스가랴 3:8의 미드라쉬

When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying: “Show a wonder for you” (Exod. 7:9). He will be making a reasonable request to you. You find in the case of Noah, that though He said to him, after He saved him from the flood, Neither shall there be anymore a flood (Gen. 9:11), Noah demanded a sign, and God assured him: I have set my bow in the cloud (ibid., v. 13). Similarly, when Hezekiah was sick, the Holy One, blessed be He, sent Isaiah to him and he said: Thus saith the Lord, the God of David, thy father: “I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears; behold, I will heal thee; on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the Lord” (II Kings 20:5). But he replied: What shall be the sign? (ibid., v. 8), and He answered: This shall be the sign unto thee from the Lord, that the Lord will do the thing that He hath spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten degrees, or go back ten degrees? (ibid., v. 9). Likewise, Joshua, the high priest, was told: Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, … for they are men that are a sign (Zech. 3:8). Since the righteous demanded signs, how much more did the wicked Pharaoh (have the right to do so). Hence, when Pharaoh says unto you: Show a wonder for you (he will be making a reasonable request).

(Fol. 13b) Our Rabbis were taught: If it happened that he, his teacher and his father were in captivity [and he was able to redeem only one] he himself has the preference over the teacher, and his teacher has the preference over his father. His mother, however, has the preference over all. A sage has the preference over a king of Israel, for if a sage dies, we have no equal to him, but if a king dies all Israel is fit for the throne. A king has the preference over a High-priest, as it is said (I Kings 1, 33) Take with you the servants of your lord. A High-priest has the preference over a prophet, as it is said (Ib.) And let Zadok the priest with Nathan the prophet, hence the priest precedes the prophet, and there is another passage (Zech. 3, 8) Hear now, O Joshua the High-priest, thou and thy fellows, etc. One might say that they were ignorants therefore the priest precedes them. The verse therefore says (Ib.) For they are men that are a sign (Mofeth). The word Mofeth is applied to prophecy, as it is said (Deut. 13, 2) And he gives thee a sign (Mofeth) or a wonder.

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R. Tanchum b. Chanilai said: "When Chananyah, Mishael, and Azaryah came out of the furnace, the nations came and slapped Israel in the face, saying: 'Ye have such a God, and ye bowed yourselves to the images!' They (Israel) immediately confessed, saying (Ib. 9, 7) Thine, O Lord, is the righteousness, but unto us belongeth confusion of faces, as it is this day." R. Samuel b. Nachmeni, in the name of R. Jochanan, said: "What does the passage (Songs 7, 9) I thought, I wish to climb up the palm-tree, I wish to take hold of its boughs, mean? The Holy One, praised be He! said, 'I will take hold of the whole tree, (Israel) but now I claim only one branch — that of Chananyah, Mishael and Azaryah'." R. Jochanan said: "What does the passage (Zech. 1, 8) I saw this night, and behold there was a man (ish) riding upon a red horse, etc., mean? This night, i.e., the Lord intended to turn the entire world into night. Behold there was a man (ish), — this refers to the Holy One, praised be He! as it is said (Ex. 15, 3) The Eternal is a man (ish) of war. Upon a red horse — i.e., the Holy One, praised be He! intended to plunge the entire world into blood, but after looking upon Chananyah, Mishael and Azaryah, he felt satisfied (cooled off), as it is said, And he was standing among the myrtle-trees (hadasim). And myrtle-trees refers to the upright, as it is said (Esth. 2, 7) And he brought up Hadassah. And deep valley refers to Babylon, as it is said (Is. 44, 27) That saith to the deep, Be dry, and thy rivers will I dry up; immediately the red which were filled with anger became pale, and the red became white." R. Papa said: "Infer from this that if one sees a white horse in his dream, it is a good sign." But what became of Chananyah, Mishael, and Azaryah after they came out of the furnace [as there is no further mention of them]? Rab said: "They died from an evil eye"; and Samuel said: "They were drowned in the spittle [caused by the nations when they slapped Israel in the face, mentioned above.]" R. Jochanan, however, said: "They returned to Palestine, married, and begat children." Concerning the same the Tannaim of the following Baraitha differ: R. Eliezer says: "They died from an evil eye." R . Joshua says: "They were drowned in the spittle," and the sages say: "They returned to Palestine, married aud begat children," as it is said (Zech. 3, 8) Do but hear, O Joshua the high-priest, thou and thy fellows that sit before thee, for men of wonder are they, i.e., who were the men to whom wonder was done? We must say, Chananyah, Mishael and Azaryah. But where was Daniel at the time that they were thrown into the kiln? Rab said: "He went to dig a river in the city of Tiberius." And Samuel said: "He was sent by Nebuchadnezzar to bring a certain kind of grass [from Palestine, to be planted in Babylon]." And R. Jochanan said: "He was sent to bring swine from Alexandria of Egypt." But was it not said above by Tudus the physician that no swine left Alexandria without having its womb first removed so that they should not multiply in other countries? He brought little ones, and the Egyptians were not aware [that he took them that they should multiply in Babylon].

"And the angel of Ad-nai called to Avraham a second time from heaven, and said: 'By Myself I have sworn" (Gen. 22:15-16). Why was this oath needed? He [Avraham] said to Him: ‘Swear to me not to test me ever again, nor my son Itzchak.’ This is similar to one who was saving his basin from being swallowed by the river, and his son jumped into it with him. Another interpretation: why was this oath needed? Rabbi Chama ben Rabbi Chanina said: He said to Him ‘swear to me not to test me ever again’ This is similar to a king who was married to a noble lady, she gave birth to her first son and he divorced her; [he remarried her and then she gave birth to] a second son, and he divorced her; a third son, and he divorced her; and when she gave birth to the tenth son, they all assembled and demanded of him: ‘Swear to us not to divorce our mother ever again.’ So too when our father Avraham was tested the tenth time, he said to Him: ‘Swear to me that You will not to test me ever again.’ Rabbi Chanin said: "Because you have done [asita] this thing" (Gen. 22:17) — it was the tenth [asiri] trial, and you say "because you have done this thing!" Rather, this is the last test, which was as weighty as all the rest together, and if he had not accepted to [do] it, all would have been lost. [A different version: all that he did would have been lost.] "I will verily bless you, etc." (Gen. 22:17) a blessing for the father and a blessing for the son. "And I will verily multiply"(Gen. 22:17) : increase for the father and increase for the son. "And your seed shall inherit the gate of his enemies"(Gen. 22:17). Rabbi said: This is Tadmor, happy is anyone who sees the downfall of Tadmor which took part in both destructions. Rabbi Yudan and R. Chanina — one of them said 'at the destruction of the first Temple it supplied eighty thousand archers.[A different version: truth tellers (?)] and in the second destruction it supplied eight thousand archers. "And Avraham returned to his young men (Gen. 22:19) And where was Itzchak? Rabbi Berechiah said in the name of the Rabbis from there: he sent him to Shem to study Torah. This is similar to a woman who became wealthy through her spindle, she said: ‘Since I have become wealthy through this spindle, it will never leave my hand.’ So too Avraham said: ‘All that has happened to me is only because I engaged in Torah and mitzvot; so I do not want it to ever depart from my seed.’ Rabbi Chanina said: He sent him [home] at night, for fear of the [evil] eye, because from the moment that Chananiah, Mishael, and Azariah came out unscathed from the fiery furnace they aren't mentioned anymore, and where did they go? Rabbi Eleazar said: They died through the spittle. Rabbi Yosei said: They died through an [evil] eye. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: They changed their place and went to Yehoshua ben Yehotzadak to study Torah, since it is written "Hear now, Yehoshua the high priest, you, and your companions that sit before you [for they are men that are a sign] (Zech. 3:8). Rabbi Chanina said: For this Chananiah, Mishael, and Azariah went down to the fiery furnace, that a sign should be done through them.