational leaders were shown to Adam. He said to him, ‘Master of the world, will the first king to stand over Your children be pierced by the sword?’ He said to him, ‘Moses, [why] are you telling me? Tell the priests whom he killed. [They are the ones] who are denouncing¹⁶Gk.: kategorein. him,’ as stated, ‘And the Lord spoke to Moses, “Speak to the priests.”’” Our masters have taught, “That righteous man (i.e., Saul) was killed for five sins. Thus it is stated (in I Chron. 10:13), ‘So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the Lord’: Because he had destroyed Nob, the city of priests; Because he had spared Agag; Because he had not hearkened to Samuel, as stated (in I Sam. 10:8), ‘wait seven days …,’ since he did not do so; but (according to I Sam. 13:12), ‘and I forced myself to offer the burnt offering’; (In I Chron. 10:13-14) ‘and also he inquired for counsel through a ghost; And he did not inquire through the Lord.’”

(Deut. 7:12:) “And it shall come to pass if you heed [these statutes].” This text is related (to Prov. 5:6), “She does not steer a straight path of life; her ways wander, and she does not know it.” R. Abba bar Kahana said, “That you should not practice give and take among the commandments of Torah to see which reward of Torah and commandment is greatest and perform that one.²M. Ps. 9:3; see Deut. R. 6:2. Why? (Ibid.:) ‘Her ways wander, and she does not know it.’ The paths of [rewards of] the Torah have been moved.” R. Hiyya said, “A parable: To what is the matter comparable? To a king who had an orchard and introduced workers into it, but the king did not disclose the reward (i.e., the payment) for his seedlings to them; because if he revealed the reward for his [various] seedlings, one would see which seedling increased [their] reward, and plant that one. The work in the orchard would end up with some of it suspended and some of it carried out. Similarly the Holy One, blessed be He, did not reveal the reward for each and every commandment in the Torah; for if he had revealed it, the commandments would have been found with some of them carried out and some of them suspended.” And R. Aha said in the name of R. Abba bar Kahana, “The Holy One, blessed be He, has made the reward for fulfilling a commandment moved around in this world, so that Israel would totally fulfill them.”³yPe’ah 1:1 (15d); yQid. 1:7 (61b); PR 23/24:2. R. Simeon ben Johay taught, “For two commandments did the Holy One, blessed be He, reveal their reward. These are the lightest of the light and the weightiest of the weighty ones. The lightest of the light ones is sending away [the mother from] the nest; and there it is written (in Deut. 22:7), ‘and you will prolong your days.’ The most weighty is honoring parents, about which it is [also] written (in Deut. 5:16 // Exod. 20:12), ‘so that you will lengthen your days.’⁴So also M. Sam. Note that they are equal with regard to reward [in] this world.” R. Abba bar Kahana said, “If in regard to paying a debt, length of days is written,⁵Enoch Zundel, in his commentary, ‘Ets Yosef, on Tanh., Deut. 3:2, suggests the debt here is the debt to parents for bearing, rearing, and education. how much the more so when it is a case of damage to purse and loss of life.” R. Levi said, “They said something greater than that: A case of paying a debt is more important than a case of damage to purse and loss of life.” R. Abba bar Kahana said in the name of Rabbi, “Just as the giving of their reward is great, so [too] are their punishments great.” That is what is written (in Prov. 30:17), “The eye that mocks a father and scorns obeying a mother will have the wadi ravens pluck it out and the young eagles devour it.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said, “A raven, which is cruel to its young, will come and pluck it out without profiting from it; an eagle, which is merciful to its young, will come and will profit from it.” And where is it shown that a raven is cruel to its young? Where it is stated (in Job 38:41), “Who provides prey for the raven, when its young cry unto God and wander about without food.” It also says (in Ps. 147:9), “to young ravens when they cry out.” When the raven reproduces, it reproduces white [young].⁶PRE 21. Then the male says to the female that another bird has begotten it. So they reject and forsake them. What does the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He brings forth gnats from their dung.⁷See Lev. R. 19:1. Then [the gnats] fly, and [the young] eat them.⁸Cf. Yalqut Shim’oni, Deut. 846: “Then they fly over them, eat, and become black.” This is what is written (in Job 38:41), “Who provides prey for the raven.” But the eagle is merciful, as it is written (in Deut. 32:11), “As an eagle stirs up its nest and hovers over its young]; it spreads its wings, takes them up, and bears them aloft on its pinions.” As it is not confident about them because of other birds who pursue them. What does it do? It places them on its wings and says, “Better that the arrow should go through me and not through my children.”

(Fol. 25) R. Joshua b. Levi said: "We must be grateful to our forefathers for having informed us of the place where we are to pray; as it is said (Nech. 9, 6) And the host of the heavens, the sun and all other illuminaries which are in the east bow down before Thee towards the West." R. Akiba b. Jacob opposed it, saying: "Perhaps they go backwards, as a slave does usually before his master; and when they come to the West, they bow toward the East?" The objection remains. R. Hoshia, however, holds that the Shechina is all over, for R. Hoshia said: "Whence do we learn that the Shechina is all over? It is said (Ib., ib.) Thou indeed art the Eternal One alone; i.e.. Thy messengers are not like the messengers of frail man; for the messenger of frail man usually returns [when he has accomplished his task] to the place from which he was sent [announcing the fulfillment of his duty], but Thy messengers report the fulfillment of duty at the very place to which they were sent; as it is said (Job, 38, 35) Canst thou send out lightnings that may go, and say unto thee, "Here are we." It does not read that they come and say Here are we, but that they go and say it in the place to which they were sent. Hence the Shechina is all over." And R. Ishmael also maintains the same; for at the school of R. Ishmael it was taught, whence do we learn that the Shechina is all over? It is said (Zeeh. 2, 7) And behold, the angel that spoke with me went out, and another angel eame out to meet him. It does not read after him (achrar), but against him (likrath); infer from this that the Shechina is everywhere. And R. Shesheth also agrees with his interpretation, for R. Shesheth [who was blind] would say to his servant: "You may place me [for prayer] in any direction except due East: not because the Shechina is not resting there, but because the minim have decided that one must pray only towards due East." R. Abahu, however, maintains that the Shechina is resting in the West; for R. Abahu said: "Why is the West called Uriya? Because the Divine air is there."

Was light created on the first day? Is it not written (Gen. 1, 17) And God set them in the expansion of the heaven, and further it is written (Ib. 1, 19) And it was evening and it was morning the fourth day? We must therefore explain this as R. Elazar said: "The light which the Holy One created on the first day, was so bright that Adam saw by its means from one end of the world to the other. As soon as the Holy One, praised be He! observed the generation of the flood and the generation of the dispersion, and looked into their corrupt deeds, He took the light from the world and concealed it for the righteous in the world to come, as it is said (Job 38, 15) But from the wicked their light is withholden, and the high arm is broken. And for whom was it concealed? For the righteous in the future world, as it is said (Gen. 1, 3) And God saw the light, that it was good (Tob). And the word Tob applies to righteous, as it is said (Is. 3, 10) Say ye to the righteous that He hath done well (Tob). And whenever He looks at the light which He has concealed for the righteous. He rejoices, as it is said (Ps. 13, 9) The light of the righteous rejoiceth. In this, however, the Tanaim of the following Baraitha differ: "The light which the Holy One, praised be He! created on the first day was so great that Adam looked and saw by its means from one end of the world to the other." This is the opinion of R. Jacob. But the sages say: "This refers to the luminaries which were created on that first day, but which were not hung up until the fourth day."

R. Simeon ben Johay taught: For two commandments the Holy One did reveal their reward. These are the simplest of the simple and the most weighty of the weighty ones. The simplest of the simple ones is (Deut. 22:7): YOU SHALL SURELY LET THE MOTHER <BIRD> GO AND TAKE <ONLY> THE YOUNG FOR YOUR SELF, SO THAT IT WILL GO WELL WITH YOU, AND YOU WILL PROLONG YOUR DAYS. The most weighty is (in Deut. 5:16 // Exod. 20:12): HONOR YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER …, SO THAT HE WILL LENGTHEN YOUR DAYS…..⁷So also M. Sam. 7; cf. Mark 7:10–11 // Matthew 15:4–5. Note that they are equal this world with regard to reward. Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: If in regard to paying a debt, about <which> length of days is written,⁸Enoch Zundel, in his commentary, ‘Ets Yosef, on the parallel in Tanh., Deut. 3:2, suggests the debt here is the debt to parents for bearing, rearing, and education. how much the more so when it is a case of damage to purse and loss of life. R. Levi said: They said something more significant than that. A case of paying a debt is more important than a case of damage to purse and loss of life. R. Simeon ben Johay said: Just as their reward is great, so are their punishments great. That is what is written (in Prov. 30:17):THE EYE THAT MOCKS A FATHER AND SCORNS OBEYING A MOTHER WILL HAVE THE WADI RAVENS PLUCK IT OUT AND THE YOUNG EAGLES DEVOUR IT. Why will ravens pluck it out and eagles devour it? The Holy One said: A raven, which is cruel to its young, will come and pluck it out without profiting from it; an eagle, which is merciful to its young, will come and will profit from it. And where is it shown that a raven is cruel to its young? Where it is stated (in Job 38:41): WHO PROVIDES PREY FOR THE RAVEN, [WHEN ITS YOUNG CRY UNTO GOD AND WANDER ABOUT WITHOUT FOOD]. It also says (in Ps. 147:9): TO YOUNG RAVENS WHEN THEY CRY OUT. When the raven reproduces, it reproduces white <young>.⁹PRE 21. Then the male says to the female that another bird has begotten it. So they reject and forsake them. What does the Holy One do? He brings forth gnats from their dung.¹⁰See Lev. R. 19:1. Then <the young> fly, and eat, and from that become black.¹¹Similarly Yalqut Shim’oni, Deut. 846: “Then they fly over them, eat, and become black”; but cf. the parallel in Tanh., Deut. 3:2, which omits any reference to the ravens becoming black. This is what is written (in Job 38:41): WHO PROVIDES PREY FOR THE RAVEN. But where is it shown for the eagle, that it is merciful? Where it is written (in Deut. 32:11): AS AN EAGLE STIRS UP ITS NEST <AND HOVERS OVER ITS YOUNG>. However, no one trusts them because of other birds who pursue them. What does it do? (Ibid., cont.:) IT SPREADS ITS WINGS, TAKES THEM UP, <AND BEARS THEM ALOFT ON ITS PINIONS>. Ergo (in Prov. 30:17): THE WADI RAVENS PLUCK IT OUT, AND THE YOUNG EAGLES DEVOUR IT.

And God called the light day - Is it not day when there's light? This is surprising! It is taught: the light that was created in the six days of Creation cannot illuminate during the day because it dims the sun, and at night it cannot since it was only created to illuminate during the day. And where is it? It is hidden,and is prepared for the righteous for the Future, as it says "and the light of the moon will be like the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven times like the light of the seven days" (Isaiah 30:26). This is surprising! Seven? Aren't they three (days)? Weren't the luminaries created on the fourth? Rather, it is like a person who says 'such and such way I order for the seven days of my wedding feast.' Rabbi Nechemiah said: these are the seven days of mourning for the righteous Metushelach, that the Holy One of Blessing gave to them light in abundance. 'And God saw that the light was good' - Rabbi Ze'ira the son of Rabbi Abahu explained in Cesarea: from where do we know that we do not say a blessing over the candle before its light is established? From here: and He saw; and He separated. Rabbi Yehudah in the name of Rabbi Simon said: He separated it for Himself. The rabbis say: He separated it for the righteous in the Future. This is similar to a king who had a beautiful meal and separated it for his son. Said Rabbi Berachiah: 'Rabbi Yochanan and Rabbi Shimeon ben Lakish, two great ones of the world, explained this: 'and He separated' is a complete separation. This is similar to a king who had two commanders, one to command during the day and one to command during the night, and the two were disputing with one another, one saying 'I command during the day' and the other saying 'I command during the day.' So the king called the first one and said: 'Ploni, the day will be your charge.' And so to the second and said: 'Ploni, the night will be your charge.' Said Rabbi Yochanan: 'This is what the Holy One of Blessing said to Job: "Have you commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its place?" (Job 38:12) Do you know your place? This is surprising. Said Rabbi Tanchuma: 'I will say its reason: "Fashioner of Light and Creator of Darkness, Maker of Peace" (Isaiah 45:7) From the moment of its creation, He makes peace. 'And God called the light day' - said Rabbi Eleazar: The Holy One of Blessing never unites His name to evil, only to goodness: it is not written 'and God called the light day; and the darkness God called night'; rather, [it is written] 'and the darkness, called night.'

At Thy rebuke they fled (ibid.). When a man sees that his winepress is filled with grapes, and that his vineyard is ready for cutting, others may ask him: “What will you do with these grapes, since the vat is too small to contain them?” What does he do? He treads down the grapes in the vat and then puts in the new grapes. Then it is able to contain all his grapes. Similarly, though the entire world was submerged under water, the Holy One, blessed be He, declared: Let the dry earth appear (Gen. 1:9). The water thereupon cried out: “Though we fill the entire world, it is cramped for us. Whither shall we go?” What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He trampled upon the ocean⁴Normally the Mediterranean, but in this instance, as indicated a few lines below, the Dead Sea. and slew its prince,⁵See Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews 5:26, Bava Batra 74b Leviathan was a legendary sea animal destined to be eaten by the righteous in the future. as it is said: He stirreth up the sea with His power, and by His understanding he smiteth through Rahab (Job 26:12). Smiteth is an expression that indicates slaying, as it is said: And with the hammer she smote Sisera, she smote through his head, yea, she pierced and struck through his temple (Judg. 5:26). The seas mourn (bohin) to this very day because He slew the prince of the sea, as is said: Hast thou entered into the springs (nibhe) of the sea? (Job 38:16). Why did He slay him? Because a house that can accommodate a hundred living people can contain a thousand dead. That is why the ocean is called the Dead Sea. Ultimately, however, the Holy One, blessed be He, will heal it, as it is said: When they shall enter into the sea of the putrid waters, the waters shall be healed (Ezek. 47:8). When the other waters observed that the Holy One, blessed be He, had trampled upon the ocean, they fled from the loud cries of their fellow-waters, as it is said: At Thy rebuke they fled, at the voice of Thy thunder they hastened away (Ps. 104:7).

For I was a son unto my father indicates that before I left my mother’s womb I was the son of the Holy One, blessed be He, who rebuked me as a father rebukes his son. Tender and an only one in the sight of my mother alludes to the time I was tender and alone and no one was with me in my mother’s womb. Then the angel instructed me and told me: “Take my words to heart, keep my commandments and it shall be as described above.” The Holy One, blessed be He, then warned him concerning everything that would transpire, and the angel led him about from morning until evening. He showed him where he would die and where he would be buried. Then he led him about and walked with him through the world, showing him the righteous and the wicked and everything else. In the evening he brought him back to his mother’s womb. The Holy One, blessed be He, fashioned bolts and doors (Job 38:10) before him, as it is said: Or who shut up the sea with the doors? (ibid., v. 8), and I have put My words in thy mouth, and have covered thee in the shadow of My hand (Isa. 51:6). Then He said to him: Thus far shalt you come, but no farther (Job 38:11).

For I was a son unto my father indicates that before I left my mother’s womb I was the son of the Holy One, blessed be He, who rebuked me as a father rebukes his son. Tender and an only one in the sight of my mother alludes to the time I was tender and alone and no one was with me in my mother’s womb. Then the angel instructed me and told me: “Take my words to heart, keep my commandments and it shall be as described above.” The Holy One, blessed be He, then warned him concerning everything that would transpire, and the angel led him about from morning until evening. He showed him where he would die and where he would be buried. Then he led him about and walked with him through the world, showing him the righteous and the wicked and everything else. In the evening he brought him back to his mother’s womb. The Holy One, blessed be He, fashioned bolts and doors (Job 38:10) before him, as it is said: Or who shut up the sea with the doors? (ibid., v. 8), and I have put My words in thy mouth, and have covered thee in the shadow of My hand (Isa. 51:6). Then He said to him: Thus far shalt you come, but no farther (Job 38:11).

For I was a son unto my father indicates that before I left my mother’s womb I was the son of the Holy One, blessed be He, who rebuked me as a father rebukes his son. Tender and an only one in the sight of my mother alludes to the time I was tender and alone and no one was with me in my mother’s womb. Then the angel instructed me and told me: “Take my words to heart, keep my commandments and it shall be as described above.” The Holy One, blessed be He, then warned him concerning everything that would transpire, and the angel led him about from morning until evening. He showed him where he would die and where he would be buried. Then he led him about and walked with him through the world, showing him the righteous and the wicked and everything else. In the evening he brought him back to his mother’s womb. The Holy One, blessed be He, fashioned bolts and doors (Job 38:10) before him, as it is said: Or who shut up the sea with the doors? (ibid., v. 8), and I have put My words in thy mouth, and have covered thee in the shadow of My hand (Isa. 51:6). Then He said to him: Thus far shalt you come, but no farther (Job 38:11).

Four quarters have been created in the world; the quarter facing the east, that facing the south, that facing the west and that facing the north. From the quarter facing the east the light goeth forth to the world. From the quarter facing south the dews of blessing and the rains of blessing go forth to the world. From the quarter facing west where are the treasuries of snow and the treasuries of hail, and thence come forth into the world cold and heat and rains. From the quarter facing north darkness goeth forth into the world. The quarter facing north He created, but He did not complete it, for He said, Anyone who says: I am a God, let him come and complete this quarter which I have left (incomplete) and all will know that he is a God.

(Lev. 20:27:) WHEN A MAN OR A WOMAN HAS A GHOST OR A FAMILIAR SPIRIT. What is written after that (in Lev. 21:1)? SPEAK UNTO THE PRIESTS. What relation does the one have to the other? It is simply that the Holy One foresaw that Saul was going to be king over Israel and kill the priests; then inquire of a ghost and a familiar spirit. It is so stated (in I Sam. 28:7): THEN SAUL SAID {UNTO} [TO] HIS SERVANTS: SEEK ME OUT A WOMAN WHO CONTROLS A GHOST. Resh Laqish said: To what is Saul comparable?⁷Tanh., Lev. 8:2; Lev. R. 26:7; M. Sam. 24. To a king who entered a province and said: All the cocks in this province are to be slaughtered tonight. < When > he wished to depart on his way, he said: Is there no cock to crow here? They said to him: Did you not order them to be killed? Here also (in I Sam. 28:3) Saul had put away the ghosts and the familiar spirits; so Saul said (in vs. 7) SEEK ME OUT A WOMAN WHO CONTROLS A GHOST < …. > (Vs. 8:) THEN SAUL DISGUISED HIMSELF. What is the meaning of DISGUISED HIMSELF (rt.: HPSh)? That he had become divested (rt.: HPSh) of the kingship. (Ibid., cont.:) AND HE WENT WITH TWO MEN. WHO WERE THEY? Abner and Amasai.⁸The parallels in the traditional Tanh., Lev. 8:2, in Lev. R. 26:7, and in M. Sam. 24 all read, “Abner and Amasa.” Torah has taught proper protocol, that one does not leave on a journey (at night) by oneself; and our father Abraham acted accordingly (in Gen. 22:3): AND HE (i.e., Abraham) TOOK WITH HIM TWO OF HIS SERVANTS {AND HIS SON ISAAC}. And so (in I Sam. 28:8): AND HE (Saul) WENT WITH TWO OF HIS SERVANTS (sic). (Ibid., cont.:) AND THEY CAME UNTO THE WOMAN AT NIGHT. Was it at Night? It is simply that this time was for them as black as night. (Ibid., cont.:) THEN HE SAID: PLEASE DIVINE FOR ME THROUGH A GHOST…. (Vs. 9:) BUT SHE SAID UNTO {SAUL} [HIM]: SEE HERE, YOU KNOW WHAT SAUL HAS DONE, HOW HE HAS ROOTED OUT THE GHOSTS AND THE FAMILIAR {SPIRIT} [SPIRITS] < FROM THE LAND >. Immediately (in vs. 10): SAUL SWORE TO HER BY THE LORD, SAYING: [AS THE LORD LIVES,] NO PUNISHMENT SHALL BEFALL YOU OVER THIS MATTER. Resh Laqish said: To what is Saul comparable? To a woman who was situated with her lover and swore by the life of her husband. (Vs. 11:) THEN THE WOMAN SAID: WHOM (mi) SHALL I BRING UP FOR YOU? One of those who say (as in Exod. 15:11): WHO (mi) IS LIKE YOU < AMONG THE GODS, O LORD >?⁹Words spoken by Moses, typifying the righteous. The verse is suggested by the mi in Saul’s question. or one of those who say (as in Exod. 5:2:)¹⁰Words spoken by Pharaoh, typifying the wicked. WHO IS THE LORD? He said to her (in I Sam. 28:11, cont.:) BRING UP SAMUEL FOR ME. She did what she did and brought him up. (Vs. 12:) WHEN THE WOMAN SAW SAMUEL, SHE CRIED OUT [WITH] A LOUD VOICE, AND < THE WOMAN > SPOKE < UNTO SAUL, SAYING >: WHY HAVE YOU DECEIVED ME? FOR YOU ARE SAUL. How did she know? Our masters have said: < A ghost > does not come up for a king as it comes up for a commoner.¹¹Gk.: idiotes. For the king its face is up and its feet down, just like everyone < on earth >; but for the commoner its feet are up and its face down. (Vs. 13:) THEN THE KING SAID TO HER: [DO NOT BE AFRAID; FOR] WHAT DO YOU SEE? AND THE WOMAN SAID UNTO SAUL: I SEE A GOD COMING UP FROM THE EARTH. COMING UP (here in the plural form) implies two. So who were they? Moses and Samuel. When Saul heard this, he was afraid, because he had called one, but two had arisen. (Vs. 14:) THEN HE SAID TO HER: WHAT DOES HE LOOK LIKE? AND SHE SAID: AN OLD MAN IS COMING UP, AND HE IS WRAPPED IN A ROBE. They have said three things about bringing up a ghost. 1. The one bringing it up sees it but does not hear its voice. 2. The one asking for it hears its voice but does not see it. 3. Those standing there neither see it nor hear its voice. (Ibid.:) AN OLD MAN IS COMING UP, AND HE IS WRAPPED IN A ROBE. And elsewhere it says (in I Sam. 2:19): HIS MOTHER WOULD MAKE A LITTLE ROBE FOR HIM.¹²Cf. above, Gen. 11:9. < This verse > teaches that the robe grew on him. In it he was buried; in it he rose up. It has been taught in the name of R. Nathan: A garment which goes down to the grave with a person is going to rise on him in the resurrection of the dead.¹³yKil. 9:4 (32b). Thus it is stated (in Job 38:14): IT IS CHANGED LIKE CLAY UNDER A SEAL, AND THEY STAND FORTH AS IN A GARMENT. (I Sam. 28:14–15:) THEN SAUL KNEW THAT IT WAS SAMUEL; SO HE BOWED WITH HIS FACE TO THE GROUND AND DID HOMAGE. SAMUEL SAID UNTO SAUL: WHY HAVE YOU DISTURBED ME AND BROUGHT ME UP? Have you no way to disturb your creator except through me, in that you have made me an idol.¹⁴See Gen. R. 96:5 (6). Did we not teach the following? Just as one exacts punishment from the worshiper, so does one exact punishment from those worshiped. Some say: WHY HAVE YOU DISTURBED ME? What he said to him was: I was disturbed lest it be the day of judgment, and I was afraid. Now here is an argument a fortiori (qal wahomer); for if Samuel, [the greatest] of all the prophets, was afraid of the day of judgment, how much the more does the rest of humanity < have to fear >? (Vs. 15, cont.:) AND SAUL SAID {UNTO SAMUEL}: I AM VERY DISTRESSED….¹⁵Other midrashim add other vss., such as Amos 5:15, in this context. Apart from the parallels mentioned above, see Lam. R. 3:29f. (9); Eccl. R. 12:14:1. [HE (i.e., the Holy One) NO LONGER ANSWERS ME EITHER THROUGH PROPHETS OR IN DREAMS.] Why did he not < also > say to him: "< Or > by Urim and Thummim"?¹⁶According to vs. 6, the Holy One had also failed to answer Saul through this medium. R. Isaac said: (Prov. 14:10:) THE HEART KNOWS ITS OWN BITTERNESS, in that he had destroyed Nob, the city of priests.¹⁷Lev. R. explains further, that if Saul had brought up the matter of the high priest’s Urim and Thummim, Samuel would have replied that it was he, Saul, who had done away with them by killing the priests at Nob. Similarly, the parallel in Tanh., Lev. 8:2. (I Sam. 28:17:) MOREOVER, THE LORD HAS DONE TO YOU¹⁸The text here follows a reading that agrees with the Septuagint here rather than the Masoretic Text, which reads: FOR HIMSELF. ACCORDING TO WHAT HE SPOKE THROUGH ME; FOR THE LORD HAS TORN THE KINGSHIP OUT OF YOUR HAND AND GIVEN IT TO DAVID. He said to him: [When you were with us < in the flesh >, you said to me (in I Sam. 15:28): < THE LORD HAS TORN THE KINGSHIP OVER ISRAEL FROM YOU TODAY, > AND GIVEN IT TO A COMPANION OF YOURS WHO IS BETTER THAN YOU. He said to him:] When I was with you in the world of falsehood, I was telling you words of falsehood, because I was afraid of you, lest you kill me. Now, however, I am in the world of truth, you will only hear words of truth from me. He did not do this thing to you for no reason. Rather (according to I Sam. 28:18–19): BECAUSE YOU DID NOT HEARKEN TO THE VOICE OF THE LORD, AND DID NOT CARRY OUT HIS WRATH AGAINST AMALEK [….] MOREOVER, THE LORD WILL DELIVER ISRAEL ALONG WITH YOU INTO THE HAND OF THE PHILISTINES; AND TOMORROW YOU AND YOUR SONS WILL BE WITH ME. WITH ME < means >: In my section < of heaven >. When he heard this, (according to vs. 20): IMMEDIATELY SAUL FELL FULL LENGTH TO THE GROUND, FOR HE WAS TERRIFIED BECAUSE OF SAMUEL'S WORDS. Abner and Amasa said to him: What did Samuel say to you? He said to them: He said to me: Tomorrow you will go down to battle and be victorious. In addition, your sons will be appointed their superiors. Resh Laqish said: At that time the Holy One called the ministering angels. He said to them: Come and see the creature that I have created in my world. By universal custom when one goes to a banquet house, he does not take his children with him for fear of the evil eye; but this one, when he is going down to battle and knows that he will be killed, takes his sons with him, and is happy over the divine justice that is striking him.¹⁹M. Pss. 7:2. R. Joshua of Sikhnin said in the name of R. Levi: < Lev. 21:1: SPEAK UNTO THE PRIESTS. These words > teach that the Holy One showed Moses every generation and its expositors, every generation and its judges, every generation and its kings; and he showed him Saul and his sons falling by the sword.²⁰Tanna deve Eliyahu Zuta, 6; cf. Sanh. 38b; AZ 5a, according to both of which the expositors and other generational leaders were shown to Adam. He said to him: Sovereign of the World, will the first king to stand over your children be pierced by the sword? He said to him: Moses, < why > are you telling me? Tell the priests whom he killed. < They are the ones > who are denouncing²¹Gk.: kategorein. him. Our masters have taught: That righteous man (i.e., Saul) was killed for five sins. Thus it is stated (in I Chron. 10:13): SO SAUL DIED FOR HIS TRANSGRESSION WHICH HE COMMITTED AGAINST THE LORD:

A certain Samaritan asked Rabbi Meir and said to him "Is it possible that the upper waters are suspended on a word?" And he replied to him "yes". And Rabbi Meir said "bring me a clepsydra (a water clock)" and the Samaritan brought a clepsydra and he placed upon it a gold plate, but the water did not stand still [under the plate]. He placed a silver plate on it, but the water did not stand still [under the plate]. But when he placed his finger on [the plate], the water stood still [and the plate did not bob]. The Samaritan said to him "you are putting your finger on it!" And Rabbi Meir responded "See how if my finger stills the water, and I am flesh and blood, how much more does the finger of the Holy One, blessed be He [control the water]. Therefore, the water is hung on a word." The Samaritan said to him "Is it possible that he himself, concerning whom it is written "Do I not fill the heavens and the earth (Jeremiah 23:24)" was speaking with Moses from between the poles of the ark?" Rabbi Meir responded: "bring to me large mirrors" and he continued "look at yourself in what is brought; your reflection in large!" Meir said to him "bring me small mirrors" and he brought small mirrors. Rabbi Meir said "look at yourself in what is brought, your reflection is small!" Rabbi Meir said to him "See how if you can change yourself whenever you want, and you are flesh and blood, how much more he who spoke and the universe came into existence, blessed is He! And so when he wishes to be "Do I not fill the heavens and the earth (Jeremiah 23:24)" he is and when he wishes he spoke with Moses from between the poles of the ark. Rabbi Chanina the son of Isei said: "sometimes the universe and its fullness is not strong enough for the glory of His divinity, and at other times He speaks with man from between the hairs of his head. This is written: "Then Hashem answered Job out of the whirlwind (se'arah) (Job 38:1)" [but read instead] from between the hairs (sha'arot) of his head. And still further the Samaritan asked Rabbi Meir "Is it possible that "the river of God is full of water (Psalm 65:10)" from the six days of creation and has not all diminished? How strange!" And Rabbi Meir said to him: "Go in and wash yourself and weigh yourself when you have not gone in and then after you have gone in." As soon as the Samaritan left he weighed himself and his body weight was not at all diminished. Rabbi Meir said "now all that sweat that comes out of you, did it not come out of you?" And the Samaritan said "yes". Rabbi Meir responded "See how if you lost no fluid from your body's spring of fluids, and you are flesh and blood, how much more is it [true regarding] the spring of the Holy One, blessed be He, [that] "the river of God is full of water (Psalm 65:10)" and from the six days of creation has not all diminished?" Rabbi Yochanan said: "The Holy One, blessed be He, raised up all the waters of creation and set half of them in the firmament and half in the Ocean; it is surprising! It is thus written "the river (peleg) of God is full of water (Psalm 65:10)" [the word "river" (peleg) must be understood as the Aramaic word] half (palg'a).

To show the glory of the Most Supreme King, the Holy One, praised be He! A human being stamps many coins and all are alike, but the Holy One, praised be He! has stamped every man with the stamp of Adam the First, and nevertheless not one is like his neighbor, as it is said (Job 38, 14) She is changed as the sealing clay; and all things stand as though newly clad. And why are not the faces of men alike? Because one might see a nice dwelling or a handsome woman, and say: It is mine, as it is said (Ib. 15) And from the wicked is their light withdrawn, and the high-raised arm is broken. We are taught in a Baraitha: R. Maier used to say: "In three things man differs from his neighbor — in voice, in face, and in mind: in voice and in face, because of adultery; and in mind, because of robbers and extorters."

THE GATHERING OF THE WATERS
ON the third day all the earth was flat like a plain and the waters covered the surface of all the earth. When the word of the Almighty was uttered, "Let the waters be gathered together" (Gen. 1:9), the mountains and hills arose from the ends of the earth and they were scattered over the surface of all the earth, and valleys were formed over the inner parts of the earth; and the waters were rolled together and gathered into the valleys, as it is said, "And the gathering together of the waters he called seas" (Gen. 1:10). Forthwith the waters became proud and they arose to cover the earth as at first, when the Holy One, blessed be He, rebuked them || and subdued them, and placed them beneath the soles of His feet, and measured them with the hollow of His hand that they should neither decrease nor increase. He made the sand as the boundary of the sea, just like a man who makes a fence for his vineyard. When they rise and see the sand before them they return to their former place, as it is said, "Fear ye not me? saith the Lord: will ye not tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea?" (Jer. 5:22).

(Ib b) "A stone, Shethia." We are taught: It is called Shethia (foundation stone) because from it the world has been created. This statement is according to the one who says that the creation of the world began with Zion, for we are taught in a Baraitha: R. Eliezer says: "The world has been created beginning with the centre, as it is said (Job 38, 38) When the dust is poured out as molten metal, and the clods are made to cling fast together [first the center piece was created, then the other parts adhered to it] ." R. Joshua said: "The world has been created beginning with the extremities, as it is said (Ib. 37, 6) For to the snow he saith. Be thou earth. Like-rains of his strength." R. Isaac said: "The wise to the pouring rain, to the pouring Holy One, praised be He! threw a stone into the sea, in a spot whence the world was created, as it is said (Ib. 38, 6) Upon what are her foundation pillars placed at rest? Or who threw her corner stone?" The sages, however, said: "The world was created beginning with Zion, as it is said (Ps. 50, 1-2) A Psalm of Assaph, the God of Gods. the Lord speaketh, and calleth the earth, from the rising of the sun until its setting. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God dazzleth forth; i.e., from Zion began to spread beauty to the whole world." We have been taught: R. Eliezer says: "(Gen. 2, 4) These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, on the day that the Lord God made earth and heaven; i.e., the luminous stars, etc., were created from the heavens, and all earthly things from the earth." But the sages say: "These and those [both] were created from Zion, as it is said (Ps. 50, 1) A Psalm of Assaph, the God of Gods, etc., and again (Ib.) Out of Zion the perfection of beauty; i.e., from it (Zion) was created the beauty of the (entire) world."

(Lev. 13:2:) “When anyone has [on the skin of his flesh a swelling or a sore or a bright spot].” This text is related (to Job 38:25), “Who split open a channel for the flow (shtp) and a path to move the sounds?” R. Joshua of SIkhnin said in the name of R. Levi, “In Arabia they call the hair (s'r) a flood (shtp'). Thus¹⁷I.e., interpreting Job 38:25 to mean, WHO SPLIT OPEN A CHANNEL FOR THE HAIR? for each and every hair that a person has, the Holy One, blessed be He, has created its own separate follicle (literally, well).”¹⁸Cf. Lev. R. 15:3; BB 16a. Because Job uttered a complaint and said, (in Job 9:17), “’For He crushes me with a tempest (rt.: s'r)¹⁹The Targum and Peshitta both read, FOR A HAIR. and multiplies my wounds for no reason,’ [i.e.] for no reason He has brought all these afflictions upon me.” Elihu said to him (in Job 34:10), “Heaven forbid! May wickedness be far from God and injustice from the Almighty.” Rather (in vs. 11), “’For he repays a person according to his actions, [and provides for one according to his ways].’ He brings everything [upon a person] according to his [own] measure (of what he does).” R. Abbin the Levite said in the name of R. Abba bar Kahana, “The Holy One, blessed be He, does not measure out [reward and punishment] in a basket. Rather everything is with justice, as stated (in Ps. 75:8), ‘For it is God who judges]; one He puts down, and another He lifts up.’” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Job, “Even with regard to the hair which is upon you, I have made a follicle for it and made a measure for it, as stated (in Job 38:25), ‘Who split open a channel for the flow (i.e., for the hair).’” There is a story about a certain priest who examined leprosy spots. When he became poor, he wanted to go abroad. He called his wife [and] said to her, “Because people used to come to me to show their leprosy spots, it is hard from me to leave them. Rather come and let me teach you, so that you may examine the leprosy spots. If you see a person's hair with its follicle dried up, you will know that [such a person] is stricken; because for each and every hair the Holy One, blessed be He, has created its own separate follicle [from which it drinks. If] its follicle dries up, the hair dries up.” His wife said to him, “But surely if for each and every hair the Holy One, blessed be He, has created its own separate follicle [from which it drinks], in your case, since you are a human being, with so many hairs on you and with your children being supported²⁰PRHS, perhaps related to the Gk. adj. pronoos (“prudent”). by you, is it not all the more certain that the Holy One, blessed be He, will summon support for you?” Therefore, she did not allow him to go abroad. Another interpretation (of Job 38:25), “Who split open a channel for the flow”: When the Holy One, blessed be He, created the human, He created him with wisdom. How? If He had created him with a lot of water and a little blood, he would have become frail.²¹Gk.: asthenes, i.e., “weak” or “sick.” If He had created him with a lot of blood and a little water, he would have become a leper. [He therefore created him with] half water and half blood, [thereby] a perfect human.

(Lev. 19:2:) “You shall be holy.” R. Pinhas bar Hama the Priest said that R. Reuben said, “What is the meaning of that which is written (in Ezek. 3:12), ‘and I heard after me?’¹⁴This translation follows the interpretation of the midrash. A more traditional translation would be BEHIND ME. I heard a great roaring sound. What is the meaning of ‘after me ('hry)?’¹⁵Tanh., Exod. 4:13. After ('hry) I and my friends praised Him, I heard the ministering angels, as they praised Him and said (ibid., cont.), ‘Blessed be the glory of the Lord from His place.’” You should know that at the time that Moses went up above, he heard the voice of the angels praising like this. He [then] came down and taught Israel that they should say like this in a whisper, “Blessed be the name of His glorious majesty forever and ever.” R. Shmuel bar R. Nahmani said, “See what is written there (Ezekiel 1:25), ‘when they stood, their wings would droop.’ One who hears, ‘when they stood,’ would think there is sitting above. But [in fact] it is all in standing, as stated (Is. 6:2), ‘Seraphs standing above Him.’ And so does it state (Dan. 7:16), ‘I approached one of those standing.’ And so too (I Kings 22:19), ‘I saw the Lord sitting on His throne and all the host of the heavens were standing over Him.’ And what is the meaning of ‘in their standing, their wings drooped?’ From when Israel praised [God], the wings of the ministering angels drooped, [meaning] they stopped (stood) from saying praise, as they say praise with their wings.” It also says (in Job 38:7), “When the morning stars (i.e., the seed of Jacob)¹⁶This interpretation of THE MORNING STARS is explicit in the parallel passage of Gen. R. 65:21, which explains that Jacob’s offspring are likened to stars in Dan. 12:3. sang together, all the children of God (i.e., all the angels) shouted for joy.” R. Mani said, “Let not the recitation of the Shema be trivial in your eyes, because there are two hundred forty-eight words in it¹⁷The number includes the response after the first line of the Shema (cited below) plus the three preliminary words with which one precedes the Shema when praying in private, i.e., El melekh ne’eman (“God is a faithful King”). corresponding to [the number of] parts that are in a human being; and out of them [comes], ‘Blessed be the name of His glorious majesty forever and ever.’”¹⁸This blessing is the liturgical response to the first line of the Shema. The Holy One, blessed be He, said, “If you have kept what is Mine in reciting it properly, I will also keep what is yours.” Therefore, David offered praise¹⁹Rt.: QLS; cf. Gk.: kalos (“beautifully”). (in Ps. 17:8), “Keep me as the pupil of an eye.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him (in Prov. 4:4), “Keep My commandments and live.” R. Simeon ben Halafta said, “To what is the matter comparable?²⁰Deut. R. 4:4. To someone who [lives] in the Galilee and has a vineyard in Judea, while someone in Judea has a vineyard in the Galilee. The one who [lives] in the Galilee goes to Judea to cultivate his vineyard. The one in Judea goes to the Galilee to cultivate his vineyard. [One day] they meet with each another, and one said to the other, ‘Instead of you coming to my place, keep watch over what is mine in your area; and I will keep watch over what is yours in my area.’” So did David say (in Ps. 17:4), “Keep me as the pupil of an eye.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him (in Prov. 4:4), “keep My commandments and live.” Similarly the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel, “Keep the commandment to recite the Shema morning and evening, and I will keep you.” So is it stated (in Ps. 121:7), “The Lord shall keep you from all evil; He shall keep your soul.”

(Lev. 19:2:) YOU SHALL BE HOLY. R. Pinhas bar Hama the Priest said: R. Reuben said: What is the meaning of that which is written (in Ezek. 3:12): AND AFTER ME¹⁹This translation follows the interpretation of the midrash. A more traditional translation would be BEHIND ME. I HEARD A GREAT ROARING SOUND. What is the meaning of AFTER ME ('HRY)?²⁰Tanh., Lev. 7:6; also above, Exod. 4:13. After ('HRY) I and my friends praised him, I heard the ministering angels, as they praised him and said (ibid., cont.): BLESSED BE THE GLORY OF THE LORD FROM HIS PLACE. It also says (in Job 38:7): WHEN THE MORNING STARS (i.e., the seed of Jacob)²¹This interpretation of THE MORNING STARS is explicit in the parallel passage of Gen. R. 65:21, which explains that Jacob’s offspring are likened to stars in Dan. 12:3. See also the much fuller parallel in Tanh., Lev. 7:6. SANG TOGETHER, then (ibid., cont.:) ALL THE CHILDREN OF GOD (i.e., all the angels) SHOUTED FOR JOY. R. Mani said: Let not the recitation of the Shema be trivial in your eyes because there are two hundred forty-eight words in it,²²The number includes the response after the first line of the Shema (cited below) plus the three preliminary words with which one precedes the Shema when praying in private, i.e., El melekh ne’eman (“God is a faithful king”). corresponding to < the number of > parts that are in a human being; and out of them < comes > BLESSED BE THE NAME OF HIS GLORIOUS MAJESTY FOREVER AND EVER.²³This blessing is the liturgical response to the first line of the Shema. The Holy One said: If you have kept what is mine in reciting it properly, I will also keep what is yours. Therefore, David offered praise²⁴Rt.: QLS; cf. Gk.: kalos (“beautifully”). (in Ps. 17:8): KEEP ME AS THE PUPIL OF AN EYE. The Holy One said to him (in Prov. 4:4): KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS AND LIVE. R. Simeon ben Halafta said: To what is the matter comparable?²⁵Deut. R. 4:4. To someone who < lives > in Galilee and has a vineyard in Judea, while someone in Judea has a vineyard in Galilee. The one who < lives > in Galilee goes to Judea to cultivate his vineyard. The one in Judea goes to Galilee to cultivate his vineyard. < One day > they meet with each another, and one said to the other: Instead of you coming to my place, keep watch over what is mine in your neighborhood; and I will keep watch over what is yours in my neighborhood. So did David say (in Ps. 17:4): KEEP ME AS THE PUPIL OF AN EYE? The Holy One said to him (in Prov. 4:4): KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS AND LIVE. Similarly the Holy One said to Israel: Keep my commandment, the commandment to recite the Shema morning and evening, and I will keep you, as stated (in Ps. 121:7): THE LORD SHALL KEEP YOU FROM ALL EVIL; HE SHALL KEEP YOUR SOUL.

The great cycle of the moon is 21 years; it has 7 small cycles each containing 8 years. The total of the days of the lunar month is 29½ days, 40 minutes, and 73 parts. Each constellation serves the days of the lunar month for 2 days and 8 hours; three constellations serve for 7 days. The chief which begins on the new moon (of the lunar month) is the same which concludes at the end of the lunar month. The moon becomes new at every Molad, once at night and the next time by day, || and this is their sign: "And it was evening and it was morning" (Gen. 1:5). Between one Molad and (the corresponding) Molad in the ensuing year (there elapse) 4 days, 8 hours, and 876 parts.

R. Akiba said: "I once asked Rabban Gamaliel and R. Joshua while we were at the meat-market of Imum, when they went to buy meat for the feast of the son of Rabban Gamaliel, it is written (Gen. 32, 32) And the sun rose unto him as he passed by Penuel; did then the sun only rise to him? Behold it rose to the whole world? R. Isaac said that the sun which was set for his sake rose now for him, for it is written (Ib. 28, 10) And Jacob went out from BeerSheba and went towards Charan, and further it says, And he lighted (Vayifga) upon a certain place and tarried there all night, because the sun was set. When he reached Charan, he said: "Is it right of me not to have prayed when I passed the place my parents passed?" He resolved to return, and soon after his resolution, the earth jumped and he met Bethel. He wanted to return after he prayed, but the Holy One, praised be He! however, said: "This upright came to my inn and he should go away without staying over night." Immediately thereupon the sun was set. It is written (Ib. 28, 2) And he took from the stones of the place, and again it is written (Ib. ib. 18) And he took the stone (singular). Said R. Isaac: "From this it may be inferred that all these stones gathered themselves together into one place, as if each were eager that the saint should lay his hand upon it." We are taught that all the stones were swallowed up by one another, and thus merged into one stone.(Ib.) And he said: 'Let me go, for the day breaketh.' Jacob then said to the angel: "Art thou then a thief or a murderer that thou fearest daybreak?" "I am an angel," came the reply, "and since I have been created I never had a chance to recite a song of praise but now." This will support R. Chananel, who said in the name of Rab, that three classes of ministering angels recite a song of praise every day. One class says, Holy! The second responds, Holy! And the third continues, Holy is the Lord of Hosts! The following contradictions were introduced from a Baraitha: Israel is beloved before the Holy One, praised be He! even more so than the ministering angels; for Israel reiterates the song every hour, while the ministering angels repeat it only once a day, according to some once a week, others again say, once a month, still according to others, only once a year. There are others who say once in seven years, and according to still others, once in a jubilee, and other authorities say, only once in eternity. Again, Israel mentions the Tetragrammaton after two words, as the passage says (Deut. 6, 4) Hear, Israel Yehova, but the ministering angels do not mention the Tetragrammaton till after three words, as it is written (Is. 6, 3) Holy, Holy, Holy! Yehova Tzebaoth. Moreover, the ministering angels do not start the song above till Israel has started it below; for it is said (Job 38, 7) When the morning stars sang together, and afterwards it says, Then all the sons of God shouted for joy. [Hence how can Rab state that the angels say Holy Tzebaoth and mention the Tetragrammaton after one word?] We must therefore explain that Rab meant thus: One class says, Holy! The second, Holy! Holy! and the third says, Holy! Holy! Holy! Yehova Tzebaoth. But there is also the praise Baruch [where the Tetragrammaton is mentioned after two words]? (Fol. 92) The praise Baruch, belongs to the angels Ofan [that are part of the Divine throne]. You may also explain that after the Tetragrammaton it is mentioned that the angels themselves have the privilege of repeating it at their own option.

(Fol. 58b) Resh Lakish said: "He who raises his hand [with the intention of striking his neighbor], although he has not as yet struck him, is called wicked, as it is said (Ex. 2, 13) And he said to the tvicked one, wherefore smitest thou thy fellow? It does not read, why hast thou smitten, but why smitest thou. Hence he is called wicked even if he merely raises his hand to strike." Z'iri said in the name of R. Chanina: "He is called sinner, as it is said (I Sam. 2, 16) If not, I will take it by force. And immediately after this is written. The sin of the young men was very great." R. Huna said: "[If one has the habit of raising his hand against man], his arm may be cut off, as it is said (Job 38, 15) And the high-raised arm should be broken." (And R. Huna acted according to his theory). R. Elazar said: "There is no remedy for such a man but burial, as it is said (Ib. 22, 8) But as for the man of a strong arm, for him is the land." R. Elazar said again: "Only one who has a strong arm may obtain land, as it is said: But as for the man of a strong arm, for him is the land." Resh Lakish said again: "What is the meaning of the passage (Prov. 12, 11) He who tilleth his ground will be satisfied with bread? When one enslaves himself to the earth, he may be satisfied with bread but not otherwise."

All the constellations serve the Molad of the moon and also the generations of the children of men; upon them the world stands, and everyone who is wise and understands, he understands the Molad of the moon and the generations of the children of men, and concerning them the text says, "And let them be for signs, and for seasons" (Gen. 1:14). The signs of the hours shall not depart from serving the sun by day and the moon by night.

The dwelling of the moon is between cloud and thick darkness made like two dishes turned one over the other, and when it is the conjunction of the moon these two clouds turn in the east quarter and (the moon) goes forth from between them like a ram's horn. On the first night (is revealed) one measure (of light), on the second night the second measure, and so on until the half of the month when the moon is fully revealed, and from the middle of the month these two clouds turn their faces in the west quarter. The corner (i.e. crescent) of the moon with which it comes forth first, (the same) begins to enter and is covered therein by the two (clouds) on the first night (by) one measure, on the second night (by) a second measure, and so on to the end of the month until || it is entirely covered. And whence do we know that it is placed between two clouds? Because it is said, "When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it" (Job 38:9). And whence do we know that it becomes entirely covered? Because it is said, "Blow ye the trumpet in the new moon, at the covering, on our solemn feast day" (Ps. 81:8). "At the covering," on the day when it is entirely covered, blow ye the trumpet in the new moon.

Rabbi Tanḥuma in the name of Rabbi Ḥiyya the Great, and Rabbi Berekhya in the name of Rabbi Elazar: This midrash came up with us from the Exile:¹⁸From Babylonia. Presumably, this is a way of stating that it is an ancient tradition. Any place that “It was [vayhi]” is stated, [it alludes to] trouble. Rabbi Ḥiyya the Great: Any place that “It was [vayhi]” is stated, it can serve [to allude to] either trouble or joy. If it is trouble, there is none like it. If it is joy, there is none like it. Rabbi Shmuel said: There are five [instances of] “during the days of [bimei].” “It was [vayhi] during the days of [bimei] Amrafel” (Genesis 14:1) – what was the trouble there? They waged a war. [It is analogous] to the friend of a king who was located in a certain province. Because of him, the king took care of the province. One time, barbarians came and beset him [the king’s friend]. They say: Woe for us, the king will no longer care for the province as he had done. Likewise, the entire world was created only due to the merit of Abraham our patriarch; that is what is written: “They turned back and came to Ein Mishpat,¹⁹Ein Mishpat literally means ‘eye of justice’. which is [hi] Kadesh” (Genesis 14:7). Rabbi Aḥa said: They came to beset the eyeball of the world.²⁰Abraham. The eye that overcame the attribute of justice in the world you seek to blind?²¹The midrash is rhetorically addressing the kings that attacked Abraham. “Which is [hi] Kadesh” – Rabbi Aḥa said: Hu Kadesh.²²The word hi, meaning ‘which is,’ is spelled with a vav as the middle letter, which could be read as the masculine hu. The midrash is reading hi Kadesh as hu kidesh, he sanctified. He [Abraham] sanctified [kidesh] the name of the Holy One blessed be He in the fiery furnace.²³See Tanḥuma, Lekh Lekha 6. When everyone saw that all the kings came to beset him, they began screaming: Woe [vai]; that is, “It was [vayhi] during the reign of Amrafel.”
“It was during the days of Aḥaz” (Isaiah 7:1) – what was the trouble there? “Aram from the east and the Philistines from the west” (Isaiah 9:11) – [it is analogous] to the son of a king who had a tutor who sought to kill him. He [the tutor] said: If I kill him, I will be condemned to death by the king; instead, I will withhold his wet nurse from him, and he will die on his own. So did Aḥaz say: If there are no kids, there are no rams, and if there are no rams there is no flock, and if there is no flock there is no shepherd. So Aḥaz thought to say: If there are no children, there are no adults, and if there are no adults there are no students, if there are no students there are no scholars, if there are no scholars, there are no synagogues and study halls, if there are no synagogues and study halls, the Holy One blessed be He, as it were, cannot rest His Divine Presence in the world. Therefore, I will seize all the synagogues and study halls. That is what is written: “Bind the testimony, seal the Torah in my disciples” (Isaiah 8:16).
Rabbi Ḥanina said: Why was he named Aḥaz? It is because he seized [aḥaz] the synagogues and study halls. Rabbi Yaakov bar Abba in the name of Rabbi Avin: Isaiah said: “I will wait for the Lord, who conceals His face from the house of Jacob” (Isaiah 8:17). There was no time that was as difficult for Israel as that time, as it is stated: “I will conceal My face” (Deuteronomy 31:18) – in this world. But from that moment, “I hoped for Him” (Isaiah 8:17), as it is written: “As it will not be forgotten from the mouths of their descendants” (Deuteronomy 31:21). Was it [this verse] fulfilled for him [Isaiah]? “Behold, I and the children whom the Lord gave me” (Isaiah 8:18) – were they his [Isaiah’s] children? Were they not his students? It teaches that they were as dear to him as his sons. Once everyone saw that he seized the synagogues and study halls, they began screaming: Woe [vai]: that is, “It was [vayhi] during the days of Aḥaz.”
“It was during the days of Yehoyakim” (Jeremiah 1:3) – what was the trouble there? “I saw the land, and behold, it is emptiness and disorder, and the heavens, and their light is not” (Jeremiah 4:23) – [it is analogous] to a king who sent a proclamation to a province. What did the residents of the province do to it? They took it, ripped it, and burned it in fire. They said: Woe to us when the king becomes aware of these matters. That is what is written: “It was, as Yehudi would read three columns or four” (Jeremiah 36:23) – three or four verses. When he reached the fifth verse: “Its besiegers are ascendant” (Lamentations 1:5),²⁴This is the fifth verse of the first chapter of Lamentations. immediately: “He would cut it with a scribe’s razor and cast it into the fire that was in the fireplace, until the end of the scroll, upon the fire that was in the fireplace” (Jeremiah 36:23). Once they saw that it was so, they began screaming: Woe [vai]; that is, “it was [vayhi] during the days of Yehoyakim.”
“It was during the days of Aḥashverosh” (Esther 1:1) – what was the trouble there? [It was] “to kill, and to eliminate all the Jews” (Esther 3:13). [It is analogous] to a king who entered a vineyard and three enemies beset him: The first began picking unripe grapes, the second began trimming the clusters, and the third sought to uproot all the vines. Likewise, the wicked Pharaoh begin picking the unripe grapes; that is what is written: “[Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying:] Every son who is born you shall cast into the Nile” (Exodus 1:22).
The wicked Nebuchadnezzar began trimming the clusters; that is what is written: “[He exiled Yehoyakhin.…] and the artisans and the smiths, one thousand” (II Kings 24:15–16). Rabbi Berekhya in the name of Rabbi Yehuda said: One thousand artisans and one thousand smiths; Rabbi Yoḥanan said: All of them were one thousand. Rabbi Shmuel bar Rabbi Yitzḥak said: These are the notables. Rabbi Yehuda son of Rabbi Simon said: These are the Torah scholars.
Haman the wicked sought to uproot the entire egg;²⁵Egg, in the sense of the very origins of Israel. [as] they say buy [the hen] with the egg²⁶A aphorism meaning that he sought to complete the task, leaving no future. – “to destroy, to kill, and to eliminate” (Esther 3:13). When they saw that it was so, they began screaming: Woe [vai]; “it was [vayhi] during the days of Aḥashverosh.”
“It was during the days when the judges judged” (Ruth 1:1) – what was the trouble there? “There was a famine in the land” (Ruth 1:1) – [it is analogous] to a province that owed a tax to the king. What did the king do? He sent a tax collector to collect it. What did the residents of the province do? They took him, struck him, and extracted it [the money] from him. They said: What he sought to do to us we did to him. Likewise, during the days when the judges judged, an Israelite person would worship idols, and a judge would seek to bring him to trial, and he would come and flog the judge. He would say: What he sought to do to me, I did to him. Woe unto a generation whose judges are judged;²⁷The midrash is reading the verse to mean that it was in the days that the judges were judged, i.e. punished. that is, “It was during the days when the judges judged.”
Shimon bar Rabbi Abba said in the name of Rabbi Yoḥanan: Everywhere that it [“it was,” vayhi] is stated, [it alludes to] trouble or to joy; if trouble, there is no trouble like it, if joy, there is no joy like it in the world. Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman came and suggested a [different] distinction: Everywhere that it says, “it was [vayhi],” [it alludes to] trouble, everywhere that it says “it will be [vehaya],” joy.
But it is written: “God said: Let there be light, and there was [vayhi] light.” He said to them: Even that is not light of joy, as the world did not merit to use that light. By the light that was created on the first day, a person could look out and see from one end of the world to the other end. When He perceived that the wicked were destined to appear, like the generation of Enosh, the generation of the Flood, and the generation of the Dispersion,²⁸After the Tower of Babel. and like the people of Sodom, He took it [the light] away. That is what is written: “From the wicked their light is withheld” (Job 38:15). He sequestered it for the righteous in the future, as it is stated: “Light is sown for the righteous” (Psalms 97:11).
They objected to him: “It was [vayhi] evening and it was morning, one day” (Genesis 1:5). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as the heavens are destined to wither; that is what is written: “As the heavens will be eroded like smoke” (Isaiah 51:6).
They objected to him: Is it not written: “It was [vayhi] evening and it was morning, a second day.… third.… fourth.… fifth.… sixth” (Genesis 1:8–31). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as everything that was created during the six days of Creation requires action, e.g., it is necessary to sweeten mustard, lupines must be sweetened, and wheat requires grinding.
But it is written: “The Lord was [vayhi] with Joseph” (Genesis 39:2). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as it is written: “For they placed me in the pit” (Genesis 40:15). But it is written: “It was [vayhi] on the day that Moses completed [assembling the Tabernacle]” (Numbers 7:1). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as it was sequestered when the Temple was built, as it is stated: “Moses was not able to enter into the Tent of Meeting” (Exodus 40:35).²⁹The verse does not seem to be related to the point. Perhaps it is brought to communicate that even on the day that the construction of the Tabernacle was completed, the celebration was tempered by the fact that Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting. But it is written: “It was [vayhi] when Joshua was [at Jericho]” (Joshua 5:13). He said to them: That too is not joy, as Joshua rent his garments, as it is stated: “Joshua rent his garments” (Joshua 7:6).³⁰After the setback at Ai. But it is written: “It was [vayhi] on the eighth day” (Leviticus 9:1).³¹The day of the dedication of the Temple. He said to them: That too is not joy, as on that day Nadav and Avihu died.³²See Leviticus 10:1–2. But it is written: “It was [vayhi] when the king³³David. dwelled in his house” (II Samuel 7:1). He said to them: That too was not joy, as it was then that Natan the prophet came and said to him: “However, you will not build the House” (I Kings 8:19).
They said to him: We said ours, now you say yours.³⁴Prove that every place it says vehaya it is an expression of joy. He said to them: It is written: “It will be [vehaya] on that day, the mountains will drip with nectar” (Joel 4:18). “It will be [vehaya] on that day that spring water will emerge [from Jerusalem]” (Zechariah 14:8). “It will be on that day that the Lord will set His hand again the second time, [to recover the remnant of His people]” (Isaiah 11:11). “It will be [vehaya] on that day, each man shall keep [a calf of the herd and two sheep] alive” (Isaiah 7:21). “It will be [vehaya] on that day, that a great shofar will be sounded, [and they will come…and bow down to the Lord on the holy mountain in Jerusalem]” (Isaiah 27:13). “It will be that one who is left in Zion and he that remains in Jerusalem [will be called holy]” (Isaiah 4:3). They objected to him: It is written: “And it was [vehaya] when Jerusalem was captured” (Jeremiah 38:28). He said to them: Even that is not trouble but joy, as on that day, Israel made complete penance for their iniquities, on the day that the Temple was destroyed.
Conclusion of the prologue to Rut Rabba

(Lev. 13:1–3:) THEN THE LORD SPOKE UNTO MOSES AND UNTO AARON, SAYING: WHEN ANYONE HAS ON THE SKIN OF HIS FLESH < A SWELLING OR A SORE OR A BRIGHT SPOT, AND IT BECOMES ON THE SKIN OF HIS FLESH THE PLAGUE OF LEPROSY, HE SHALL BE BROUGHT UNTO AARON THE PRIEST…. AND THE PRIEST SHALL INSPECT THE PLAGUE ON THE SKIN OF HIS FLESH >…. This text is related (to Job 38:25): WHO SPLIT OPEN A CHANNEL FOR THE FLOW (ShTP)? R. Joshua of Sikhnin said in the name of R. Levi: In Arabia they call the hair (S'R) a flood (ShTP'). Thus²⁶I.e., interpreting Job 38:25 to mean, WHO SPLIT OPEN A CHANNEL FOR THE HAIR? for each and every hair that a person has the < Holy One > has created its own separate follicle (literally: well).²⁷Tanh., Lev. 4:6; cf. Lev. R. 15:3; BB 16a. Because Job uttered a complaint and said: (in Job 9:17): FOR HE CRUSHES ME WITH A TEMPEST (rt.: S'R)²⁸The Targum and Peshitta both read, FOR A HAIR. [AND MULTIPLIES MY WOUNDS FOR NO REASON], < i.e. > for no reason he has brought all these afflictions upon me; Elihu said to him (in Job 34:10): Heaven forbid! MAY WICKEDNESS BE FAR FROM GOD AND INJUSTICE, FROM THE ALMIGHTY. Rather (in vs. 11): FOR HE REPAYS A PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS ACTIONS, [AND PROVIDES FOR ONE ACCORDING TO HIS WAYS]. He brings everything < upon a person > according to measure. R. Abbin the Levite said in the name of R. Abba bar Kahana: The Holy One does not measure out reward and punishment {with a respite} [in a basket]. Rather everything is with justice, as stated (in Ps. 75:8 [7]): [FOR IT IS GOD WHO JUDGES]; ONE HE PUTS DOWN, AND ANOTHER HE LIFTS UP. The Holy One said to Job: Even with regard to the hair which is upon you, I have made a follicle for it and made a measure for it, as stated (in Job 38:25): WHO SPLIT OPEN A CHANNEL FOR THE FLOW (i.e., FOR THE HAIR). There is a story about a certain priest who examined leprosy spots. When he became poor, he wanted to go abroad. He called his wife < and > said to her: Because people used to come to me to show their leprosy spots, come and let me teach you, so that you may examine the leprosy spots. If you see a person's hair with its follicle dried up, you will know that < such a person > is stricken, because for each and every hair the Holy One has created its own separate follicle [from which it drinks]. < If > its follicle dries up, the hair dries up. His wife said to him: But surely if for each and every hair the Holy One has created its own separate follicle [from which it drinks], in your case, since you are a human being, with so many hairs on you and with your children being supported²⁹PRHS, perhaps related to the Gk. adj. pronoos (“prudent”). by you, is it not all the more certain that the Holy One will summon support for you?³⁰Cf. Matthew 10:29–31 // Luke 12:6–7. Therefore, she did not allow him to go abroad.

Another interpretation (of Job 38:25): WHO SPLIT OPEN A CHANNEL FOR THE FLOW? When the Holy One created the human, he created him in wisdom. How? If he had created him with a lot of water and a little blood, he would have become frail.³¹Gk.: asthenes, i.e., “weak” or “sick.” If he had created him with a lot of blood and a little water, he would have become a leper. < He therefore created him with > half water and half blood. [Hence, this] is a perfect human.

Those who depart clothed will return clothed, as it is said: It is changed as clay under the seal; and they stand as a garment (Job 38:14). Come and learn from Samuel. When Saul caused him to be brought up (by the witch of Endor), he said to the woman: “What does he look like?” And she answered: An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a robe (I Sam. 28:14). And Scripture states elsewhere: Moreover, his mother made him a little robe (ibid. 2:19). This teaches us that just as one departs (this life), so he will return. The reason for this is that the wicked should not say: “Some He puts to death, and others He restores to life.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said: Let them arise just as they departed, and then I will heal them. Why so? To confirm the verse Before Me there was no God formed, neither shall any be after Me (Isa. 43:10)

(Gen. 46:28:) NOW HE HAD SENT JUDAH AHEAD OF HIM UNTO JOSEPH. This text is related (to Is. 65:25): THE WOLF AND THE LAMB SHALL FEED TOGETHER….³⁰Tanh., Gen. 11:8; Gen. R. 95:1. Come and see how whatever the Holy One has smitten in this world is healed in the world to come. The blind are healed, as stated (in Is. 35:5): THEN THE EYES OF THE BLIND SHALL BE OPENED. The lame also are healed, as stated (in vs. 6): THEN THE LAME SHALL LEAP LIKE A HART. And the dumb shall be healed, as stated (ibid., cont.): AND THE TONGUE OF THE DUMB SHALL SHOUT FOR JOY. Everyone shall be healed, but just as one goes (to the grave), so he comes < back >.³¹Sanh. 91b; Eccl. R. 1:4:2; see yKil. 9:4 (32b). If he goes blind, he comes < back > blind. If he goes deaf, he comes deaf. If he goes lame, he comes lame. If he goes dumb, he comes dumb. Just as one goes clothed, so one comes clothed. Thus it is written (in Job 38:14): IT IS CHANGED LIKE CLAY UNDER A SEAL; THEY STAND FORTH AS < IN > A GARMENT. From whom do you learn this? From Samuel. When Saul raised him, what did he say to the woman (of Endor)? He said to her: What do you see, AND (according to I Sam. 28:14) SHE SAID: IT IS AN OLD MAN RISING, AND HE IS WRAPPED IN A ROBE; for he had been so clothed, as stated (in I Sam. 2:19): HIS MOTHER WOULD MAKE A LITTLE ROBE FOR HIM. So why is it that, just as one goes (to the grave), so one comes < back > ? So that the wicked of the world will not say: After they died, would the Holy One have healed them and later brought them < back >? It would seem that these are not the same ones (who died), but others. The Holy One said: If so, let them rise just as they went (to the grave), and afterwards I will heal them. Thus it is stated (in Is. 43:10): < SO THAT YOU MAY KNOW THAT > … BEFORE ME NO GOD WAS FORMED. Then later the beasts are healed, as stated (in Is. 65:25): THE WOLF AND THE LAMB SHALL FEED TOGETHER…. And why? Because it (the serpent)³²For this interpretation, see Gen. R. 95:1 and also 20:5. has brought everything to dust.

And it was on the eighth day: Rabbi Tanchuma, Rabbi Chiya, Rabbah and Rabbi Berakhiya in the name of Rabbi Elazar [all] said, "Any place that it is stated, 'and it was (vayehi),' it is nothing but a term of grief [hinting to the sound, (vay), meaning woe]." Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachmani said in the name of Rabbi Natan, "This midrash came up to our hands from the exile - 'Any place that it is stated, "and it was in the days of," it is nothing but a term of grief.'" And there are five: (1) "And it was in the days of Amrafel" (Genesis 14:1). What grief was there over there? They made a war to kill Avraham, our father, as it is stated (Genesis 14:2), "made war." [It is comparable] to a dear friend of a king who entered a province, and on his account was the king [concerned] about that whole province. [Then people] came and grappled with him with words. And when he wanted to leave, they all said to him, "Woe that the king will no longer be concerned about the province as he was." So [too,] was Avraham a dear friend of the Holy One, blessed be He - as it is written about him (Isaiah 41:8), "the seed of Avraham, My dear one"; and it is written (Genesis 12:3), "and through you shall all the families of the world be blessed." And when the kings came and grappled with him, they all said, "Woe that the Holy One, blessed be He, will not be concerned with the world as He was; since He was concerned with the world for his sake." This is [the meaning of] that which the verse stated (Genesis 14:7), "And they came to Ein Mishpat (which can be understand as the eye of justice)" - Rabbi Acha said, "They sought to grapple with no less than the eyeball of the world." They said, "They sought to blind the eye that [suppressed] the trait of [strict] judgment in the world." [The verse continues -] "It (hee) is Kadesh," [but] it is written, "he (hu) is Kadesh"; meaning to say, he sanctified (hu kidesh) the name of the Holy One, blessed be He and went down to the fiery furnace. When they saw that the things were like this, they cried out. (2) "And it was in the days of Achaz the son of Yoshiah, King of Yehudah" (Isaiah 7:1). What grief was there over there? "It is what is stated by the verse (Isaiah 9:11), "Aram is in front and the Philistines are behind, etc." [It is comparable] to a king that gave his son over to a mentor, and the mentor hated him. He said, "If I kill him, I will become liable for death. Rather, I will take away his nourishment from him and he will die on his own." So did the evil Achaz say, "If there are no goats, there will be no rams; if there is no flock, there will be no shepherd, [and] where will the world be?" So did he say, "If there are no masters, there will be no students; if there are no students, there will be no sages; if there is no Torah, there will be no synagogues and study halls." What did he do? He passed all the synagogues and study halls and sealed them. And this [is the meaning of] that which the verse states (Isaiah 8:16), "Bind up the message; seal the instruction with My disciples." And when they saw that the things were like this, they all started to cry out, "Woe that the world is being destroyed" - when [study of] the Torah was negated, that was in the days of Achaz. (3) "And it was in the days of Yehoyakim the son of Yoshiyahu" (Jeremiah 1:3). What grief was there over there? "I looked at the earth, and behold it was empty and void; at the heavens and their light was not" (Jeremiah 4:23), [It is comparable] to edicts of the kings that were brought to the provinces of the kingdom. In each and every province, when it came to their hands, everyone would stand on their feet, uncover their heads and read them with fear, trembling and perspiration. But when they were brought to the province of the king, they tore them up and burned them: When the Holy One, blessed be He, sends His messenger to the nations of the world, they repent, cover themselves in sackcloth and fast - as did the people of Nineveh, as it is stated (Jonah 3:7), "from the order of the king and his principals, etc." They, may their memory be blessed, said, "One who had a beam or a stone that was stolen in his house would destroy the house and remove it and return the theft." And because of this did Yonah fear to prophesy to Nineveh. As Rabbi Tarfon said, "The fish was designated, etc." And the nations of the world are afraid in front of the Holy One, blessed be He, and [so, they are] close to repentance, whereas Israel is stiff-necked. This is what the verse stated (Jeremiah 36:23), "And it was when Yehudi would read three columns or four" - meaning to say, he read four verses - and in the fifth verse, he read, "And her tormentors became the head" (Lamentations 1:5) - and it is is written (Jeremiah 36:23), "he would tear it with a scribe's blade and throw it into the fire until the end of all of the scroll." And when they saw this, everyone began to cry out, "Woe for the decree that is hanging over us." And the other (4) - "And it was in the days of Achashverosh" (Esther 1:1). What grief was there over there? [It is comparable] to a king that had a vineyard, and he had three enemies. What did they do? One cut the small berries, the second ripped the clusters and the third uprooted the vines: The king is King of the kings of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He; His vineyard is Israel, as it is stated (Isaiah 5:7), "For a vineyard of the Lord of Hosts is the House of Israel"; [And] their three enemies are Pharaoh, Nevukhadnetsar and Haman. Pharaoh began with the small berries, as it is stated (Exodus 1:22), "Any son that is born, throw him into the river." Nevukhadnetsar ripped the clusters, as it is stated (Jeremiah 29:2), "the craftsmen and the smiths." Who are the craftsmen (charash)? These are the ones that pray the mute prayer silently, and are victorious with their prayer over all the nations of the world. The smiths? That all the nations of the world come in a vice in front of them but [then] flee, as they put a vice on all the nations - and Nevukhadnetsar come to destroy them; and he destroyed the craftsmen and the smiths, and exiled them. The evil Haman [then] came [to] uproot the vines, as it is stated (Esther 3:13), "to annihilate, to kill and to destroy." Everyone began to cry out, "Woe," and they mourned in front of the Omnipresent. (5) "And it was in the days when the judges ruled" (Ruth 1:1) - there was famine there; and what grief is greater than famine? And from where [do we know] that there was famine? As it is stated (Ruth 1:1), "and there was a famine in the land." And why was there a famine? Because Israel and the judges were not judging true judgement; as it is is stated, "And it was in the days when the judges ruled" - [and] we find [following it], "he", which indicates evildoers. [As] so do we find, "he was Datan and Aviram" (Numbers 26:9); "he was Achashverosh" (Esther 1:1); "he was [...] Achaz" (II Chronicles 28:22). So too were the judges. And to what is the matter comparable? To a province that was liable a tax to the king. [So] he sent collectors to collect it. The people of the province rose and smote the collectors and hung them. The judgment that they were liable - as they appointed other judges for themselves - they did to the collectors. So did they do at that time, as Elimelekh would judge the judges; [since] he was a strongman and there were many men below him. He saw the distress and the famine, but he did not warn the sinners to repent from their evil. And he stopped living in Beit Lechem for himself to live in the field of Moav - to sustain his soul during the famine, and the soul of his wife during the famine, and the soul of his sons; and he did not know that [it is] the Torah that sustains its masters and not the vanities of the world. And he was one who was important, as it is stated (Ruth 1:1), "and a man went from Beit Lechem, Yehudah." And we only say, "man," about an important man, as it is stated (Numbers 12:3), "And the man, Moshe, was very humble." As Elimelekh was an important man, as they would consider him [so] in his place - and [yet] he went to save his soul and the soul of his household, and did not trouble himself about the matters of the community; even as he was an important man and they would have believed his words, [such as] to make them repent from their evil and bring them to repentance. And therefore, it occurred to him as it is written in the verse (Ruth 1:3), "And Elimelekh, the husband of Naomi died." And so [too,] his sons died, as it is stated (Ruth 1:5), "And [...his] two [sons,] Machlon and Khilyon died, and the woman survived her two children and her husband." As so were they judging their judges, like Sodom. Rabbi Shimon ben Abba said in the name of Rabbi Yochanan, "Any place that it is stated, 'and it was (vayehi),' it is used for grief and it is used for joy. And when for grief, there is no grief like it, and when for joy, there is no joy like it." (The text is missing the following integral part of the midrash, found in Bereishit Rabbah 42:3 and other places: Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachman came and divided it, "Any place that it is stated 'it will be,' it is used for joy; [but] 'and it was' [is for] grief.") The Sages responded, "Behold 'And God said, "Vayehi (here used as a command form, and not past tense) light"' [is] joy!" He said to them, "It too is not of joy, as the world did not merit to use that light. As so did Rabbi Yehudah bar Simon say, '[Regarding] the light that the Holy One, blessed be He, created on the first day, Adam [could] look and observe from [one] end of the world to the [other] end. [But] since the Holy One, blessed be He, saw the deeds of the generation of Enosh and the generation of the flood, He arose and hid it from them. That is [the meaning of] what the verse states (Job 38:15), "From the wicked is their light withheld." And to where is it hidden? [It is] in the Garden of Eden, for the righteous ones, as it is stated (Psalms 97:11), "Light is sown for the righteous, and joy for the straight-hearted."'" They responded to him further, "It states, 'And it was evening and it was morning, one day.'" He said to them, "On that day too, it is not of joy, as all the acts of the first day are destined to wither, as it is stated (Isaiah 51:6), 'when the heavens melt away like smoke and the earth wither like a garment.'" They responded to him, "Behold, the [acts of] the second day, the third day, the fourth day, the fifth day, the sixth day." He said to them, "They too are not of joy, as all the acts of the six days of creation require further action - for example, wheat needs to be ground; mustard needs to be mellowed; lupine need to be mellowed." They responded to him, "[And what about,] 'And it was that the Lord was with Yosef and he was a successful man' (Genesis 39:7)?" He said to them, "It too is not of joy, as that 'bear' chanced upon him from this, as it is stated in the verse, 'after' - 'And it was after these things, and the wife of his master raised, etc.' (Genesis 39:7)." They responded to him, "[And what about,] 'And it was that the Lord was with Yehoshua, and his reputation was in all the land' (Joshua 6:27)?" He said to them, "It too is not of joy, as Yair the son of Menashe, whose weight corresponded to the majority of the Sanhedrin, fell at that time; as it is stated (Joshua 7:5), 'And the men of Ai smote of them, like thirty-six men' - and the master said, 'That is Yair the son of Menashe, whose weight corresponded to the majority of the Sanhedrin.'" They responded to him, "And is it not written (I Samuel 18:14), 'And it was that David was successful in all of his ways and the Lord was with him'?" He said to them, "It too is not of joy, as enmity descended into the heart of Shaul from this, as it is stated (I Samuel 18:9), 'And it was that Shaul eyed David.'" They responded to him, "And is it not written (II Samuel 7:1), 'And it was when the king sat in his house and the Lord allowed him rest from all of his enemies'?" He said to them, "It too is not of joy, as on that same day, Natan the prophet came to David and said to him, 'However you will not build the House' (I Kings 8:19)." They said to him, "Behold, we have said what is ours; [now] say what is yours - that 'and it will be' is joy." He said to them, "'And it will be on that day that the mountains will drip with nectar' (Joel 4:18), that will be in the days of the messiah, and there will be great joy for Israel. And so [too,] 'And it will be on that day that a man shall save alive a heifer of the herd and two sheep' (Isaiah 7:21). And so [too,] 'And it will be on that day that living waters will come out from Jerusalem' (Zechariah 14:8). And so [too,] 'And he will be like a tree planted over streams of water' (Psalms 1:3). And so [too,] 'And the remnant of Yaakov will be among many nations' (Micah 5:6)." They said to him, "But behold, it is written (Jeremiah 38:28), 'vahaya (here used in the past tense, and not like the other examples) when Jerusalem was captured'!" He said to them, "It too is not of grief, as on that day was the verdict of Israel for their sins taken; as so is it written (Lamentations 4:22), 'Your sin has been completed, Daughter of Zion, He will not again exile you.'"

Rabbi Yuda son of Rabbi Simon began: “From a hypocritical person’s rule; from snares of the people” (Job 34:30). Rabbi Yoḥanan and Reish Lakish: Rabbi Yoḥanan said: When the king is a hypocrite and rules the people, “from snares [mimokeshei] of the people,” it is due to the stubbornness [kashyuteihen] and the liabilities of the people who do not perform the will of the Creator of the world. Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: It is preferable for people to grow themselves wings and fly in the air rather than for them to be turned over and subjugated to a hypocritical king.
Alternatively, “from a hypocritical person’s rule,” that is Aḥashverosh, who was hypocritical, who killed his wife because of his friend, and a different time killed his friend because of his wife.
Abba Oriyan of Sidon said five things in the name of Rabban Gamliel:
When lying judges increase, lying witnesses increase.
When informants increase, the property of the people is plundered.
When brazenness increases, glory, majesty, and honor are taken from the people.
When the actions of beloved children anger their Father in Heaven, He sets over them a hypocritical king who exacts retribution from them.¹⁴Abba Oriyan is said to list five things he heard from Rabban Gamliel, and this list contains only four. In Yalkut Shimoni, Esther, 1,044, the following is inserted here: “When the younger says to the elder: I am greater than you, the lives of people are truncated.”
And who is this? It is Aḥashverosh. When everyone saw that it was so, they began screaming; ‘Woe [vai];’ “it was [vayhi] during the days of Aḥashverosh” (Esther 1:1).

“With the increase of good, those who consume it increase; what use is there for its owner, other than the sight of his eyes?” (Ecclesiastes 5:10).
“With the increase of good, those who consume it increase” – Rabbi Ḥananya and Rabbi Yonatan asked Menaḥem the confectioner, and Rabbi Berekhya said in the name of Rabbi Yosei ben Ḥananya: Menaḥem the confectioner asked them:⁵⁴The midrash is presenting two traditions as to whether they asked Menaḥem or he asked them. ‘What is that [which is stated]: “He afflicted you and starved you” (Deuteronomy 8:3)? Was the manna that the Holy One blessed be He gave to the Israelites food of starvation?’ What did he do? He brought before them two cucumbers, one whole and one broken.⁵⁵The whole cucumber and the broken one were the same size. He said: ‘This whole one, how much [is it worth]?’ They said to him: ‘Two maneh.’ ‘And this broken one, how much [is it worth]?’ They said to him: ‘One maneh.’ He said to them: ‘Is the destiny of this one not to become like that one?’⁵⁶Ultimately, in the process of eating the whole one, it will become like the broken one. Why, then, is its price double? He said: ‘They are not comparable, for just as one enjoys the taste, so too he enjoys the appearance.’
Rabbi Elazar [said] in the name of Rabbi Yosei bar Zimra: Three matters were stated regarding the fig tree: It is good for eating, attractive to the eyes, and adds wisdom, and the three of them appear in a single verse. “The woman saw that the tree was good for eating” (Genesis 3:6) – from here that it was good for eating; “and that it was an enticement to the eyes” (Genesis 3:6) – from here that it is attractive to the eyes; “and that it was desirable for wisdom [lehaskil]” (Genesis 3:6) – from here that it adds wisdom. That is what is written: “A contemplation [maskil] of Eitan HaEzraḥi” (Psalms 89:1).
Likewise, Isaac says: “Prepare tasty food for me” (Genesis 27:4). He said to him: ‘Initially, I enjoyed the appearance; now I enjoy only the taste.’⁵⁷This is because Isaac’s eyes had grown dim; see Genesis 27:1. Likewise, Solomon says: “With the increase of good, those who consume it increase” – there is no comparison between one who sees his food basket empty and is hungry, and one who sees his food basket full and is satiated.⁵⁸The meaning is that seeing one’s food basket empty makes one feel hungry and seeing one’s food basket full makes one feel satiated.
A certain Samaritan asked Rabbi Meir, he said to him: ‘Will the dead [yet] live?’ [Rabbi Meir] said to him: ‘Yes’. He said to him: ‘In private or publicly?’ He said to him: ‘Publicly.’ He said to him: ‘From where can you show me [that it is so]?’ [Rabbi Meir] said to him: ‘It is not from the Bible, and not from the Mishna, but rather, from the way of the world that I respond to you.’ [Rabbi Meir] said to him: ‘There is a trustworthy person in our city, and everyone deposits with him in private and he returns it to them publicly. If one deposited it with him publicly, how will he return it to him, in private or publicly? Is it not publicly?’ He said to him: ‘Yes.’ [Rabbi Meir] said to him: ‘Do your ears not hear what your mouth speaks? People [privately] deposit with their wives a white drop, and the Holy One blessed be He publicly returns that drop to them as a fine, whole person. The dead, who goes publicly, is it not all the more so that he will come publicly? Just as he went with loud cries,⁵⁹Of mourning so he will come with loud cries.’⁶⁰Of joy and thanksgiving Rabbi Yonatan said in the name of Rabbi Yonatan of Beit Guvrin: It is written: “The grave, the barren womb” (Proverbs 30:16). What does this have to do with that? It is to say to you: Just as [a child emerges from a barren womb with loud cries, so too [the dead emerge from] the grave with loud cries.
[The Samaritan] said [to Rabbi Meir]: ‘How do they come, unclothed or clothed?’ He said to him: ‘Clothed.’ He said to him: ‘From where can you show me [that it is so]?’ [Rabbi Meir] said to him: ‘It is not from the Bible, and not from the Mishna, but rather, from the way of the world that I respond to you.’ [Rabbi Meir] said to him: ‘Have you ever sown beans?’ He said to him: ‘Yes.’ He said to him: ‘How did you sow them, unclothed or clothed?’ He said to him: ‘Unclothed.’⁶¹Beans are planted individually rather than encased in a pod. He said to him: ‘How do they come [out of the ground when they grow], clothed or unclothed?’ He said to him: ‘Clothed.’ [Rabbi Meir] said to him: ‘Do your ears not hear what your mouth is saying? If beans, when you sow them unclothed, they arise clothed, the dead person who goes [to the grave] clothed [in shrouds], is it not all the more so that he will come [back to life] with a garment?’
Rabbi Aivu [said], and some teach it in the name of Rabbi Natan: It is written: “It will be transformed like clay under the seal; and they stand like a garment” (Job 38:14). A garment that descends with a person to the grave in this world comes with him [when he comes to life] in the future.
[The Samaritan] said to [Rabbi Meir]: ‘Since they come alive and clothed, who provides them with food?’ [Rabbi Meir] said to him: ‘Have you ever been to Ḥamat Gader?’ He said to him: ‘Yes.’ He said to him: ‘In season or not in season?’⁶²Ḥamat Gader is the site of natural hot springs. The time of year when many people would gather there to bathe for medical reasons is referred to here as “in season” (Rabbi David Luria). He said to him: ‘In season and not in season.’ He said to him: ‘How was the food there, available?’ He said to him: ‘Available.’ He said to him: ‘In season or not in season?’ He said to him: ‘In season and not in season; because of the crowds, [people] bring [food] to sell and to buy.’⁶³Because of the large crowds at certain times of year, the location developed an active market all year round. [Rabbi Meir] said to him: ‘So too, the One who brings the crowds brings their food, as it is written by Solomon: “With the increase of good, those who consume it increase” – when the consumers of good increase, the good will increase.’ [The Samaritan] said to him: ‘Since they come [back] alive, clothed, and sustained, why do you cry over them [when they die]?’ [Rabbi Meir] said to him: ‘May a curse come upon that person.⁶⁴This is a reference to his interlocutor, the Samaritan. Is there a person who loses something precious to him and does not cry? Rather, just as he came [into the world] with loud cries, so he leaves with loud cries.’

Bar Sira said (Ben Sira 38:7-8), "God brings forth spices from the earth. With them the healer heals the ailments, and with them the perfumer perfumes the perfumes." Said Rabbi Simon, "There isn't a single herb or spice that doesn't have a constellation in the firmaments that smacks it and tells it to grow." And behold, this is written in Job 38:33: "Do you know the laws of Heaven? Can you place its authority (šiṭro) on Earth?" etc. The language is "šoṭer" (officer/regulator). "Can you tie binds on the Pleiades, or the cords of Orion loosen?" (Job 38:31) Rabbi Ḥanina bar Pappa and Rabbi Simon said, "The Pleiades binds the fruits, and Orion pulls from binding to binding." And behold, this is written (Job 38:32) "Can you bring out the Zodiac in its season, Ursa Major with her sons you can lead?" Rabbi Tanḥum bar Ḥiyya and Rabbi Simon said, "A constellation is 'Mazal' because it stretches [m'mazzer] out the fruits."

Bar Sira said (Ben Sira 38:7-8), "God brings forth spices from the earth. With them the healer heals the ailments, and with them the perfumer perfumes the perfumes." Said Rabbi Simon, "There isn't a single herb or spice that doesn't have a constellation in the firmaments that smacks it and tells it to grow." And behold, this is written in Job 38:33: "Do you know the laws of Heaven? Can you place its authority (šiṭro) on Earth?" etc. The language is "šoṭer" (officer/regulator). "Can you tie binds on the Pleiades, or the cords of Orion loosen?" (Job 38:31) Rabbi Ḥanina bar Pappa and Rabbi Simon said, "The Pleiades binds the fruits, and Orion pulls from binding to binding." And behold, this is written (Job 38:32) "Can you bring out the Zodiac in its season, Ursa Major with her sons you can lead?" Rabbi Tanḥum bar Ḥiyya and Rabbi Simon said, "A constellation is 'Mazal' because it stretches [m'mazzer] out the fruits."

Rabbi Berekhya began: “Who acted and accomplished it? He who proclaimed the generations from the beginning; I, the Lord was first and with the last, I am He” (Isaiah 41:4). From the beginning of the creation of the world, the Holy One, blessed be He, instituted for each and every person what is appropriate for him: Adam, head of the created; Cain, head of the killers; Abel, head of the killed; Noah, head of the survivors; Abraham, head of the circumcised; Isaac, head of the bound; Jacob, head of the wholehearted; Judah, head of the tribes; Joseph, head of the pious; Aaron, head of the priests; Moses, head of the prophets; Joshua, head of the conquerors; Otniel, head of the allocators;¹⁵He completed the allocation of the tribal portions that Joshua did not allocate in his lifetime. Samuel, of the anointers; Saul, of the anointed; David, of the musicians; Solomon, head of the builders; Nebuchadnezzar, head of the destroyers; Aḥashverosh, head of the sellers; Haman, head of the buyers; when everyone saw that it was so, they began screaming: ‘Woe [vai];’ “it was [vayhi] during the days of Aḥashverosh” (Esther 1:1).

And thou shalt overlay it with brass (Exod. 27:2). R. Judah the son of Shalum stated: Moses had said to the Holy One, blessed be He: Master of the Universe, You told me to make an altar of acacia-wood and to overlay it with brass, and You said also: A fire should burn perpetually unto Me on the altar (Lev. 6:6). But will not the fire penetrate the overlay and burn the wood? The Holy One, blessed be He, replied: Moses, normally this does happen, but think of the angels of glowing fire who are near Me, and of the treasures of snow and hail that I possess, as it is said: Hast thou entered the treasuries of the snow, or hast thou seen the treasuries of the hail? (Job 38:22), and it says also: Who layest the beams of thine upper chambers in the waters (Ps. 104:3). The water, however, does not extinguish the fire, nor does the fire consume the water. The creatures of fire, likewise, are unaffected by the waters of the firmament above their heads, as is said: As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like the coals of fire, burning like the appearance of torches; it flashed up and down among the living creatures (Ezek. 1:13). It is also written there: And over the heads of the living creatures there was the likeness of a firmament, like the color of the terrible ice, stretched forth over their heads above (ibid., v. 22). They bore the entire body of water which was the thickness of the firmament, a distance of five hundred years’ journey, and they also supported the great bodies of fire, which stood between the firmaments, that were a distance of five hundred years’ journey.

"And Elokim blessed the seventh day and sanctified it"- Rabbi Yishmael says: "He blessed it" with manna "and sanctified it" with manna, He blessed it with manna-for all the days of the week one omer [portion] fell [per person], on Friday two omer [portions] fell [per person]. He sanctified it with manna [on Shabbat] it didn't fall at all. Rabbi Nosson says: He blessed it with manna and sanctified it with blessing. Rabbi Yitzhak says: He blessed it with manna, and sanctified it with the gatherer [of sticks]. "And He blessed it" with robing. Rav Huna says: [one] must change [one's clothes]. R' Chiyya in the name of Rav Yochanon says: [one] must mingle [a garment along with his weekday clothes for the honor of Shabbat]. Avin son of Chasdai says [one] must [let one's cloak] hang. Rabbi Yermiah and R' Zeirah were walking together, and R' Yermiah's cloak was tucked up and Rabbi Zeirah let it hang. This [reflects] what was said [that] one must lower [one's cloak]. R' Elazar says: "He blessed it" with a candle and this occurred to me, one time I lit a candle on the eve of Shabbat and I came and I found it [still] lit at the end of Shabbat and it wasn't diminished at all. "He blessed it" with the light of the face of man, "He sanctified it" with the light of of the face of man. The light of man's face throughout the week isn't comparable to [his face] on Shabbat. "He blessed it" with luminaries, R' Shimon son of Yehuda the man of Acco says in the name of R' Shimon: even though the luminaries were cursed from the Shabbat eve ... Rabbi Yehudah son of Rabbi Simon said : The light that the Holy Blessed One created on the first day, a person could see with it from one end of the universe to the other. Once God saw the perverse actions of the people of the generation of the flood and the generation of the dispersion, God got up and hid [this light], and reserved it for the righteous in the future. From where do we know that God hid it? As it says (Job 38:15), “And [God] withheld from the wicked their light, and the haughty arm shall be broken.” And from where do we know that [God] reserved it for the righteous in the future? As it says (Proverbs 4:18), “And the path of the righteous is like a glowing light, that grows and shines until the arrival of day.” Rabbi Levi said in the name of Rabbi Z’eira: That light served for thirty-six hours - twelve hours on the eve of Shabbat, twelve hours of the night of Shabbat, and the twelve hours of Shabbat [day]. Once the sun set on Saturday night, the darkness began to settle in, Primordial Adam [and exclaimed], “‘Surely darkness comes to bruise/conceal me’ (יְשׁוּפֵנִי; Psalm 139:11); perhaps the one of whom it is said, ‘They shall strike(יְשׁוּפְךָ) at your head’ (Genesis 3:15) will come to attack me?” What did the blessed Holy One do? He presented him with two flints, which he [Adam? God?] struck together and light came forth, whereupon he blessed it, as it is written, “The night was light for my sake” (Psalm 139:11). What did the Holy Blessed One do? He presented him with two flints, which he [Adam? God?] struck together and light came forth, whereupon he blessed it, as it is written, “The night was light for my sake” (Psalm 139:11). What blessing did he say on them? “Who creates the lights of fire.” This is consistent with the opinion of Samuel, for Samuel said: “Why do we recite a blessing over light at the end of Shabbat? Because then it was first created.

Rabbi Yehudah son of Rabbi Simon said: The light that the Holy Blessed One created on the first day, a person could see with it from one end of the universe to the other. Once God saw the perverse actions of the people of the generation of the flood and the generation of the dispersion, God got up and hid [this light], and reserved it for the righteous in the future. From where do we know that God hid it? As it says (Job 38:15), “And [God] withheld from the wicked their light, and the haughty arm shall be broken.” And from where do we know that [God] reserved it for the righteous in the future? As it says (Proverbs 4:18), “And the path of the righteous is like a glowing light, that grows and shines until the arrival of day.” Rabbi Levi said in the name of Rabbi Z’eira: That light served for thirty-six hours - twelve hours on the eve of Shabbat, twelve hours of the night of Shabbat, and the twelve hours of Shabbat [day]. Once the sun set on Saturday night, the darkness began to settle in.

... Shimon bar Rav Abba said, in the name of Rabbi Yochanan, that "vayehi" serves [to introduce] joy or suffering. If [it comes to introduce] suffering, then the suffering [in question] is unparalleled. If [it comes to introduce] joy, then the joy [in question] is unparalleled. Rabbi Yishmael came and made the [following] division. Every place where it says “vayehi” there is no joy [and every place where it says] “vehaya” there is no suffering. They challenged him [citing Genesis 1:3] “And God said, “let there be light”, and there was [vaheyi] light.” He said to them, “even this case isn’t joyous, since the world didn’t merit to use that light, for Rabbi Yehuda bar Simon said [regarding] the light created by the Holy One, blessed be He, on the first day [of creation], [that] a person could use it to see from one end of the universe to the other [from the beginning of time, to the end of time]. When the Holy One, blessed be he, saw [by this light] the deeds of the generation of Enosh, and the deeds of the generation of flood, that they were destructive, [God] arose and confiscated [the light] from them, as it is written, “Their light is withheld from the wicked,” (Job 38:15). And where was it placed? In the Garden of Eden; at it is said (Psalms 97:11): “Light is sown for the righteous, radiance for the upright” [i.e., the light of the first day of creation is reserved for the righteous in the world to come].” They challenged him [citing Genesis 1:5, which describes the first day of creation]: “And there was [vayehi] evening, and there was [vayehi] morning; day one.” He said to them, “even this case isn’t joyous, since everything that was created on the first day is destined to be destroyed, as it is written (Isaiah 51:6): “when the heavens will melt away like smoke, and the earth wear out like a garment”.” They challenged him [citing all the other days of creation since it is written], “and there was [vayehi] evening, and there was [vayehi] morning” [regarding] the second, third, fourth, fifth, [and] sixth day. He said to them, “even this case isn’t joyous, since [the creation was incomplete such that] everything created in the six days of creation required [human] labour [in order that it should be completed]. The wheat needed grinding. Mustard needed sweetening. The Lupin bean needs sweetening. They challenged him [citing Genesis 39:2, and its description of Jospeh’s success in the house of Potiphar, which reads]: “And it was [vayehi] that God was with Joseph, and it was [vayehi] that he was a successful man.” He said to them: “even this case isn’t joyous since it was because of this [success] that that wicked woman [i.e. Potiphar’s wife] chanced upon him." They challenged him [citing Leviticus 9:1, and its description of the completing of the inauguration of the Tabernacle]: “And it was [vayehi] on the eighth day”. He said to them: “even this case isn’t joyous, since on that day, Nadav and Avihu died.”They challenged him [citing the description, in the book of Numbers (7:1), of Moses completing the building of the Tabernacle]: “And it was [vayehi] on the day that Moses completed the raising of the Tabernacle”. He replied to them: “even this case isn’t joyous, since on the day that it was built it [was also collapsed and] stored away.” [Rabbi Yishmael is alluding to the fact that the Tabernacle was a portable structure, and just as Moses constructed it on that day, he also tested it by taking it apart. Moreover, this symbolises that the Tabernacle was not to be permanent]." They challenged him [by citing the verse from the book of Joshua (6:27)]: “And it was [vayehi] that God was with Joshua”. He replied to them: “even this case isn’t joyous [since it comes just before the military defeat in the city of Ai, in which Yair [son of Menashe], who was equivalent in stature to the majority of a Sanhedrin, was killed. As it says (Joshua 7:5): “And the men of Ai smote about thirty-six of [the Israelites]”. It doesn’t say [that they killed] 36 [men]; rather, it says that they killed "about" 36 men [literally, it says that they killed "something like" 36 men]. Rabbi Yudan said that this refers to Yair son of Menashe who was equivalent to the majority of a Sanhedrin [which would have 71 members; by killing him, it was as if they had killed 36 men].” They challenged him [by citing the verse from I Samuel (18:14): “And it was [Vayehi] that David was successful in all his undertakings, for the LORD was with him.” He replied to them: “even this case isn’t joyous since it is written regarding him, “From that day on Saul kept a jealous eye on David” (Ibid. 18:9).” They challenged him [by citing the verse from II Samuel (7:1)]: “And it was [vayehi] when the king was settled in his palace and God had granted him safety from all the enemies around him”. He replied to them: “even this case isn’t joyous because, on that very day, Nathan the prophet came and said to him, “Only, you will not build the Temple” (I Kings 8:19, and II Samuel 7:5).” They said to him, we have brought our own verses [as counter-examples to your theory. Now it’s your turn]. Say your own verses [as evidence for your theory]. He said to them [the following verses]: They said to him, we have brought our own verses [as counter-examples to your theory. Now it’s your turn]. Say your own verses [as evidence for your theory]. He said to them [the following verses]: “And it was [vehaya – this is an instance of the Prophetic Future Tense, when the Bible uses the past tense to describe the future, presumably because the prophetic future is as certain as the past], on that day: The mountains shall drip with wine, the hills shall flow with milk, and all the watercourses of Judah shall flow with water; A spring shall issue from the house of God and shall water the Wadi of the Acacias” (Joel 4:18); “And it was [vehaya], on that day: each man shall save alive a heifer of the herd and two animals of the flock” (Isaiah 7:21); “And it was [vehaya] on that day: fresh water shall flow from Jerusalem, part of it to the Eastern Sea and part to the Western Sea, throughout the summer and winter” (Zecharia 14:8); “He was [vehaya] like a tree planted beside streams of water, which yields its fruit in season, whose foliage never fades, and whatever it produces thrives” (Psalms 1:3); “The remnant of Jacob was [vehaya – once again used in the prophetic future tense] in the midst of many peoples, like dew from God, Like droplets on grass — Which do not look to any man nor place their hope in mortals” (Micah 5:6). They challenged him. “Is it not written “And it was [vehaya] when Jerusalem was captured” (Jeremiah 38:28)?” He said to them: “even this case contains no suffering, since on that day Israel received their judgement for their sins. For Rabbi Ishmael ben Rabbi Nachman said, “Israel took a complete judgement for their sins on the day that the Temple was destroyed. For so it is written (Lametation 4:22): “Your iniquity, Fair Zion, is expiated; He will exile you no longer.”

Rabbi Tanḥuma, Rabbi Berekhya, and Rabbi Ḥiyya the Great interpreted in the name of Rabbi Elazar: This midrash came up with us from the Exile. Everyplace that vayhi is stated, it means nothing but trouble. Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman interpreted in the name of Rabbi Yonatan: This midrash came into our possession. Everyplace that vayhi bimei is stated, it means nothing but trouble.
Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: They are five:
“It was during the days of [vayhi bimei] Amrafel king of Shinar, Ariokh, king of Elasar, Kedorlaomer, king of Elam, and Tidal, king of Goyim” (Genesis 14:1). What was the trouble there? “They waged war with Bera, king of Sodom…” (Genesis 14:2). [This is analogous] to the beloved of a king who resided in a province and, for his sake, the king attended to that province. When barbarians came and afflicted him [the beloved of the king], they [the other residents of the province] said: ‘Woe unto us that the king is not attending to the province the way that he once did.’ So too, Abraham our patriarch, the beloved of the Holy One, blessed be He, “all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you” (Genesis 12:4). For his sake, the Holy One blessed be He attended to His entire world. That is what is written: “They returned and came to Ein Mishpat, which is Kadesh” (Genesis 14:7). They sought to afflict only the eye of the world [Abraham]. They sought to blind the eye that acts upon the attribute of justice in the world. ¹⁶ This probably means that Abraham is responsible for the suppression of the attribute of justice, the result of which is that God rules the world through the attribute of mercy. “Which is [hi] Kadesh” – Rabbi Aḥa said: Hu [i.e. he rather than she] is written. He [Abraham] sanctified [kiddesh] the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, and he went into the fiery furnace. When everyone saw that all the kings came to afflict him, they began screaming: ‘Woe [vai];’ “it was [vayhi] during the reign of Amrafel.”
“It was during the days [vayhi bimei] when the judges judged; there was a famine in the land and a man from Bethlehem in Judah went to stay in the field of Moab, he, his wife, and his two sons” (Ruth 1:1). What was the trouble there? “There was a famine in the land.” [This is comparable] to a province that owed a tax to the king, and the king sent a tax collector to collect it. What did the residents of the province do? They suspended him [on a pole] and struck him and extracted it [the money] from him. They said: Woe unto us when the king becomes aware of these matters; we did to the emissary of the king what he sought to do to us. So too, when one of the people of Israel would perform inappropriate actions, they would take him to the judge, and what the judge sought to do to the defendant, the defendant would do to the judge. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to them: You humiliate your judges; by your lives, I will bring upon you a matter that you are unable to endure. What is that? It is famine, as it is stated: “It was during the days when the judges judged, there was a famine in the land” (Ruth 1:1).
“It was during the days of [vayhi bimei] Aḥaz son of Yotam, son of Uziyahu, king of Judah; Retzin, king of Aram and Pekaḥ, son of Remalyahu, king of Israel, went to war against Jerusalem, but he was unable to make war against it” (Isaiah 7:1). What was the trouble there? It was as it is written: “Aram from the east and the Philistines from the west” (Isaiah 9:11). [This is comparable] to a king who handed his son over to a tutor, and his tutor hated him. He said: If I kill him, I will be condemned to death by the king; instead, I will withhold his nurse from him, and he will die on his own. So too, Aḥaz said: If there are no kids, there are no goats, and if there are no goats there is no flock, and if there is no flock there is no shepherd, and if there is no shepherd, the world cannot exist. So Aḥaz thought and said: If there are no children, there are no adults, and if there are no adults there are no students, if there are no students there are no scholars, if there are no scholars there are no elders, if there are no elders there is no Torah, if there is no Torah there are no synagogues and study halls, if there are no synagogues and study halls, the Holy One, blessed be He, will not rest His Divine Presence in the world. What did he do? He arose and locked all the synagogues and study halls, so that no one would engage in Torah study. That is what is written: “Bind the testimony, seal the Torah in my disciples” (Isaiah 8:16).
Rav Huna said in the name of Rabbi Elazar: Why was he named Aḥaz? It is because he seized [aḥaz] the synagogues and study halls. Rabbi Yaakov bar Abba in the name of Rabbi Aḥa derived it from this verse, as it is written: “I will wait for the Lord, who conceals His face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope for Him” (Isaiah 8:17). There was no time that was as grim for Israel as that time, as it is stated: “I will conceal My face on that day because of all the evil that they did…” (Deuteronomy 31:18). But from that moment I hoped for Him,¹⁷A reference to the verse quoted above “I will wait for the Lord, who conceals His face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope for Him” (Isaiah 8:17). as it is written: “As it will not be forgotten from the mouths of their descendants” (Deuteronomy 31:21). What did you [Aḥaz] accomplish? “Behold, I [Isaiah] and the children whom the Lord gave me are to become signs and wonders in Israel” (Isaiah 8:18). Were they his children? Surely, they were nothing but his students! Rather, from here [we learn] that a person’s student is called his son. Once everyone saw that he seized the synagogues and study halls, they began screaming: Woe [vai]: “it was [vayhi] during the days of Aḥaz.”
“It was during the days of [vayhi bimei] Yehoyakim, son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the exile of Jerusalem in the fifth month” (Jeremiah 1:3). What was the trouble there? “I saw the land, and behold, it is emptiness and disorder; the heavens, and their light is not” (Jeremiah 4:23). [This is comparable] to a king who sent letters from province to province and in each and every province that his letters reached, they would embrace and kiss them, standing on their feet, baring their heads and reading them with reverence, fear, quaking, and trembling. When they reached the king’s province, they read them, ripped them, and burned them. That is what is written: “It was, as Yehudi would read three columns or four,” (Jeremiah 36:23) – three or four verses. When they reached the fifth verse: “Its besiegers are ascendant” (Lamentations 1:5), immediately: “He would cut it with a scribe’s razor and cast it into the fire that was in the fireplace” (Jeremiah 36:23). Once everyone saw that it was so, they began screaming: ‘Woe [vai];’ “it was [vayhi] during the days of Yehoyakim.”
“It was during the days of [vayhi bimei] Aḥashverosh; that Aḥashverosh who reigned from India to Kush, one hundred and twenty-seven provinces” (Esther 1:1). What was the trouble there? It was “to destroy, to kill, and to eliminate” (Esther 3:13). [This is comparable] to a king who entered a vineyard and encountered three enemies: The first began picking unripe grapes, the second began trimming the clusters, and the third began uprooting vines. So too, wicked Pharaoh began picking unripe grapes; that is what is written: “Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying: Every son who is born you shall cast into the Nile…” (Exodus 1:22).
Nebuchadnezzar, may his bones be crushed, began trimming the clusters; that is what is written: “He exiled Yehoyakhin…and the artisans and the smiths, one thousand” (II Kings 24:14). Rabbi Berekhya in the name of Rabbi Yehuda said: One thousand artisans and one thousand smiths; the Rabbis said: One thousand artisans and smiths. Rabbi Yuda son of Rabbi Simon said: These are the Torah scholars. Rabbi Shmuel bar Rabbi Yitzḥak said: These are the notables.
Haman the wicked, may he be crushed and wiped out, began uprooting the vines; that is what is written: “To destroy, to kill, and to eliminate” (Esther 3:13). He sought to undermine the foundation of Israel, he wanted to devastate the whole house [of Israel]. Once everyone saw that it was so, they began screaming: ‘Woe [vai];’ “it was [vayhi] during the days of Aḥashverosh.”
Shimon bar Abba in the name of Rabbi Yonatan said: Everywhere that vayhi is stated it refers to trouble or to joy; if it is to trouble, it is unparalleled trouble, if it is to joy, it is unparalleled joy. Rabban Shmuel bar Naḥman came and suggested a different distinction: Everywhere that it says vayhi (it was), it refers to trouble, everywhere that it says vehaya (it will be), joy.
They objected: Is it not written: “God said: Let there be light, and there was [vayhi] light”? He said to them: Even that is not joy, as the world did not merit to use that light. Rabbi Yuda son of Rabbi Simon said: By the light that was created on the first day, a person could look out and see from one end of the world to the other end. When the Holy One, blessed be He, perceived that the generation of Enosh, the generation of the flood, and the generation of the dispersion (after the Tower of Babel) were destined to sin before Him, He arose and concealed it from them. That is what is written: “From the wicked was withheld their light” (Job 38:15). Where did He conceal it? In the Garden of Eden; that is what is written: “Light is sown for the righteous and joy for the upright” (Psalms 97:11).
They objected: “It was [vayhi] evening and it was morning, one day” (Genesis 1:5). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as everything that was created on the first day is destined to wither; that is what is written: “As the heavens will be eroded like smoke and the earth will be tattered like a garment” (Isaiah 51:6).
They objected: It is written: “It was [vayhi] evening and it was morning, a second day,” “…a third day,” through the sixth day. He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as everything that was created during the six days of Creation requires action, as they were not completely made, e.g. wheat requires grinding, and mustard and lupines require sweetening.
They objected: “The Lord was [vayhi] with Joseph” (Genesis 39:2). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as that resulted in that bear¹⁸Potifar’s wife. confronting him.
They objected: “It was [vayhi] on the eighth day, Moses summoned Aaron and his sons” (Leviticus 9:1). He said to them: That, too, is not good, as on that day, Nadav and Avihu died and all of Israel lamented them, as it is stated: “Your brethren, the entire house of Israel, will lament the burning” (Leviticus 10:6).
They objected: “It was [vayhi] on the day that Moses completed assembling the Tabernacle” (Numbers 7:1). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as it was put away when the eternal Temple was built.
They objected: “The Lord was [vayhi] with Joshua” (Joshua 6:27). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as on that day Ya’ir, who was equivalent to the majority of Sanhedrin, was killed; that is what is written: “The men of Ai smote them, about thirty-six men” (Joshua 7:5). Thirty-six men is not written, but rather “like thirty-six;”¹⁹ The verse says: “The men of the Ai killed about thirty-six [ki-shloshim ve-shisha] men…” The prepositional ‘ki-’ can designate approximation, “about thirty-six” or comparison, “like thirty-six.” that is Ya’ir, who was equivalent to the majority of Sanhedrin [of 70 or 71 members]. What is written there? “Joshua rent his garments” (Joshua 7:6).
They objected: “David was [vayhi] successful in all his ways” (I Samuel 18:14). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as it resulted in what is written: Saul felt enmity to David” (I Samuel 18:9).
They objected: “It was [vayhi] when David dwelled in his house” (I Chronicles 17:1). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as on that day, Natan the prophet came and said to him: “It will not be you who builds Me the House” (I Chronicles 17:4).
They said to him: We said ours, now you say yours. He said to them, it is written: “It will be [vehaya] on that day, the mountains will drip with nectar and the hills will flow with milk” (Joel 4:18). “It will be [vehaya] on that day that spring water will emerge from Jerusalem” (Zechariah 14:8). “It will be [vehaya] on that day, each man shall keep a calf of the herd and two sheep alive, and from the abundance of milk produced, he will eat butter, for everyone who remains in the midst of the land will eat butter and honey” (Isaiah 7:21-22). “The remnant of Jacob will be [vehaya] among the nations, in the midst of many peoples like a lion among the beasts of the forest, like a young lion among the flocks of sheep: who, if he passes, tramples and mauls, and there is no deliverer” (Micah 5:7). “It will be [vehaya] on that day, that a great shofar will be sounded, and the lost in the land of Assyria and the outcasts in the land of Egypt will come and bow down to the Lord on the holy mountain in Jerusalem.” (Isaiah 27:13). “He will be [vehaya] like a tree planted near streams of water which yields fruit in season; its leaves shall not wither, and whatever he does will prosper” (Psalms 1:3).
They objected to him: “And it was [vehaya] when Jerusalem was captured” (Jeremiah 38:28). He said to them: Even that is not trouble but joy, as on that day, Menaḥem²⁰The Messiah. was born and Israel made penance for its sins, as Rav and Shmuel say: Israel made great penance at the moment that the Temple was destroyed. That is what is written: “Your sin is completed, daughter of Zion” (Lamentations 4:22).

And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying: “See, I have called by name Bezalel” (Exod. 31:1). Solomon said: Whatsoever cometh into being, the name thereof was given long ago, and it is foreknown what man is (Eccles. 6:10). Scripture also says elsewhere in reference to this: Who hath wrought and done it? He that called the generations from the beginning (Isa. 14:4). The Holy One, blessed be He, declared: When I determined at the very beginning of time to build the Sanctuary, I already announced his name, and made his name known. And it is foreknown what man is. Even when the first man was a lifeless mass, the Holy One, blessed be He, showed him all the righteous men who would descend from him. Some hung from his head, others were suspended from his hair, and still others from his neck, his two eyes, his nose, his mouth, his ears, and his arms. Proof of this is in the fact that when Job complained against his Creator, saying: O that I knew where I might find Him, that I might come even unto His seat! I would order my cause before Him, and fill my mouth with arguments. I would know the words which He would answer me, and understand what He would say unto me (Job 23:3–5). The Holy One, blessed be He, replied to him: Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? (ibid. 38:4). R. Simeon the son of Lakish maintained: Where wast thou is written because the Holy One, blessed be He, was in fact asking Job: Where were you suspended from the first man? Was it from his head, his hair, his neck, his eyes, or from one of his limbs?

... seven things were taken away from Adam Harishon after he ate from the tree of knowing, including among them] his brilliance, his life, and his stature / zivo v’chayyav v’qomato...

Behold, tomorrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as hath not been seen (Exod. 9:18). Zabdi the son of Levi said: He made a mark upon the wall and told him that when the sun reached that mark tomorrow, the hail would fall. Such as hath not been seen implies that it would be a hail like none that had occurred previously, and would occur again only in the days to come, that is, in the time of Gog and Magog, as it is said: Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war (Job 38:23). It also says: And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; an overflowing shower and great hailstones (Exod. 38:22). And now therefore send, hasten in thy cattle (ibid. 9:19), on account of the plague of hail. He said to him: Wicked one, the Lord is righteous indeed.

What did it see to state [that it is] "a night of watchings?" That on it He enacted greatness for the righteous in the same way that He did so for the Jews in Egypt. And on it He rescued Hizkiyahu, and on it He rescued Chanania and his fellows, and on it He rescued Daniel from the lion's den, and on it Eliyahu and the Messiah will become great, as it is stated (Isaiah 21:12), "The watchman said, 'the morning has come, and also the night.'" There is a parable of a woman who was expecting her husband who took a journey to a nation overseas. He said to her, "Let this be a sign in your hand: At the time you see that sign, know that I am coming and I have almost come." So [too], Israel from when Edom arose: The Holy One, blessed be He, said, "This sign will be in your hands - be infomred that I will save you on the day that I enacted your salvation and on that night. And if not, do not believe it - the time has not approached," as it is stated (Isaiah 60, 22), "I am the Lord, in its time I will hasten it." And I would [also] say (Haggai 2: 6-22), "One more; it is a bit and I will shake the heavens and the earth, etc. And I will overturn the throne of kingdoms, etc." "And in the same way that I overturned Egypt, so [too] will I overturn the idol worshipers," as it is stated, (Isaiah 60:12) "and the nations shall be utterly destroyed." And I would [also] say (Job 38:13), "To take hold of the corners of the earth."

22 Blessed be the name of the supreme King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, who created His world in wisdom and understanding; for His wonders have no limit and His greatness is beyond reckoning. (Ps. 33:7:) “He has gathered the waters of the sea like a mound, and He has put the deeps in storehouses.” Now what is the meaning of “He gathers like a mound?” When the Holy One, blessed be He, created the world, He said to the ministering angel of the sea, “Open your mouth and swallow all the waters of creation,”⁵⁰BB 74b. he said [back] to Him, “Master of the world, it is enough for me to continue with what is [already] mine.” Then he began to weep. [So God] kicked him to death, as stated (in Job 26:12), “In His power He stilled the sea, and in His understanding He struck down Rahab.” You find that the ministering angel of the sea was named Rahab. What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He subdued [the waters] and trampled them down; and [the sea] accepted them, as stated (in Amos 4:13), “He tramples on the heights⁵¹M. Pss. 93:5. Cf. Gen. R. 23:7, according to which the sea (i.e., the Mediterranean) is higher than the whole world. of the earth.” So for [the waters] He set sand in place as bar and gates, according to what is stated (in Job 38:8, 10), “And [who] blocked off the sea with doors […. and I set bar and gates in place].” Moreover, it says (in Jer. 5:22), “’Do you not fear Me,’ says the Lord; ‘Will you not tremble because of Me, when I have placed sand as a boundary for the sea?’” And it says (in Job 38:11), “And I said, ‘You may come this far and no farther.’” Then the sea said to Him, “My Master, in that case my sweet waters will be mingled with the salt [waters]!” He said to it, “No! Each and every one will have a storehouse for itself, as stated (in Ps. 33:7), “and he has put the deeps in storehouses.”⁵²See Gen. R. 4:5. If you should say that this is a great wonder for the waters of the seas not to mingle, then consider the face,⁵³PRTsWP, an adaptation of the Gk.: prosopon. which the Holy One, blessed be He, created in people. [Although only] the [size of] a full sit,⁵⁴According to Rashi on Shab. 106a, a single sit was the distance between the tips of the of the middle and index fingers when held widely apart. A double sit was the distance between the tips of the thumb and index finger when held widely apart. For various definitions, see Jastrow, p. 977, s.v. SYT. it has so many springs (from 'yn); yet they do not mingle with one another. The waters of the eyes ('yn) are salty; the waters of the ears are oily; the waters of the nose are putrid; the waters of the mouth are sweet. For what reason are the waters of the eyes salty? Because when someone weeps for the dead, [doing so] all the time, he would immediately become blind; however, because [tears] are salty, he stops and does not weep. For what reason are the waters of the ears oily? Because when a person hears bad news, if he held it in his ears, it would be tied to him and he would die. Because they are oily, [the news] goes in one ear and out the other.⁵⁵Literally, “[A person] admits [bad news] through one [ear], and discharges it through the other.” For what reason are the waters of the nose putrid? Because when a person smells a bad odor, if the waters of the nose were not putrid [enough] to stop it, he would immediately die. And for what reason are the waters of the mouth sweet? It sometimes happens that someone eats food that does not agree with him [and he vomits]. Now if the waters of the mouth were not sweet, he would not recover. Moreover, since he reads the Torah, of which it is written (in Ps. 19:11), “sweeter also than honey,” the waters of the mouth are therefore sweet. Now here are the grounds for arguing a fortiori (qal wehomer), that if [something the size of] a full sit has so many springs [without them mingling with one another], how much the more so in the case of the Great Sea, of which it is stated (in Ps. 104:25), “There the sea is great and wide […].” [This is] to teach that in everything, the Holy One, blessed be He, accomplishes His mission and that He has not created one thing in vain. Sometimes the Holy One, blessed be He, has accomplished His mission by means of a frog, by means of a gnat,⁵⁶See Lev. R. 22:2-3; Eccl. R. 5:8:2, 4; PRE 49; also Shab. 77b; Exod. R. 10:1. by means of a wasp, or by means of a scorpion. R. Hanan of Sepphoris said,⁵⁷Cf. Gen. R. 10:7; Lev. R. 22:4; Eccl. R. 5:8:5. “There is a story about a certain scorpion that went to carry out the Holy One, blessed be He's mission (to sting a certain person) beyond the Jordan; so the Holy One, blessed be He, summoned a certain frog for him, and he crossed over upon it. Then that scorpion went and stung [the] person. [There is] also a story about a certain reaper who stood and reaped in the valley of Beth-Tofet. When burning heat came, he took grass and tied it on his head. [When] a certain mighty serpent came at him, he killed it. A certain [snake] charmer passed by him. He saw the slain serpent. He said to him, ‘Who killed that serpent?’ [So the reaper] said to him ‘I [did].’ He looked at the grass on his head. He [then] said to him, ‘Remove the grass from your head and [then you can brag (if you still have that power)].’ When he did so, [the charmer] drew near. He had not succeeded in touching him, before [the reaper’s] body parts [all] shed.” R. Jannay was sitting as a judge at the gate of his city, [when] he saw a serpent hissing and coming toward the city. Each time someone would secure against it in one place, it would go to another. He said, “It seems to me that this [serpent] is on its way to carry out its mission.” When it entered the city, a rumor spread in the city, “So-and-so son of so-and-so was bitten by a serpent and he is dead.” R. Elazar was strolling by the seashore of Caesarea. He found a femur bone strewn on the path. [So] he removed it from there, but he found it there again; he removed it from there [a second time] and found it there again. He said, “It seems to me that this [bone] is arranged to carry out its mission.” After [some] days, a minister came and fell over it and died. They looked into him and found evil documents against the Jews in his hand. There is a story about two people who were walking on the way. One who could see, and one was blind. They sat down to eat. They reached out their hands for the herbs of the field and ate. The one who could see became blind, and the one who had been blind became sighted. They did not move from there until the former was being supported by the latter whom he had been supporting. There is a story about a certain person who was going from the land of Israel to Babylon.⁵⁸Lev. R. 22:4. While he was eating, he saw two birds fighting with each other. One of them killed its companion. Then going to get an herb, [it placed it on its mouth,] and made it live again. That person (the one who saw what had happened) went and took the very herb that had fallen from the bird. Then he went to make the dead live with it. When he arrived at the Ladder of Tyre,⁵⁹A well-known landing dock four hours north of Tyre. See ‘Eruv. 80a. he found a dead lion lying in the open. He touched the herb to its mouth and made it live. The lion got up and ate him. The proverb says, “Do not do good to the evil, and evil will not happen to you.”⁶⁰Gen. R. 22:8. There is a story of Shihin (a town near Sepphoris) about a certain blind person who went down to bathe in the waters in a cave. He happened upon the well of Miriam, immersed [himself in it], and was healed. Titus the wicked entered the interior of the holy of holies.⁶¹Git. 56b; Lev. R. 22:3. When he had cursed and blasphemed, he stood up and slashed the veil. Then he took a Torah scroll and brought it out. Next he unrolled it; and bringing two whores, he transgressed upon them. Then he drew his sword to cut up the book. A miracle took place in that blood began to spew forth from it. He began to boast, saying that he had killed himself (i.e. God).⁶²The author is avoiding too literal a description of the sacrilege and therefore substitutes “himself” for God as a euphemism. He began to become bolder and bolder. When he reached the sea, the sea began to grow stormier and stormier. He said, “The God of these people only has power in the sea.⁶³See Pes. 118b. Now if He would, let Him go up on the dry land. Then let us see who overcomes.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said, “O you wicked one, son of a wicked one, I am sending against you a tiny creature, the least of My creatures, to eradicate you from the world.” A gnat entered his nostril, and he died an unnatural death. Why is it named a base creature? Because it takes in but does not excrete. Moreover, sometimes it is by means of a hornet [that God's will is carried out]. Thus it is written (in Exod. 23:28), “I will send the hornet before you [to drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites from before you].” Our masters have said, “When the Holy One, blessed be He, sent the hornet before Israel to kill the Amorites, see what was written about them (in Amos 2:9), “Yet I destroyed the Amorites before them, whose stature was like the cedars in height and who were as strong as the oaks [...].” It entered one's right eye and poured out its poison in it. Then [that person] burst open and dropped dead. This indeed is the way of the Holy One, blessed be He, to carry out His missions by means of small things against all who vaunt themselves against Him. He sends them a small creature to exact punishment from them, in order to inform them that there is no substance to their might. Also in the future to come the Holy One, blessed be He, is going to exact punishment from the [idol-worshiping] peoples of the world by means of small things. It is so stated (in Is. 7:18–19), “And it shall come to pass on that day that the Lord shall whistle for the fly. [They all shall come …].”

22 Blessed be the name of the supreme King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, who created His world in wisdom and understanding; for His wonders have no limit and His greatness is beyond reckoning. (Ps. 33:7:) “He has gathered the waters of the sea like a mound, and He has put the deeps in storehouses.” Now what is the meaning of “He gathers like a mound?” When the Holy One, blessed be He, created the world, He said to the ministering angel of the sea, “Open your mouth and swallow all the waters of creation,”⁵⁰BB 74b. he said [back] to Him, “Master of the world, it is enough for me to continue with what is [already] mine.” Then he began to weep. [So God] kicked him to death, as stated (in Job 26:12), “In His power He stilled the sea, and in His understanding He struck down Rahab.” You find that the ministering angel of the sea was named Rahab. What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He subdued [the waters] and trampled them down; and [the sea] accepted them, as stated (in Amos 4:13), “He tramples on the heights⁵¹M. Pss. 93:5. Cf. Gen. R. 23:7, according to which the sea (i.e., the Mediterranean) is higher than the whole world. of the earth.” So for [the waters] He set sand in place as bar and gates, according to what is stated (in Job 38:8, 10), “And [who] blocked off the sea with doors […. and I set bar and gates in place].” Moreover, it says (in Jer. 5:22), “’Do you not fear Me,’ says the Lord; ‘Will you not tremble because of Me, when I have placed sand as a boundary for the sea?’” And it says (in Job 38:11), “And I said, ‘You may come this far and no farther.’” Then the sea said to Him, “My Master, in that case my sweet waters will be mingled with the salt [waters]!” He said to it, “No! Each and every one will have a storehouse for itself, as stated (in Ps. 33:7), “and he has put the deeps in storehouses.”⁵²See Gen. R. 4:5. If you should say that this is a great wonder for the waters of the seas not to mingle, then consider the face,⁵³PRTsWP, an adaptation of the Gk.: prosopon. which the Holy One, blessed be He, created in people. [Although only] the [size of] a full sit,⁵⁴According to Rashi on Shab. 106a, a single sit was the distance between the tips of the of the middle and index fingers when held widely apart. A double sit was the distance between the tips of the thumb and index finger when held widely apart. For various definitions, see Jastrow, p. 977, s.v. SYT. it has so many springs (from 'yn); yet they do not mingle with one another. The waters of the eyes ('yn) are salty; the waters of the ears are oily; the waters of the nose are putrid; the waters of the mouth are sweet. For what reason are the waters of the eyes salty? Because when someone weeps for the dead, [doing so] all the time, he would immediately become blind; however, because [tears] are salty, he stops and does not weep. For what reason are the waters of the ears oily? Because when a person hears bad news, if he held it in his ears, it would be tied to him and he would die. Because they are oily, [the news] goes in one ear and out the other.⁵⁵Literally, “[A person] admits [bad news] through one [ear], and discharges it through the other.” For what reason are the waters of the nose putrid? Because when a person smells a bad odor, if the waters of the nose were not putrid [enough] to stop it, he would immediately die. And for what reason are the waters of the mouth sweet? It sometimes happens that someone eats food that does not agree with him [and he vomits]. Now if the waters of the mouth were not sweet, he would not recover. Moreover, since he reads the Torah, of which it is written (in Ps. 19:11), “sweeter also than honey,” the waters of the mouth are therefore sweet. Now here are the grounds for arguing a fortiori (qal wehomer), that if [something the size of] a full sit has so many springs [without them mingling with one another], how much the more so in the case of the Great Sea, of which it is stated (in Ps. 104:25), “There the sea is great and wide […].” [This is] to teach that in everything, the Holy One, blessed be He, accomplishes His mission and that He has not created one thing in vain. Sometimes the Holy One, blessed be He, has accomplished His mission by means of a frog, by means of a gnat,⁵⁶See Lev. R. 22:2-3; Eccl. R. 5:8:2, 4; PRE 49; also Shab. 77b; Exod. R. 10:1. by means of a wasp, or by means of a scorpion. R. Hanan of Sepphoris said,⁵⁷Cf. Gen. R. 10:7; Lev. R. 22:4; Eccl. R. 5:8:5. “There is a story about a certain scorpion that went to carry out the Holy One, blessed be He's mission (to sting a certain person) beyond the Jordan; so the Holy One, blessed be He, summoned a certain frog for him, and he crossed over upon it. Then that scorpion went and stung [the] person. [There is] also a story about a certain reaper who stood and reaped in the valley of Beth-Tofet. When burning heat came, he took grass and tied it on his head. [When] a certain mighty serpent came at him, he killed it. A certain [snake] charmer passed by him. He saw the slain serpent. He said to him, ‘Who killed that serpent?’ [So the reaper] said to him ‘I [did].’ He looked at the grass on his head. He [then] said to him, ‘Remove the grass from your head and [then you can brag (if you still have that power)].’ When he did so, [the charmer] drew near. He had not succeeded in touching him, before [the reaper’s] body parts [all] shed.” R. Jannay was sitting as a judge at the gate of his city, [when] he saw a serpent hissing and coming toward the city. Each time someone would secure against it in one place, it would go to another. He said, “It seems to me that this [serpent] is on its way to carry out its mission.” When it entered the city, a rumor spread in the city, “So-and-so son of so-and-so was bitten by a serpent and he is dead.” R. Elazar was strolling by the seashore of Caesarea. He found a femur bone strewn on the path. [So] he removed it from there, but he found it there again; he removed it from there [a second time] and found it there again. He said, “It seems to me that this [bone] is arranged to carry out its mission.” After [some] days, a minister came and fell over it and died. They looked into him and found evil documents against the Jews in his hand. There is a story about two people who were walking on the way. One who could see, and one was blind. They sat down to eat. They reached out their hands for the herbs of the field and ate. The one who could see became blind, and the one who had been blind became sighted. They did not move from there until the former was being supported by the latter whom he had been supporting. There is a story about a certain person who was going from the land of Israel to Babylon.⁵⁸Lev. R. 22:4. While he was eating, he saw two birds fighting with each other. One of them killed its companion. Then going to get an herb, [it placed it on its mouth,] and made it live again. That person (the one who saw what had happened) went and took the very herb that had fallen from the bird. Then he went to make the dead live with it. When he arrived at the Ladder of Tyre,⁵⁹A well-known landing dock four hours north of Tyre. See ‘Eruv. 80a. he found a dead lion lying in the open. He touched the herb to its mouth and made it live. The lion got up and ate him. The proverb says, “Do not do good to the evil, and evil will not happen to you.”⁶⁰Gen. R. 22:8. There is a story of Shihin (a town near Sepphoris) about a certain blind person who went down to bathe in the waters in a cave. He happened upon the well of Miriam, immersed [himself in it], and was healed. Titus the wicked entered the interior of the holy of holies.⁶¹Git. 56b; Lev. R. 22:3. When he had cursed and blasphemed, he stood up and slashed the veil. Then he took a Torah scroll and brought it out. Next he unrolled it; and bringing two whores, he transgressed upon them. Then he drew his sword to cut up the book. A miracle took place in that blood began to spew forth from it. He began to boast, saying that he had killed himself (i.e. God).⁶²The author is avoiding too literal a description of the sacrilege and therefore substitutes “himself” for God as a euphemism. He began to become bolder and bolder. When he reached the sea, the sea began to grow stormier and stormier. He said, “The God of these people only has power in the sea.⁶³See Pes. 118b. Now if He would, let Him go up on the dry land. Then let us see who overcomes.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said, “O you wicked one, son of a wicked one, I am sending against you a tiny creature, the least of My creatures, to eradicate you from the world.” A gnat entered his nostril, and he died an unnatural death. Why is it named a base creature? Because it takes in but does not excrete. Moreover, sometimes it is by means of a hornet [that God's will is carried out]. Thus it is written (in Exod. 23:28), “I will send the hornet before you [to drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites from before you].” Our masters have said, “When the Holy One, blessed be He, sent the hornet before Israel to kill the Amorites, see what was written about them (in Amos 2:9), “Yet I destroyed the Amorites before them, whose stature was like the cedars in height and who were as strong as the oaks [...].” It entered one's right eye and poured out its poison in it. Then [that person] burst open and dropped dead. This indeed is the way of the Holy One, blessed be He, to carry out His missions by means of small things against all who vaunt themselves against Him. He sends them a small creature to exact punishment from them, in order to inform them that there is no substance to their might. Also in the future to come the Holy One, blessed be He, is going to exact punishment from the [idol-worshiping] peoples of the world by means of small things. It is so stated (in Is. 7:18–19), “And it shall come to pass on that day that the Lord shall whistle for the fly. [They all shall come …].”

"How great are thy works, O Lord!" (Ps. 92:5). Adam began to glorify and to praise the Name of the Most High, as it is said, "How great are thy works, O Lord!" (ibid.) but Thy thoughts are very deep, like the great deep exceedingly (deep), as it is said, "Thy thoughts are very deep" (ibid.). "A brutish man knoweth not" (Ps. 92:6). Every man of Israel who is brutish (in knowledge) and has not learnt understanding, let the wise men of Israel teach him the ways of the Torah, as it is said, "Consider, ye brutish among the people" (Ps. 94:8). But a man who is an expert among the nations of the world is still foolish. Why? For he knoweth not the words of the Torah, as it is said, "Neither doth a fool || understand this" (Ps. 92:6).

"And you, raise your staff" (Exodus 14:15) Moses said before the Holy One Blessed Be He, "You say to me that I will split the sea and I will make the sea dry land, but is it not written, 'that I have placed sand as the boundary of the sea' (Jeremiah 5:22)? And behold, you have sworn that you will not split ever!" Rabbi Eliezer ha Kappar said: Moses said to Him"Not so, for you have said that the sea will not be made dry land, as was said 'that I have placed sand as the boundary of the sea' and it is written, 'And who shut up the sea with doors' (Job 38:8)!" The Holy One Blessed Be He said to him, "You have not read the Torah from the beginning. What is written? 'And God said, let the waters be gathered' (Genesis 1:9). I am the one who placed a condition on it - such I placed a condition from the beginning that I would split it, as was said, 'the sea returned according to its condition at the approach of morning' (Exodus 24:27) [reading l'eitano - "to its strength" as liteinao "according to its condition"]" Immediately, Moses listened to God and went to split the sea, but when he went to divide the sea, it would not accept from him to split. The sea said to him, "I should split before you? I am greater than you! I was created on the third day, and you were created on the sixth day!" When Moses heard this, he went and said to the Holy One Blessed Be He, "The sea doesn't want to be split." What did the Holy One Blessed Be He do? He put His right hand on the the right hand of Moses, as it is said, "who caused [His glorious arm] to go at the right hand of Moses [dividing the waters before them to make Himself an eternal name]" (Isaiah 63:12) Immediately, it saw the Holy One Blessed Be He and fled, as was said, "the sea saw and fled" (Psalms 114:3). What did it see? It saw none other than the Holy One Blessed Be He who gave His right hand upon Moses, and it could not delay, but split immediately. Moses said, "Because of what do you flee?" The sea said to him, "Because of the God of Jacob. (Psalms 114:7) Because of the fear of the Holy One Blessed Be He." Immediately when Moses raised his hand against the sea, it was split, as was said, "The waters split" (Exodus 14:21). It does not say, the sea split, but rather the waters split to teach that all the waters that were in all the springs, and the well and in every place were split, as was said, "The waters were split." And so, at the time that they returned, all the waters returned, for such it says, "And the waters returned" (Exodus 14:28). And all these miracles were done through the hand of Moses, as was said, "And Moses extended his hand over the sea" (Exodus 14:21). Therefore, the Holy One Blessed Be He praised him, as was said, "His people remembered the days of old - Moses" (Isaiah 63:11), and it is written [in the next verse]: "who caused [His glorious arm] to go at the right hand of Moses".

Cain spake before the Holy One, blessed be He: Sovereign of all the worlds ! "My sin is too great to be borne" (Gen. 4:13), for it has no atonement. This utterance was reckoned to him as repentance, as it is said, "And Cain said unto the Lord, My sin is too great to be borne" (ibid.); further, Cain said before the Holy One, blessed be He: Now will a certain righteous one arise on the earth and mention Thy great Name against me and slay me. What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He took one letter from the twenty-two letters, and put (it) upon Cain's arm that he should not be killed, as it is said, "And the Lord appointed a sign for Cain" (Gen. 4:15). The dog which was guarding Abel's flock also guarded his corpse from all the beasts of the field and all the fowl of the heavens. Adam and his helpmate were sitting and weeping and mourning for him, and they did not know what to do (with Abel), for they were unaccustomed to burial. A raven (came), one of its fellow birds was dead (at its side). (The raven) said: I will teach this man what to do. It took its fellow and dug in the earth, hid it and buried it before them. Adam said: Like this raven will I act. He took || the corpse of Abel and dug in the earth and buried it. The Holy One, blessed be He, gave a good reward to the ravens in this world. What reward did He give them? When they bear their young and see that they are white they fly from them, thinking that they are the offspring of a serpent, and the Holy One, blessed be He, gives them their sustenance without lack, as it is said, "Who provideth for the raven his food, when his young ones cry unto God, and wander for lack of meat" (Job 38:41). Moreover, that rain should be given upon the earth (for their sakes), and the Holy One, blessed be He, answers them, as it is said, "He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry" (Ps. 147:9).

It is written (in Ps. 50:14): SACRIFICE A THANK OFFERING TO GOD. When Jacob left his father's house, he left with nothing but his staff, as stated (in Gen. 32:11 [10]): WITH ONLY MY STAFF I CROSSED THIS JORDAN. Immediately Jacob had made a vow before the Holy One, as stated (in Gen. 28:20): THEN JACOB VOWED A VOW. What is written at the end of the passage (in vs. 22)? AND OF ALL THAT YOU GIVE ME. But, when he enriched him, as stated (in Gen. 30:43): SO THE MAN (Jacob) BECAME VERY VERY PROSPEROUS, he forgot his vow. Immediately he provoked Laban against him, as stated (in Gen. 31:23): SO HE (Laban) TOOK HIS RELATIVES WITH HIM < AND PURSUED HIM (Jacob) SEVEN DAYS' JOURNEY >. When he had escaped from Laban, Esau was incited against him. Immediately the angel appeared to him. He said to him: Are you not aware of all this trouble? Why has all the trouble come over you? Because you have been late with your vow. Jacob said to him (in Gen. 32:30 [29]) {WHAT IS} [PLEASE TELL] YOUR NAME. He said to him (ibid.): WHY IS IT THAT YOU ARE ASKING FOR MY NAME? Sometimes the angel is made into a spirit, as stated (in Ps. 104:4): HE HAS MADE HIS ANGELS SPIRITS. Sometimes he is made a into lightning bolt, as stated (in Job 38:35): CAN YOU SEND FORTH LIGHTNINGS SO THAT THEY GO? But as for the miracles (of transformation), he (God) acts himself. And so the angel said to Manoah (in Jud. 13:18): YOU ARE NOT TO ASK MY NAME. (Gen. 32:30 [29]:) WHY IS IT THAT YOU ARE ASKING FOR MY NAME?⁷⁴Yalqut Shim‘oni, Jud., 69, explains that names are useless because the angel would not know into what form God might change him. Immediately the angel blessed him, as stated (in Gen. 32:30 [29]): AND HE BLESSED HIM THERE. (Hos. 12:5 [4]:) SO HE STROVE WITH AN ANGEL AND PREVAILED. What did he say to him? Go, fulfill your vow. (Eccl. 5:4 [5]:) IT IS BETTER NOT TO VOW < THAN TO VOW AND NOT FULFILL >. What did Simeon and Levi do immediately? TWO OF JACOB'S SONS, [SIMEON AND LEVI, BROTHERS OF DINAH, EACH TOOK HIS SWORD] … < AND KILLED EVERY MALE >. < Jacob > immediately fell on his face and did not get up until < the Holy One > gave him permission (in Gen. 35:1): ARISE, GO UP TO BETHEL. So also with Joshua (according to Josh. 7:6 & 10): [AND HE FELL ON HIS FACE] < .. . > THEN THE LORD SAID UNTO JOSHUA: ARISE, GO. WHY IS IT THAT YOU FALL UPON YOUR FACE? So also with David (according to I Chron. 21:16): SO DAVID AND THE ELDERS, COVERED IN SACKCLOTH, FELL UPON THEIR FACES. Then what was said to him (in II Sam. 24:18)? GO UP, ERECT AN ALTAR TO THE LORD ON THE THRESHING FLOOR OF ARAUNAH. It is therefore stated (in Gen. 35:1): ARISE, GO UP TO BETHEL. He immediately journeyed with his whole house; and the Holy One put his fear upon all about him, as stated (in Gen. 35:5): AND, AS THEY JOURNEYED, A TERROR FROM GOD CAME < UPON THE CITIES THAT WERE ROUND ABOUT THEM >. It is also stated (in Deut. 28:10): AND ALL THE PEOPLES OF THE EARTH SHALL SEE THAT THE NAME OF THE LORD IS PROCLAIMED OVER YOU, AND THEY SHALL BE AFRAID OF YOU.

Rabbi Joshua said: || The Israelites are called "Sons of God," as it is said, "Ye are the sons of the Lord your God" (Deut. 14:1). The angels are called "Sons of God," as it is said, "When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy" (Job 38:7); and whilst they were still in their holy place in heaven, these were called "Sons of God," as it is said, "And also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them; the same became the mighty men, which were of old, men of renown" (Gen. 6:4).

Our sages of blessed memory said: “Observe that the way of the Holy One, blessed be He, is not the way of man.” It is not man’s way to heal with what he wounds. If he wounds with a knife, he heals with a plaster, but the Holy One, blessed be He, heals with what He wounds. When He smote Job, He did so with a tempest, as it said: And multiply my wounds without cause (Job 9:17), and when He healed him He did so with a whirlwind, as it is said: Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind (ibid. 38:1). When He sent Israel into exile, He did so with clouds, as is said: How hath the Lord covered with a cloud (Lam. 2:1), and when He brought them back, He did so with a cloud, as it is said: Who are these that fly as a cloud? (Isa. 60:8). When He dispersed them, He scattered them like doves, as it is said: But they that shall at all escape of them, shall be on the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them moaning (Ezek. 7:16). When He gathered them together, He did so as doves: As the doves to their cotes (Isa. 60:8). When He blesses them, He does so only while “looking forth,” as it is said: Look forth from Thy holy habitation (Deut. 26:15), and when He exacts retribution from their enemies, He does so while “looking forth,” as it is said: And it came to pass on the morning watch that the Lord looked forth through the pillar of fire and of cloud (Exod. 14:24). When the pillar of cloud descended it turned (the water) into mud, and the pillar of fire scalded them. The hoofs of their horses became entangled (and they fell), causing the horses to fall upon the mares that were beneath. Thus it says: Then did the horses’ hoofs stamp by reason of their prancings, the prancings of the mighty ones (Judg. 5:22). He confused and befuddled them. He took away their reasoning power, and they did not know what to do.

... Teach us o teacher: toward where should one who prays orient his heart? This is what our Rabbis taught: one should orient his heart toward the place of the Holy of Holies (Berachot 4:5). R’ Eliezer ben Yaakov says: if one is praying outside of the land, he should orient his heart to the land of Israel. If one is praying within the land of Israel, he should orient his heart to Jerusalem. If one is praying in Jerusalem, he should orient his heart to the Holy Temple. If one is praying in the Holy Temple, he should orient his heart to the Holy of Holies. R’ Avin the Levi said: “our neck is like the Tower of David, built as a model (talpiyot)…” (Song of Songs 4:4) What does talpiyot mean? The hill (tel) toward which all turns (peniyot) are directed. And after all this praise, it is written “Open your doors, O Lebanon, and let the fire consume your cedars.” (Zechariah 11:1) And so too they said “He has hurled fire into my bones…” (Lamentations 1:13) Israel said to Him: Master of the World! How long will it be like this? Did You not write in Your Torah “…the one who ignited the fire shall surely pay” (Exodus 22:5)? And You are the one who ignited the fire, as it says “From above He has hurled fire into my bones…” (Lamentations 1:13) You need to rebuild it and to console us, not at the hands of an angel but You in Your glory. The Holy One said to them: by your life, so I will do! As it says “The Lord is the builder of Jerusalem; He will gather the outcasts of Israel.” (Psalms 147:2) And I am the one who consoles you. From where do we learn this? From that which they read in the prophets “I, yea I am He Who consoles you…” (Isaiah 51:12)

In the future world the Holy One, blessed be He, will take hold of the corners of the land of Israel, and shake it (free) from all unclean (things), as it is said, "That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, and the wicked be shaken out of it" (Job 38:13).

(Devarim 11:12) "A land which the L-rd your G-d inquires after": Rebbi says: Does He inquire after it (Eretz Yisrael) alone? Does He not inquire after all the lands, viz. (Job 38:26) (He makes it) "rain upon a land without a man, a desert in which there is no person." What is the intent, then, of "a land which the L-rd your G-d inquires after"? — It is as if He inquires only after it. Because He inquires after it, He inquires after all the other lands along with it.

Another [understanding]: And it was in the days of Amrafel: Rabbi Tanchuma in the name of Rabbi Chiya and Rabbi Berakhiya in the name of Rabbi Elazar [all] said, "This midrash came up to our hands from the exile - 'Any place that it is stated, "and it was in the days of," it is nothing but a term of grief.'" "And it was in the days of Amrafel" (Genesis 14:1): What grief was there over there? They made a war. Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachmani said in the name of Rabbi Natan, "And there are five": (1) [It is comparable] to a dear friend of a king who entered a province, and on his account was the king [concerned] about that whole province. [Then] barbarians came and grappled with him. And when he wanted to leave, they all said to him, "Woe that the king will no longer be concerned about the province as he was": So [too,] was Avraham a dear friend of the Holy One, blessed be He - as it is written about him (Isaiah 41:8), "the seed of Avraham, My dear one"; and it is written (Genesis 12:3), "and through you shall all the families of the world be blessed." And when the barbarians came and grappled with him, they all said, "Woe that the Holy One, blessed be He, will not be concerned with the world as He was; since He was concerned with the world for his sake." This is [the meaning of] that which the verse stated (Genesis 14:7), "And they came to Ein Mishpat (which can be understand as the eye of justice)" - Rabbi Acha said, "They sought to grapple with no less than the eyeball of the world." They said, "They sought to blind the eye that [suppressed] the trait of [strict] judgment in the world." [The verse continues -] "It (hee) is Kadesh," [but] it is written, "he (hu) is Kadesh"; meaning to say, he sanctified (hu kidesh) the name of the Holy One, blessed be He and went down to the fiery furnace. When they saw that the things were like this, they cried out. (2) "And it was in the days of Achaz the son of Yoshiah, King of Yehudah" (Isaiah 7:1). What grief was there over there? "It is what is stated by the verse (Isaiah 9:11), "Aram is in front and the Philistines are behind, etc." [It is comparable] to a king that gave his son over to a mentor, and the mentor hated him. He said, "If I kill him, I will become liable for death. Rather, I will take away his nourishment from him and he will die on his own": So did the evil Achaz say, "If there are no goats, there will be no rams; if there is no flock, there will be no shepherd, [and] where will the world be?" So did he say, "If there are no masters, there will be no students; if there are no students, there will be no sages; if there is no Torah, there will be no synagogues and study halls." What did he do? He passed all the synagogues and study halls and sealed them. And this [is the meaning of] that which the verse states (Isaiah 8:16), "Bind up the message; seal the instruction with My disciples.".... And when they saw that the things were like this, they all started to cried out, "Woe that the world is being destroyed" - when [study of] the Torah was negated, that was in the days of Achaz. (3) "And it was in the days of Yehoyakim the son of Yoshiyahu" (Jeremiah 1:3). What grief was there over there? "I looked at the earth, and behold it was empty and void; at the heavens and their light was not" (Jeremiah 4:23), [It is comparable] to edicts of the kings that were were brought to the province. What did the people of the province do? They tore them up and burned them. This is what the verse stated (Jeremiah 36:23), "And it was when Yehudi would read three columns or four" - meaning to say, he read four verses - and in the fifth verse, he read, "And her tormentors became the head" (Lamentations 1:5) - and it is is written (Jeremiah 36:23), "he would tear it with a scribe's blade and throw it into the fire until the end of all of the scroll." And when they saw this, everyone began to cry out, "Woe for the decree that is hanging over us." (4) "And it was in the days when the judges ruled" (Ruth 1:1) - there was famine there. [And to what is the matter comparable?] To a province that was liable a tax to the king. [So] he sent collectors to collect it. The people of the province rose and smote the collectors and hung them. The judgment that they were liable - as they appointed other judges for themselves - they did to the collectors. So did they do at that time.... (5) "And it was in the days of Achashverosh" (Esther 1:1). What grief was there over there? [It is comparable] to a king that had a vineyard, and he had three enemies. What did they do? One cut the small berries, the second ripped the clusters and the third uprooted the vines: So did Pharaoh began with the small berries, as it is stated (Exodus 1:22), "Any son that is born, throw him into the river." Nevukhadnetsar [ripped the clusters,] as it is stated (Jeremiah 29:2), "the craftsmen and the smiths".... Haman [then] came [to] uproot the vines, as it is stated (Esther 3:13), "to annihilate, to kill and to destroy." Everyone began to cry out, "Woe." Rabbi Shimon ben Abba said in the name of Rabbi Yochanan, "Any place that it is stated, 'and it was (vayehi),' it is used for grief and it is used for joy. And when for grief, there is no grief like it, and when for joy, there is no joy like it." Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachman came and divided it, "Any place that it is stated 'it will be,' it is used for joy; [but] 'and it was' [is for] grief." The Sages responded, "Behold 'And God said, "Vayehi (here used as a command form, and not past tense) light"' [is] joy!" He said to them, "It too is not of joy, as the world did not merit to use that light. As so did Rabbi Yehudah bar Simon say, '[Regarding] the light that the Holy One, blessed be He, created on the first day, Adam [could] look and observe from [one] end of the world to the [other] end. [But] since the Holy One, blessed be He, saw the deeds of the generation of Enosh and the generation of the flood, He arose and hid it from them. That is [the meaning of] what the verse states (Job 38:15), "From the wicked is their light withheld." And to where is it hidden? [It is] in the Garden of Eden, for the righteous ones, as it is stated (Psalms 97:11), "Light is sown for the righteous, and joy for the straight-hearted."'" They responded to him further, "It states, 'And it was evening and it was morning, one day.'" He said to them, "On that day too, it is not of joy, as all the acts of the first day are destined to wither, as it is stated (Isaiah 51:6), 'when the heavens melt away like smoke and the earth wither like a garment.'" They responded to him, "Behold, the [acts of] the second day, the third day, the fourth day, the fifth day, the sixth day." He said to them, "They too are not of joy, as all the acts of the six days of creation require further action - for example, wheat needs to be ground; mustard needs to be mellowed; lupine need to be mellowed." They responded to him, "[And what about,] 'And it was that the Lord was with Yosef and he was a successful man' (Genesis 39:7)?" He said to them, "It too is not of joy, as that 'bear' chanced upon him from this, as it is stated in the verse, 'after' - 'And it was after these things, and the wife of his master raised, etc.' (Genesis 39:7)...." They responded to him, "[And what about,] 'And it was that the Lord was with Yehoshua, and his reputation was in all the land' (Joshua 6:27)?" He said to them, "It too is not of joy, as he had to rend his garments." They responded to him, "And is it not written (I Samuel 18:14), 'And it was that David was successful in all of his ways and the Lord was with him'?" He said to them, "It too is not of joy, as enmity descended into the heart of Shaul from this, as it is stated (I Samuel 18:9), 'And it was that Shaul eyed David.'" They responded to him, "And is it not written (II Samuel 7:1), 'And it was when the king sat in his house and the Lord allowed him rest from all of his enemies'?" He said to them, "It too is not of joy, as on that same day, Natan the prophet came to David and said to him, 'However you will not build the House' (I Kings 8:19)." They said to him, "Behold, we have said what is ours; [now] say what is yours - that 'and it will be' is joy." He said to them, "'And it will be on that day that the mountains will drip with nectar' (Joel 4:18), that will be in the days of the messiah, and there will be great joy for Israel. And so [too,] 'And it will be on that day that a man shall save alive a heifer of the herd and two sheep' (Isaiah 7:21). And so [too,] 'And it will be on that day that living waters will come out from Jerusalem' (Zechariah 14:8). And so [too,] 'And he will be like a tree planted over streams of water' (Psalms 1:3). And so [too,] 'And the remnant of Yaakov will be among many nations' (Micah 5:6)." They said to him, "But behold, it is written (Jeremiah 38:28), 'vahaya (here used in the past tense, and not like the other examples) when Jerusalem was captured'!" He said to them, "It too is not of grief, as on that day was the verdict of Israel for their sins taken; as so is it written (Lamentations 4:22), 'Your sin has been completed, Daughter of Zion, He will not again exile you.'"

(Bamidbar 15:37-38) "And the L-rd spoke to Moses, saying … and they shall make for themselves tzitzith": Women, too, are included (in the mitzvah of tzitzith.) R. Shimon exempts women from tzitzith, it being a time-based (only in the daytime) positive commandment, from which women are exempt, this being the principle: R. Shimon said: Women are exempt from all time-based positive commandments. R. Yehudah b. Bava said: Of a certainty, the sages exempted a woman's veil from tzitzith, and they are required in a wrap only because sometimes her husband covers himself with it. "tzitzith": "tzitzith" is something which "protrudes" ("yotzeh") somewhat. And the elders of Beth Shammai and those of Beth Hillel have already entered the upper chamber of Yonathan b. Betheira and declared: Tzitzith have no prescribed size. And they declared, similarly: A lulav has no prescribed size. "and they shall make for themselves tzitzith." I might think that one string suffices; it is, therefore, written (Devarim 22:12) "Fringes (shall you make for yourself.") How many fringes? Not fewer than three. These are the words of Beth Hillel. Beth Shammai say: Three of wool and the fourth of tcheleth (blue linen). And the halachah is in accordance with Beth Shammai. When is this so (that a minimum size is required)? In the beginning (of its attachment). But for what is left over or lopped off any size (is sufficient). (Bamidbar, Ibid.) "and they shall make for themselves tzitzith." I might think that all of it shall be tzitzith; it is, therefore, written "fringes." If "fringes," I might think all of it shall be fringes. It is, therefore, written "tzitzith." How is this (to be implemented)? That its fringes protrude from the corner (of the garment), and tzitzith from the fringes. "in the corners of their garments": I might think, even garments that are three-cornered, five-cornered, six-cornered, seven-cornered, and eight-cornered; it is, therefore, written (Devarim, Ibid.) "on the four corners of your garment," to exclude the aforementioned. And whence is it derived that pillows and covers are (also) excluded (from tzitzith)? From (Ibid.) "wherewith you cover yourself." If from there, I would think that night-clothes are also included (as requiring tzitzith). It is, therefore, written (Bamidbar, Ibid. 39) "and you shall see it" — in the daytime and not at night. And if it were intended both for day and night, it requires tzitzith. I might think that this excludes both the above and the garment of a blind man; it is, therefore, written (Bamidbar, Ibid. 39) "And it shall be for you for tzitzith" — in any event (i.e., to include a blind man). (Ibid. 38) "and they shall place on the tzitzith (on) the corner a strand of tcheleth": spun and doubled. This tells me only of the tcheleth, that it is to be spun and doubled. Whence do I derive (the same for) the white (i.e., the wool)? You derive it by induction, viz.: Since the Torah said: "place" tcheleth and "place" white, just as tcheleth is spun and doubled, so, white is spun and doubled. "and they shall place": on the place of the weaving (i.e., the corner of the garment), and not on the place of the "growing" (i.e., the strands at the corner of the garment). If he did place it on the site of the "growing," it is (nonetheless) kasher. R. Eliezer b. Yaakov includes it both on the "growing" and on the very edge of the garment, it being written "on the corners of their garments." "and they shall place on the tzitzith (on) the corner": What is the intent of this? From "and they shall make for themselves tzitzith, I might think that he should weave it (the tzitzith) together with it (the garment; it is, therefore, written "and they shall place." How so? He ties it (the tzitzith) together with it (the garment). (Ibid. 39) "And it shall be to you for tzitzith": The four tzitzith are mutually inclusive (i.e., in the absence of one there is no mitzvah), the four being one mitzvah. R. Yishmael says: They are four mitzvoth. R. Elazar b. R. Shimon says: Why is it called "tcheleth"? Because the Egyptians were "bereaved" ("nitkelu" [like "tcheleth"]) of their first-born, viz. (Shemot 12:29) "And it was in the middle of the night, that the L-rd smote every first-born, etc." Variantly: Because the Egyptians were "destroyed" ("kalu") in the Red Sea. Why is it called "tzitzith"? Because the L-rd "looked" ("hetzith") over our fathers' houses in Egypt, as it is written (Song of Songs 2:9) "The voice of My Beloved, behold, it is coming … My Beloved is like a gazelle or a young hart … Behold, He stands behind our wall, looking through the windows, peering through the lattices." R. Chanina b. Antignos says: One who fulfills the mitzvah of tzitzith, what is said of him? (Zechariah 8:23) "In these days it will happen that ten men, of all the languages of the nations will take hold of the corner (i.e., of the tzitzith) of a Jewish man, saying 'Let us go with you, for we have heard that G-d is with you!'" And one who nullifies the mitzvah of "the corner," what is said of him? (Iyyov 38:13) "to take hold of the corners of the earth and to shake the wicked from it!" R. Meir says: It is not written (Bamidbar, Ibid. 39) "And you shall see them" (the tzitzith), but "And you shall see Him." Scripture hereby apprises us that if one fulfills the mitzvah of tzitzith, it is reckoned unto him as if he beheld the face of the Shechinah. For tcheleth is reminiscent of (the color of) the sea; the sea, of the firmament; and the firmament, of the Throne of Glory, as it is written (Ezekiel 1:26) "And above the firmament that was over their heads … (28) the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the L-rd." (Bamidbar, Ibid.) "and you shall see and you shall remember": See this mitzvah and remember another mitzvah, (which is contingent upon it.) Which is that? The recitation of the Shema — But perhaps (the reference is to) one of all the other mitzvoth of the Torah. It is, therefore, written (in the section of tzitzith, Ibid. 41) "I am the L-rd your G-d," which you find to be written only in (the section of) the recitation of the Shema. "and you shall remember": Remember (i.e., recite) the section with your mouth. I might think that the section "vehaya im shamoa" (Devarim 11:13-21) should precede all of the sections. — Would you say that? The section of Shema (Devarim 6:4-9), which contains acceptance of the yoke of the kingdom of Heaven should precede "vehaya im shamoa," which contains acceptance of the yoke of mitzvoth, and "vehaya im shamoa," which obtains both in the daytime and at night, should precede the section of tzitzith ("vayomer" [Bamidbar 15:37-41]), which obtains only in the daytime. And perhaps he should recite three (sections) in the evening as he does in the daytime. It is, therefore, written (of tzitzith [Bamidbar 15:39]) "and you shall see it" — in the daytime and not at night. R. Shimon b. Yochai says: The section of Shema, which contains (the mitzvah of) learning (Torah), should precede "vehaya im shamoa," which speaks only of teaching. And "vehaya im shamoa" should precede the section of tzitzith, which is only to do (i.e., the final stage). For thus was Torah given: to learn and to teach, to keep and to do: "And you shall see it, and you shall remember (all the mitzvoth of the L-rd, and you shall do them."): Now does this not follow a fortiori, viz.: If one who fulfills the mitzvah of tzitzith, (which is only a sign and a remembrance towards the doing of mitzvoth,) is accounted as one who has fulfilled all of the mitzvoth, how much more so (is this true of) one who (actively) performs (any one of) all the mitzvoth of the Torah! "And you shall not go astray after your hearts": This is heresy, as it is written (Koheleth 7:26) "And I find more bitter than death 'the woman' (heresy), whose heart is snares and nets. Her hands are bonds. The good before G-d shall escape her." "and after your eyes": This is harlotry, as it is written (Judges 14:3) "Take her for me, for she is just in my eyes." "after which you go astray": This is idolatry, as it is written (Ibid. 8:33) "and they went astray after the ba'alim." R. Nathan says: that one not "drink" in this "cup" (i.e., his own wife), and cast his gaze at the "cup" of another. Variantly: "And you shall not go astray after your hearts and after your eyes": This teaches us that the eyes follow the heart. — But perhaps the heart follows the eyes! Would you say that? Are there not blind men who commit all the abominations in the world? What, then, is the intent of "And you shall not go astray after your hearts, etc."? That the eyes follow the heart. R. Yishmael says: "And you shall not go astray after your hearts": What is the intent of this? From (Koheleth 11:9) "Rejoice young man in your youth (… and walk in the ways of your heart"), (I would not know whether) in a way that is straight or in (any) way that you like; it is, therefore, written "And you shall not go astray after your hearts." (Ibid. 40) "So that you remember and you do (all of My mitzvoth): This equates remembering with doing. "and you shall be holy to your G-d": This refers to the holiness of all of the mitzvoth. You say the holiness of (all the) mitzvoth, but perhaps the holiness of tzitzith (is intended). — Would you say that? What is the (general) context? The holiness of all the mitzvoth. Rebbi says: The reference is to the holiness of tzitzith. You say the holiness of tzitzith, but perhaps the holiness of all the mitzvoth is intended. — (Vayikra 19:2) "Holy shall you be" already refers to the holiness of all the mitzvoth. How, then, am I to understand "and you shall be holy to your G-d"? As referring to the holiness of tzitzith — whence it is seen that tzitzith add holiness to Israel. (Ibid. 41) "I am the L-rd your G-d, who took you out of the land of Egypt.": Why is this mentioned here? So that one not say: I will take imitation-dyed threads (and attach them to my garment) as tcheleth, and who will know the difference? If (within the framework of) the measure of punishment, the lesser measure (of the L-rd) — if one sins in secret, He exposes him in public, (as He did in Egypt), then, (within the framework of) the measure of good, the greater measure (of the L-rd) — how much more so (does this hold true)! Variantly: Why is the exodus from Egypt mentioned in connection with every mitzvah? An analogy: The son of a king's loved one was taken captive. When he (the king) redeems him, he redeems him not as a son, but as a servant, so that if he (the son) does not accept his decree, he can say to him "You are my servant!" When they enter the province, he (the king) says to him: Put on my sandals and carry my things before me to the bath-house. The son begins to object, whereupon the king presents him with his writ (of servitude) and says to him: "You are my servant!" Thus, when the Holy One Blessed be He redeemed the seed of His loved one, He did not redeem them as "sons," but as servants, so that if they reject His decree He says to them: "You are My servants!" When they went to the desert, He began to decree upon them some "light" mitzvoth and some formidable ones, such as Shabbath, illicit relations, tzitzith, and tefillin, and Israel began to object — whereupon He said to them: "You are My servants! On that condition I redeemed you; on condition that I decree and you fulfill!" "I am the L-rd your G-d": Why is this stated again? Is it not already written (Shemot 20:2) "I am the L-rd your G-d who took you out of the land of Egypt"? Why state it again? So that Israel not say: Why did the L-rd command us (to do mitzvoth)? Is it not so that we do them and receive reward? We shall not do them and we shall not receive reward! As Israel said (Ezekiel 20:1) "There came to me (Ezekiel) men of the elders of Israel to make inquiry of the L-rd, and they sat before me." They said to him: A servant whose Master has sold him, does he not leave His domain? Ezekiel: Yes. They: Since the L-rd has sold us to the nations, we have left His domain. Ezekiel: A servant whose Master has sold him in order to return, does he leave His domain? (Ibid. 32-33) "And what enters your minds, it shall not be, your saying: We will be like the nations, like the families of the lands, to serve wood and stone. As I live, says the L-rd G-d. I swear to you that I will rule over you with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm and with outpoured wrath!" "with a strong hand": pestilence, as it is written (in that regard, Shemot 9:3) "Behold, the hand of the L-rd is in your cattle, etc." "with an outstretched arm": the sword, as it is written (I Chronicles 21:16) "with his (the angel's) sword drawn in his hand, stretched over Jerusalem." "and with outpoured wrath": famine. After I bring these three calamities upon you, one after the other, I will rule over you perforce!

Variantly: "When I call out the name of the L-rd": R. Yossi says: Whence is it derived that when those standing in the synagogue hear (from the prayer leader) "Bless the blessed Yod-keh-vav-keh" that they respond "Blessed is the blessed yod-keh-vav-keh forever"? From "When I call out the name of yod-keh-vav-keh, ascribe greatness to our G-d." Greater is he who answers "Amen" (to a blessing) than the blesser (himself). R. Nehorai said to him: This is the natural order of things: The common soldiers wage the war, and the heroes triumph! And whence is it derived that grace is recited with three? From "When I (1) call out the name of the L-rd, you (2) ascribe greatness to our G-d." And whence is it derived that when the grace leader says "Let us bless," that they respond after him "Blessed is He of whose we have eaten, etc." From "When I call out the name of the L-rd, ascribe greatness to our G-d." And whence is it derived that when one says (in the kaddish) "Let the great name be blessed," the response is "for ever and ever"? From "ascribe greatness to our G-d." And whence is it derived that our fathers went down to Egypt only so that the Holy One Blessed be He do wonders to sanctify His great name in the world? From (Shemoth 2:23-24) "And it was in the course of those many days … and G-d heard their outcry," and "When I call out the name of the L-rd." And whence is it derived that the L-rd brought the ten plagues upon Pharaoh and Egypt only because they had not sanctified His great name in the world? For in the beginning it is written (Ibid. 5:2) "Who is the L-rd that I should hearken to His voice?" and in the end, (Ibid. 9:27) "The L-rd is the righteous one, and I and my people are the wicked ones." And whence is it derived that the L-rd performed wonders for our fathers at the Red Sea and the Jordan and the streams of Arnon only to sanctify His name in the world? viz. (Joshua 1:5) "And it was, when all the kings of the Emori on the western side of the Jordan, etc." and Rachav said to the messengers of Joshua (Ibid. 2:10) "For we have heard that the L-rd dried up the waters of the Red Sea before you, etc." From "When I call out the name of the L-rd." And whence is it derived that Daniel descended into the lions' den only so that the L-rd do wonders with him to sanctify His name in the world? From "When I call out the name of the L-rd." And it is written (Daniel 6:27) "An order is hereby issued by me that in all the dominion of my kingdom men shall tremble and fear before the G-d of Daniel." And whence is it derived that Chananiah, Mishael and Azaryah descended into the fiery furnace only so that the L-rd do wonders with them to sanctify His great name in the world? From (Ibid. 3:32-33) "It behooves me (Nevuchadnezzar) to relate the signs and wonders that the great G-d has performed for me. How great are His signs and how mighty are His wonders!" And whence is it derived that the ministering angels do not mention His exalted name until Israel mention His name below — "Hear, O Israel, the L-rd our G-d, the L-rd is one"? From (Iyyov 38:7) "when there sang together the stars of morning," followed by "and all the sons of G-d shouted." "the stars of morning" — Israel, who are compared to stars, viz. (Bereshith 22:17) "and I shall multiply your seed like the stars of the heaven." "the sons of G-d" — the ministering angels, viz. (Iyyov 1:6) "and the sons of G-d came, etc."