민수기 14:48의 탈무드

¹¹From here to the end of the Halakhah the text is from Soṭah8:3 (Notes 43–130,ס), where all references to the Babli are given. It was stated: “Rebbi Jehudah ben Laqish says, two arks were travelling with Israel in the desert; one in which the Torah was deposited and one in which the broken pieces of the tablets were deposited. The one in which the Torah was deposited was put into the Tent of Meeting; that is what is written¹²Num. 14:44.: Moses and the Ark of the Eternal’s covenant did not move from the camp. The one in which the broken pieces of the tablets were deposited was going out and coming in with them¹³Sifry Num. #82, referring to Num. 10.33.. But the Rabbis say, it was only one, and once it went out in the days of Eli and was taken prisoner. A verse supports the Rabbis: Woe to us, who will save us from this mighty god¹⁴1S.5:8.? A word which shows that they never had seen it before. A verse supports Rebbi Jehudah ben Laqish. Saul said to Aḥiya: present God’s Ark¹⁵1S.14:18.. But was the Ark not at Qiryat Ye`arim? What do the rabbis do with it? ‘Present to me the High Priest’s diadem¹⁶This is the correct interpretation, as explained at the end of Yoma Chapter 7, not “ephod” following LXX and many moderns.’ Another verse supports Rebbi Jehudah ben Laqish: The Ark, Israel, and Jehudah, dwell in huts¹⁷2S. 11:11.. Was the Ark not in Zion? What do the rabbis with it? The straw roof cover that was in the walls, since the Temple was not yet built.

Rebbi Jehudah bar Pazi in the name of Rebbi: May one read this and not be ashamed³⁰In B: afraid. In the biblical narrative, all good actions are ascribed to individuals, the bad to the entire people.? In a good sense, every one of goodwill³¹Ex. 35:5.; in a bad sense, all the people took off the gold rings in their ears³²Ex. 32:3.. In a good sense, Moses led the people out³³Ex. 19:1.; in a bad sense, all of you ganged up against me³⁴Deut. 1:22.. In a good sense, then Moses and the Children of Israel sang³⁵Ex. 15:1.; in a bad sense, the entire congregation started wailing³⁶Num. 14:1.. Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said, indeed they got up early to destroy³⁷Zeph. 3:7.. Any destructive action they made early in the morning. Rebbi Abba bar Aḥa said, one cannot understand the character of this people; they are asked for the {golden} calf and are giving, for the Sanctuary and are giving. Rebbi Yose ben Ḥanina stated this baraita:³⁸To answer R. Ḥiyya bar Abba’s question. You shall make a cover of pure gold³⁹Ex. 25:17., may the gold of the cover come and atone for the gold of the calf.

“ ‘To save you’, that is the camp of the Ark.” But some say, that is the Name which was given in the Ark⁴²Similarly, the Babli (Soṭah42b/43a, Baba batra 14b) notes that “The Name and all its replacements are deposited in the Ark” (in one of Rashi’s versions, “standing in the Ark”). In the Tosephta (7:17): “For the Eternal, your God, is He Who goes with you, “that is the Name deposited in the Ark”. Midrash Num. rabba 4(20) refers to 1Chr. 13:6 which calls the ark Name: “God’s ark, the Eternal, Who resides above the Cherubim, which is called Name.”, as it was stated⁴³From here to the end of the Halakhah the text is in Šeqalim 7:1, (49c, line 26 ff.)’⁴⁴Tosephta 7:18; Baraita Melekhet Hamishkan 6.: “Rebbi Jehudah ben Laqish says, two arks were travelling with Israel in the desert; one in which the Torah was deposited and one in which the broken pieces of the tablets were deposited⁴⁵The ark mentioned in Deut. 10:1.. The one in which the Torah was deposited was put into the Tent of Meeting; that is what is written⁴⁶Num. 14:44; the exact description of the ark implies that another ark went out with the people.: “Moses and the Ark of the Eternal’s covenant did not move from the camp.” The one in which the broken pieces of the tablets were deposited was going out and coming in with them. But the Rabbis say, it was only one⁴⁷Babli Berakhot 8b, Baba batra14b, Menaḥot 99a., and once it went out in the days of Eli and was taken prisoner. A verse supports the Rabbis: ⁴⁸1Sam. 4:8.“Woe to us, who will save us from this mighty god?” A word [which shows that] they never had seen it before. A verse supports Rebbi Jehudah ben Laqish. “Saul said to Aḥiya: present God’s Ark⁴⁹1Sam. 14:18.”. But was the Ark not at Qiryat Ye‘arim⁵⁰1Sam. 7:1–2.? What do the rabbis with it? ‘Present to me the High Priest’s diadem.’ Another verse supports Rebbi Jehudah ben Laqish: “The Ark, Israel, and Jehudah, dwell in huts.⁵¹2Sam. 11:11.”. Was the Ark not in Zion? What do the rabbis with it? The straw roof cover⁵²The legal definition of a “hut” to be used on Tabernacles is any dwelling place whose roof is made from vegetable matter immune to impurity, called סְכָךְ. The construction of the walls is immaterial. that was in the walls⁴¹In the Genizah fragment: כַקִּירוּי “acted as roof”. This is the better reading., since the Temple was not yet built.

MISHNAH: The High Synhedrion³³²As usual in rabbinic sources, the political institution of the Synhedrion is identified with the juridical of the High Court, projecting Jabneh arrangements into Temple times. had 71 members and a lower one 23 members. From where that the High Court has 71 members? For it is said³³³Num. 11:16.: Assemble for me 70 men of the Elders of Israel, and Moses was presiding, that makes 71. Rebbi Jehudah says, 70³³⁴He is known for the correctness of his historical traditions. For the political functions of a Synhedrion, an even number of members is acceptable. The judicial functions were exercised by committees of 23 each.. From where that a lower court has 23 members? For it is said, the congregation shall judge, the congregation shall save³³⁵Num. 35:24,25 speaking of the trial of the homicide; cf. Sifry Num. #160.. One congregation judges, one congregation saves, this makes twenty. And from where that a congregation consists of ten persons? As it is said, how long this evil congregation³³⁶Num. 14:27, interpreted as speaking of the ten bad spies., without Joshua and Caleb.
From where that one adds another three³³⁸Since Mishnah 6 established that a criminal court must have 20 judges/jurors.? From the interpretation of what is said³³⁹Ex. 23:2: Do not follow the majority to do evil; do not testify in a quarrel, to bend, to twist after the majority. This is read to mean that for acquittal one vote is enough but that for conviction one needs a qualified majority even without the one judge who is voting. Cf. Mekhilta dR. Ismael Mišpaṭim20, dR. Simeon ben Ioḥai 23:2 (in the name of Rebbi.), do not follow the majority to be unfavorable, I understand that He said, follow them to be favorable. Then why was it said, to bend after the majority? Your bending to be favorable is not equal to your bending to be unfavorable. Your bending to be favorable shall be by one [vote] (witness), your bending to be unfavorable shall be by two. Since no court may be even-numbered, one adds another one to obtain 23. How many people shall live in a town that it may have a criminal court? 120. Rebbi Nehemiah said 230, that they might be commanders over tens³⁴⁰Since the verse requires that judges be outstanding personalities, Ex. 18:21, Deut.1:15, each judge must be qualified at least to be the leader of ten men..

MISHNAH: The generation of the desert has no part in the World to Come, as it is said³¹⁴Num. 14:35. The argument in the longer text of the Mishnah in the Babli is reproduced here at the start of the Halakhah. In all these cases, the double emphasis in the verse is interpreted that the first expression refers to this world, the second to the World to Come.: in this desert they shall be terminated and there they will die, the words of Rebbi Aqiba. Rebbi Eliezer says, about them it says³¹⁵Ps. 50:5., assemble for Me My lovely ones, who sealed My Covenant by a sacrifice³¹⁶The ceremony described in Ex. 24:1–9 guaranteed their eternal life. Since R. Aqiba war R. Eliezer’s student, the inversion of the chronological order clearly indicates that the latter’s opinion is accepted as practice..
The band of Korah will not be resurrected in the future, as it is said³¹⁷Num. 16:33. the earth covered them; they were lost from among the congregation, the words of Rebbi Aqiba. Rebbi Eliezer says, about them it says⁹³1S. 2:6. She was married to a descendant of Korah’s (2 Chr. 6:18–23)., the Eternal kills and brings to life, He sends down into the pit and raises up.

²⁵⁵Here the heading is missing: “On the Ninth of Av was decided that our forefathers would not enter the Land.” The date of the return of the scouts is not directly spelled out in Num. That is what is written²⁵⁶Num. 10:11., it was in the second year in the second month on the twentieth of the month, etc. And it is written²⁵⁷Num. 10:33., they travelled from the Eternal’s mountain a distance of three days. Rebbi Zacharia, the son-in-law of Rebbi Levi: {a parable} like children who are freed from <school> (books)²⁵⁸The text in < > is from A (and also in a clearly wrong text in a Genizah excerpt, Yerushalmi Fragments, p. 184.) and leave to run²⁵⁹The letters [בכ] added by the corrector indicate a text like A: “leave to villages.” The word is missing in the Genizah excerpt. These changes misunderstand the text. R. Zacharia notes that they did not travel for three days, but the distance of three days, implying that the actual travel time was one day.. On that very day they desired a desire²⁶⁰Num. 11:20. No new date is indicated; an unqualified added month is 30 days.; up to a month, until it will come out of your noses. And the seven days of Miriam; Miriam was secluded outside the camp²⁶¹Num. 12:15.. And the 40 days of the scouts, they returned from scouting the Land at the end of 40 days. They walked and came to Moses and Aaron²⁶²Num. 13:25. etc. They came and found them occupied with the rules for ḥallah²⁶³The heave to be taken from bread dough “when you come into the Land” (Num. 15:18). and orlah²⁶⁴The fruits to be stripped from a tree during its first three years “when you come to the Land” (Lev. 19:23).. They said to them, you are not going to enter the Land and you are studying the rules for ḥallah and orlah? Immediately, the entire congregation raised their voices; the people cried in that night²⁶⁵Num. 14:1.. He said to them, you cried before Me a pointless crying. By My life, in the future you shall cry a substantial crying. Crying she will cry in the night²⁶⁶Thr. 1:2, referring to the Ninth of Av. The computation goes as follows. Starting from the 20^th of the second month one counts this day for travel, 7 days for Miryam’s seclusion, 30 days for the quail, and 40 days for the scouts, for a total of 97 days after the first of the 2^nd month. The year is supposed to start with a full 30 day first month. Therefore the 2^nd and 4^th months have 29 days, the 3^rd month 30 days, for a total of 88 days. The count ends on the 9^th of the 5th month, Q. E. D. Differently in the Babli 29a.. Rebbi Simeon ben Yoḥai stated: It is written²⁶⁷Num. 11:10. This is the second unnecessary crying mentioned in the verse., Moses heard the people crying for its families, etc. About the six incest prohibitions which Moses forbade them²⁶⁸They cried about the paternal and maternal half-sisters, the maternal and paternal aunts, the sister-in-law, and the menstruating woman, which are permitted to Gentiles but forbidden to Israelites. Babli Yoma 75a..

The following are spelt with a waw but read with a yod: prisoners;⁹⁹Gen. 39, 20, written ’asurë and read ’asirë. Abigail;¹⁰⁰1 Sam. 25, 18, written Abugail and read Abigail. I make thee … go up and down;¹⁰¹2 Sam. 15, 20, written anu‘aka and read ani‘aka. chief men;¹⁰²2 Kings 24, 15, written ’ulë and read ’elë. I will … make … straight;¹⁰³Isa. 45, 2, written ’aushir and read ’ayashsher. I will … make them run away;¹⁰⁴Jer. 50, 44, written ’aruẓem and read ’ariẓem. on mine eye;¹⁰⁵2 Sam. 16, 12, written ba‘awoni and read be‘eni. cistern;¹⁰⁶Jer. 6, 7, written bor and read bayir. in their march;¹⁰⁷Nahum 2, 6, written bahalokotham and read bahalikotham. set apart;¹⁰⁸2 Chron. 26, 21, written haḥofshuth and read haḥofshith. V inserts here another example, viz. ‘my way’, but N.Y. declares it to be incorrect and H omits it. wilt thou set;¹⁰⁹Prov. 23, 5, written hata‘uf and read hata‘if. ye might provoke Me;¹¹⁰Jer. 25, 7, written hik‘oseni and read hak‘iseni. make straight;¹¹¹Ps. 5, 9, written haushar and read hayeshar. who were set;¹¹²Ezra 8, 17, written hannethunim and read hannethinim. that taught;¹¹³2 Chron. 35, 3, written hammebonim and read hammebinim. Birzaith;¹¹⁴1 Chron. 7, 31, written Birzoth and read Birzaith. will greatly rejoice;¹¹⁵Prov. 23, 24, written gol yagul and read gil yagil. Dehites;¹¹⁶Ezra 4, 9, written Dehawë and read Dehayë. bring forth;¹¹⁷Gen. 8, 17, written hawẓë’ and read hayẓë’. Harsith;¹¹⁸Jer. 19, 2, written haḥarsoth and read haḥarsith. Luhith;¹¹⁹ibid. XLVIII, 5, written halluḥoth and read halluḥith. the entry;¹²⁰Ezek. 42, 9, written hammebo’ and read hammebi’. the strong;¹²¹Zech. 11, 2, written habbaẓur and read habbaẓir. made to murmur;¹²²Numb. 14, 36, written wayyillonu and read wayyalinu. and Shahazim;¹²³Josh. 19, 22, written weshaḥaẓumah and read weshaḥaẓimah. and a royal diadem;¹²⁴Isa. 62, 3, written uẓenuf and read uẓenif. and a thing of nought and the deceit;¹²⁵Jer. 14, 14, written we’elul wetarmuth and read we’elil wetarmith. and the swallow;¹²⁶ibid. VIII, 7, written wesus and read wesis. and the galleries thereof;¹²⁷Ezek. 41, 15, written we’attoḳeha and read we’attiḳeha. and Tilon;¹²⁸1 Chron. 4, 20, written wetolon and read wetilon. Jehiel;¹²⁹2 Chron. 29, 14, written Jeḥu’el and read Jeḥi’el. and prepare ye;¹³⁰ibid. XXXV, 4, written wehikkonu and read wehakkinu. thy bosom;¹³¹Ps. 74, 11, written ḥoḳeka and read ḥeḳeka. a side-structure;¹³²1 Kings 6, 5, written yaẓu‘a and read yaẓi‘a. Jair;¹³³1 Chron. 20, 5, written Ya‘or and read Ya‘ir. alienate;¹³⁴Ezek. 48, 14, written ya‘abor and read ya‘abir. Jeiel;¹³⁵1 Chron. 9, 35, written Je‘u’el and read Je‘i’el. they wander up and down;¹³⁶Ps. 59, 16, written yenu‘un and read yeni‘un. let … cover them;¹³⁷ibid. CXL, 10, written yekassumo and read yekassemo. they cause … to fall;¹³⁸Prov. 4, 16, written yiksholu and read yakshilu. to strive;¹³⁹Judg. 21, 22, written larub and read larib. singing;¹⁴⁰1 Sam. 18, 6, written lashur and read lashir. Laish;¹⁴¹2 Sam. 3, 15, written Lush and read Layish. for fishers;¹⁴²Jer. 16, 16, written ledogim and read ledayyagim. dross;¹⁴³Ezek. 22, 18, written lesog and read lesig. for a spoil;¹⁴⁴Isa. 42, 24, written limshoseh and read limshissah. their furrows;¹⁴⁵Ps. 129, 3, written lema‘anotham and read lema‘anitham. Mephaath;¹⁴⁶Jer. 48, 21, written mopha‘ath and read mepa‘ath. from Naioth;¹⁴⁷1 Sam. 20, 1, written minnawoth and read minnayoth. stretched-forth;¹⁴⁸Isa. 3, 17, written neṭuwothn and read neṭioth. fruit;¹⁴⁹ibid. LVII, 19, written nob and read nib. Nebai;¹⁵⁰Neh. 10, 20, written Nubai and read Nebai. Nephishesim;¹⁵¹ibid. VII, 52, written Nefushesim and read Nefishesim. leave;¹⁵²2 Sam. 14, 7, written sum and read sim. ready dressed;¹⁵³1 Sam. 25, 18, written ‘asuwoth and read ‘asiyoth. Ephai;¹⁵⁴Jer. 40, 8, written ‘ufai and read ‘ephai. Ephrain;¹⁵⁵2 Chron. 13, 19, written ‘Efron and read ‘Efrain. V incorrectly reads ‘Abarim. the second¹⁵⁶This excludes the first ready in Esth. 3, 14. ready;¹⁵⁷Esth. 8, 13, written ‘athudim and read ‘athidim. their lads;¹⁵⁸Jer. 14, 3, written ẓe‘orehem and read ẓe‘irehem. her little ones;¹⁵⁹ibid. XLVIII, 4, written ẓe‘oreha and read ẓe‘ireha. dung.¹⁶⁰Ezek. 4, 15, written ẓefu‘ë and read ẓefi‘ë. [38b]

Our ancestors tested the Holy Blessed One ten different times, but they were punished only for the sin of slander ([which was one of them]). These are the ten: Once at the sea, once when the manna was first given, once when the manna stopped coming down, once at the first appearance of quails, once at the latter appearance of quails, once at Marah, once at Refidim, once at Horev, once [at the Calf, and once] with the spies. And the sin of the spies was the worst of them all, as it says (Numbers 14:22), “They have tested Me these ten times, and have not heeded My voice.” And also (Numbers 14:37), “The men died before God by plague, for spreading bad reports about the Land [of Israel].” And from this we can reason that if the Holy Blessed One punished the spies for insulting the land, which has no mouth to speak, no reaction, and no shame, then all the more so would the Holy Blessed One punish someone who speaks ill of his friend and shames him.
Rabbi Shimon would say: Afflictions come upon those who speak slander. For so we find with Aaron and Miriam, who spoke slanderously about Moses, and punishments came upon them – as it says (Numbers 12:1), “Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses.” And why does the verse place Miriam before Aaron? [This teaches us that Tziporah (the wife of Moses)] went and talked to Miriam, and then Miriam went and told everything to Aaron, and then the two of them began to speak against this righteous man. And because these two spoke against a righteous man, punishments came upon them, as it says (Numbers 12:9), “And the Eternal became angry with them, and departed.” What do we learn from “and departed”? This teaches us that God departed from Aaron and attached to Miriam, because Aaron was not as engaged as Miriam in spreading slanderous words around, so she was (immediately) punished more. Miriam said: Prophecy has come to me even though I have not separated from my husband. And Aaron said: Prophecy has come to me even though I have not separated from my wife. And even our earliest ancestors received prophecy even though they did not separate from their wives. But Moses, because he is so arrogant, separated from his wife. They did not take this up with [Moses] directly, nor did they know for certain that it was true. It was not at all clear that he was being arrogant. We can reason from this that if Miriam, who spoke against her brother only secretly, was still punished, then if one speaks against his friend publicly, and shames him, all the more so will he be punished.
At that time, Aaron said to Moses: Moses, my brother, you think that this skin disease affects only Miriam, but it is also upon the flesh of our father Amram. I will give you a parable to tell you what this is like: Like someone who has a hot coal placed in his hand. Even if he tosses it around from place to place, his flesh is still burned.”¹The idea here is that Amram and Miriam, father and daughter, are of one flesh, and therefore, if one of them is affected, so is the other. This is why it says (Numbers 12:12), “Please, do not let her be like one who is dead [when she emerges from her mother’s womb, with half of her flesh eaten away].” Meanwhile, Aaron attempted to pacify Moses by saying: Moses, my brother, have we ever done harm to anyone in the world? He replied: No. Aaron continued: So if we have done no harm to anyone in the world, would we have wished to harm you, who are our brother? Now what can I do? Will this mistake come between the covenant between us? (For he had established a covenant with Aaron and his sons,) as it says (Amos 1:9), “They did not remember the covenant of brotherhood.” At that moment, Moses drew a small circle on the ground and stood inside it, and asked for mercy for Miriam. He said: I will not leave this spot until my sister Miriam is healed, as it says (Numbers 12:13), “Please, God, heal her.” Then the Holy Blessed One said to Moses: If a king had reprimanded her, or if her father had reprimanded her, it would have been appropriate for her to sit in shame for seven days. And since it is I, the King of all kings, all the more so is it just for her to sit in shame for fourteen days! However, for your sake, I will forgive her, as it says (Numbers 12:14), “The Eternal said to Moses: If her father spat in her face [would she not sit in shame for seven days?]”
“Now Moses was a very humble man” (Numbers 12:3). Could it be that he was meek and not beautiful and praiseworthy? But we learn from the verse (Exodus 40:19), “He spread the tent over the Tabernacle”: That just as the Tabernacle was ten cubits high, so was Moses also ten cubits high. Could it be that he was as humble as the angels, who serve God? But we learn from that [same] verse [that Moses was humble] “more than any other person”; more than other people, that is, but not more than the angels who serve God. Could it be that he was humbler than those in previous generations? But we learn from that [same] verse, “on the face of the earth”; in his own generation, that is, and not previous generations. There are three types of skin-afflicted people in the world: moist, dry, and polypous, and Moses made himself lowlier than them all.

The yod of teshi²³Deut. 32, 18, thou wast unmindful. must be smaller than any yod in the Scriptures. The yod of yigdal²⁴Num. 14, 17, let … be great. must be bigger than any yod in the Torah.²⁵So GRA and N.Y. V erroneously ‘big, because they are letters which are in Scripture’. H lacks the sentence. Yisra’el at the end of the Torah²⁶Deut. 34, 12, Israel. must be enlarged, while the lamed in it must be higher than any other lamed.

Rabbi Hananya, deputy of the priests, would say: Anyone who takes words of Torah to heart is no longer troubled by thoughts of destruction, thoughts of hunger, foolish thoughts, lustful thoughts, thoughts of temptation, thoughts of another man’s wife, thoughts of meaningless things, or thoughts of human burden. So it was written in the book of Psalms by King David (Psalms 19:9), “The precepts of the Eternal are true, bringing joy to the heart. The commandments of the Eternal are clear, illuminating the eyes.” But anyone who does not take words of Torah to heart is troubled by thoughts of destruction, thoughts of hunger, foolish thoughts, lustful thoughts, thoughts of temptation, thoughts of another man’s wife, thoughts of meaningless things, and thoughts of human burden. So it was written in Deuteronomy (28:46–48) by Moses our teacher, “They will be a sign and a proof against you and your offspring for all time. Because you would not serve the Eternal your God with joy and gladness over the abundance of everything. You will have to serve, in hunger and in thirst, naked and lacking everything.” “In hunger.” How so? (When a person wishes) to eat even barley bread, but has nothing, and then his enemies come and ask him for wheat bread and fatty meat. “In thirst.” How so? When a person wishes he could drink just a drop of vinegar, or beer, but has nothing, and then his enemies come and ask him for the finest wine in the land. “Naked.” How so? When a person wants to wear a wool or linen shirt, but has nothing, and then his enemies come and ask him for the finest silk in the land. “Lacking everything.” Without a candle, without a knife, and without a table. Another interpretation of “lacking everything”: Without vinegar and without salt. For this is a curse that people often give: May there be no vinegar or salt in your house!
He would also say (with regard to Song of Songs 1:6): “Do not look at me, for I am blackened, scorched by the sun.” These are all the Jewish girls who cast off the yolk of the Holy Blessed One, and accepted human kingship upon themselves.
[The verse continues:] “My mother’s children were angry with me.” This is Moses, who killed the Egyptian, as it says (Exodus 2:11–12), “Sometime after that, when Moses had grown older, he went out among his brothers and saw what they were enduring…and he turned this way and that, and saw that there was no one there.” What do we learn from “there was no one there”? This teaches that Moses brought the question before the council of angels who serve God, and asked them: Shall I kill this man? They said to him: Yes, kill him. And did Moses kill him with a sword? No, he killed him with words, as it says (Exodus 2:14), “Are you saying you will kill me, just as you killed the Egyptian?” This teaches that Moses killed him by saying the [Ineffable] Name of God.
(Another interpretation of) “My mother’s children are angry with me”: this is Moses, who fled to Midian, as it says (Exodus 2:15,17), “Pharaoh heard what happened, and sought to kill Moses, and Moses fled from Pharaoh. He arrived in the land of Midian, and sat down by a well…And some shepherds came and tried to drive [Jethro’s daughters] away. And Moses got up and saved them, and gave water to their flocks.” Then Moses came and sat among them to render judgment. He said: The general practice in the world is for men to fill the buckets and women to give water to the animals. Here, women draw the water and men give the water to the animals. There is a perversion of justice in this place! (They are guilty by law, and have become guilty through this incident.) Some say that the whole time Moses was standing near the mouth of the well, the water was bubbling up to meet him, and when he left, the water went back down. Then Moses said: Woe is me! For I have left my people and come to live among these heathens.
Another interpretation of “My mother’s children are angry with me”: This is Israel, who made the Golden Calf. At first, they said (Exodus 24:7), “Everything the Eternal has said, we will do and we will understand.” And then they went back and said (Exodus 32:4), “These are your gods, Israel!”
Another interpretation of “My mother’s children are angry with me”: These are the spies, who slandered the land and caused Israel to die in the desert, as it says (Numbers 14:29), “In this desert your carcasses will fall.”
“They made me guard the vineyards” (Song of Songs 1:6). The Holy Blessed One said: Who is it that caused Me to favor the heathens? Israel! (For while) the heathens live well, [Israel] are oppressed, scorned, and scattered about.
Another interpretation of “They made me guard the vineyards”: This is Israel, who were exiled to Babylon. And prophets rose among them and told them to separate their donations and tithes. The people said to them: We were exiled because we did not separate our donations and tithes, and now you tell us we should separate them? [And that is why it says, “They made me guard the vineyards.”]

The generation of the desert will not be granted eternal life, and will not even be given a trial, as it says (Numbers 14:35), “In this very desert they will die, there they will perish.” And it also says (Psalms 95:11), “Those who I swore, in My anger, would never come to My resting place.” These are the words of Rabbi Eliezer.
But Rabbi Yehoshua said: They will be given a trial! It is about them that the verses speak (Psalms 50:5), “Gather to Me My devotees, who made a covenant with Me over sacrifice.” [Rabbi Eliezer] said to him: Accept my interpretation. For if not, how can you explain the words, “Those who I swore, in my anger”? [Rabbi Yehoshua] replied: These are the spies, and (all) the wicked people of that generation.
Then Rabbi Yehoshua asked: So what do you do with the verse, “Gather to Me My devotees”? [Rabbi Eliezer] said to him: That refers to Moses and Aaron, and all the devotees of that generation from the Tribe of Levi.
Others responded: [But in Numbers 14:35, above,] how do you know the word “there” is referring only to the wicked, and not to the righteous? Didn’t it already say (Genesis 49:31), “There they buried Abraham, and Sarah his wife”? And it also says (Genesis 50:5), “In my grave, which I prepared for myself in the land of Canaan, there shall you bury me.” And it also says (Numbers 20:1), “And Miriam died there, and was buried there.” [And what’s more (Numbers 33:38), “Aaron the priest went up…and died there.”] And it also says (Deuteronomy 34:5), “And Moses, the servant of the Eternal, died there in the land of Moab, by the word of the Eternal.”
Rabbi Yosei HaGalili said: They will not be given a trial! For it says (Numbers 14:35), “In this very desert they will die, there they will perish.” And it also says (Deuteronomy 21:4), “There, by the stream, they shall break the calf’s neck.” Just as we have the word “there” in the case of the calf whose neck is broken, which dies and never leaves that place, so too, the word “there” in the case of those who died in the desert indicates that they will die and never leave that place.
(And others say: They will be given a trial! It is about them that the verse speaks (Jeremiah 2:2): “Go and call to the ears of Jerusalem and say…[I will remember as a kindness the devotion of your youth].”)