Midrasz do Ezechiela 26:78

Then washed I thee with water indicates that you must make a laver²To be placed in the Temple courtyard for the use of the priests. for Me. I anointed thee with oil corresponds to the anointing oil (that must be available).³For anointing the High Priest. I clothed thee also with richly woven work corresponds to the embroidered garments (worn in the Temple). And shod thee with sealskin (tahash) corresponds to the tehashim that were used (for the cover of the Holy of Holies). And I wound fine linen about thy head corresponds to the twisted linen (of the priests’ garments). And covered thee with silk corresponds to the clouds of glory, as it is said: The pillar of cloud departed not from before the people (Exod. 13:22), and that corresponds to the curtains of goats’ hair. I decked thee also with ornaments alludes to the purple cloak, and that corresponds to the ark and its overlay. And I put a ring upon thy nose corresponds to the nose rings and earrings that (the women brought to donate for the gold of the Tabernacle and priestly garments). A beautiful crown upon thy head corresponds to the ark cover and the gold rim around the table. Behold, I will cause to rain bread (Exod. 16:4) corresponds to the show-bread. And the Lord went before them by day (ibid. 13:21) corresponds to His injunction that the Israelites shall burn a lamp continually.

“How the Lord has clouded the daughter of Zion in His wrath. He cast the splendor of Israel from the heavens to the earth, and did not remember His footstool on the day of His wrath” (Lamentations 2:1).
“Terror [balahot] overwhelms me” (Job 30:15). Rabbi Ḥanina said: The congregation of Israel said before the Holy One blessed be He: In the past, it was I [Israel] who would terrify others, just as it says: “They hastened [vayavhilu] to bring Haman” (Esther 6:14). And another verse says: “I will render you a terror and you will be no more” (Ezekiel 26:21).¹This verse is directed to Tyre, as punishment to their actions toward Israel. And it says: “Then the chieftains of Edom were terrified” (Exodus 15:15). Now it has been reversed against me. Rabbi Aḥa said: [This is analogous] to a segment of a pillar that was rolling through a plaza, and it collided with a rock and remained adjacent to it. So, “Your wrath weighs upon me” (Psalms 88:8).²The point is that when God’s wrath, which inflicts terror, came upon Israel, it remained with Israel.
“It pursues my virtue [nedivati] like the wind” (Job 30:15), people who are noble minded [nedivim] and are worthy to have redemption come through them, You scatter them like the wind. “And like a cloud, my salvation passes” (Job 30:15), people who are noble minded and are worthy to have salvation come through them, You divert them and cause them to pass like clouds, as it is stated: “How the Lord has clouded the daughter of Zion in His wrath.”
And it is written: “Like the nations that the Lord is eliminating from before you [so you will be eliminated]” (Deuteronomy 8:20). Say that just as those were with a priest and a prophet, so, too, these were with a priest and a prophet.³The elimination of the Canaanite nations began with the destruction of Jericho in a process led by priests and by Joshua, a prophet (see Joshua chapter 6). Similarly, Israel’s exile was foretold by Jeremiah, who was both a prophet and a priest (Etz Yosef). Just like those, it was with a shofar and shouting, so, too, these were with a shofar and shouting. And just as these were fourteen, as it is stated: “The Dinites, and the Afaresatekhites, the Tarpelites, the Afaresites, the Arkevites, the Babylonians, the Shushankhites, the Dehites, the Elamites, and the rest of the nations whom the great and honored Asenapar exiled” (Ezra 4:9–10),⁴The phrase “the rest of the nations” refers to an additional five nations mentioned in II Kings 17:24. These fourteen nations were exiled from their homelands and resettled in Samaria by Sennacherib of Assyria. They were all who remained of the nations that he conquered. say that these, too, were fourteen, as it is written: “On that day, his fortified cities will be like the abandoned forest and the treetop [haamir] that they abandoned” (Isaiah 17:9). What is haamir? It is as stated.⁵The midrash interprets the word haamir to mean “as stated [haamur],” meaning that the remnant will be as stated earlier in that passage: “There shall be left in it gleanings, as at the beating of an olive tree, two or three berries in the uppermost bough, four or five in the branches of the fruitful tree” (Isaiah 17:6). The verse mentions two, three, four, and five, which equal a total of fourteen. This is an expression of the fact that the remnant will be small in number (Etz Yosef). Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon said: As it is stated in the Torah: “Like the nations that the Lord is eliminating from before you [so you will be eliminated]” (Deuteronomy 8:20). Say that just as these were with the collapse of the wall, as it is written: “The wall collapsed in its place” (Joshua 6:20), these, too, were with the collapse of the wall.⁶See Eikha Rabba, Prologue, 30, where it is asserted that during the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem the wall around the city sank two and a half handbreadths per day until the enemies were able to enter the city. Just as these were with thickets [avim], as it is written: “They go into thickets [be’avim]…and into the rocks” (Jeremiah 4:29),⁷In the context of the midrash, this is referring to the destruction of other nations. However, the verse in Jeremiah is actually stated regarding the destruction of Israel. Some suggest that since it has been established that the destruction of each is parallel, this verse implies that the destruction of the nations of the world will also be in this manner (Maharzu). Some suggest that the text be emended such that the citation is from Isaiah 19:1 rather than from Jeremiah 4:29 (Etz Yosef). these, too, were with avim, “how the Lord has clouded [ya’iv]…in His wrath.”

Hiram constructed his palace between the Adriatic and the Mediterranean Sea with certain protective devices (but to no avail), as it is said: And they shall take up in lamentation for thee and say to thee: How art thou destroyed, that was peopled from the seas, the renowned city, that was strong in the sea (ibid. 26:17). Still, you claim: A god am I; in the dwelling-place of gods I sit, in the midst of the sea (ibid. 28:2). Whereupon the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: For thus saith the Lord God: And I shall make thee a desolate city, like the cities that are not inhabited; and I shall bring up the deep upon thee, and the great waters shall cover thee (ibid. 26:19). (This will be your fate, and) you will descend to your comrades, as it is written: Then I will bring thee down with them that descend into the pit to the people of old times, and will make thee to dwell in the nether parts of the earth (ibid., v. 20). The nether parts of the earth refers to Gehenna. Hence we read in Scripture: Thou wast the far-covering cherub; and I set thee, so that thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou has walked up and down in the midst of stones of fire … and I have destroyed thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire (ibid. 28:14–16). Concerning Israel, however, Scripture states: When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee, etc. (Isa. 43:2).

Hiram constructed his palace between the Adriatic and the Mediterranean Sea with certain protective devices (but to no avail), as it is said: And they shall take up in lamentation for thee and say to thee: How art thou destroyed, that was peopled from the seas, the renowned city, that was strong in the sea (ibid. 26:17). Still, you claim: A god am I; in the dwelling-place of gods I sit, in the midst of the sea (ibid. 28:2). Whereupon the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: For thus saith the Lord God: And I shall make thee a desolate city, like the cities that are not inhabited; and I shall bring up the deep upon thee, and the great waters shall cover thee (ibid. 26:19). (This will be your fate, and) you will descend to your comrades, as it is written: Then I will bring thee down with them that descend into the pit to the people of old times, and will make thee to dwell in the nether parts of the earth (ibid., v. 20). The nether parts of the earth refers to Gehenna. Hence we read in Scripture: Thou wast the far-covering cherub; and I set thee, so that thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou has walked up and down in the midst of stones of fire … and I have destroyed thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire (ibid. 28:14–16). Concerning Israel, however, Scripture states: When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee, etc. (Isa. 43:2).

Hiram constructed his palace between the Adriatic and the Mediterranean Sea with certain protective devices (but to no avail), as it is said: And they shall take up in lamentation for thee and say to thee: How art thou destroyed, that was peopled from the seas, the renowned city, that was strong in the sea (ibid. 26:17). Still, you claim: A god am I; in the dwelling-place of gods I sit, in the midst of the sea (ibid. 28:2). Whereupon the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: For thus saith the Lord God: And I shall make thee a desolate city, like the cities that are not inhabited; and I shall bring up the deep upon thee, and the great waters shall cover thee (ibid. 26:19). (This will be your fate, and) you will descend to your comrades, as it is written: Then I will bring thee down with them that descend into the pit to the people of old times, and will make thee to dwell in the nether parts of the earth (ibid., v. 20). The nether parts of the earth refers to Gehenna. Hence we read in Scripture: Thou wast the far-covering cherub; and I set thee, so that thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou has walked up and down in the midst of stones of fire … and I have destroyed thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire (ibid. 28:14–16). Concerning Israel, however, Scripture states: When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee, etc. (Isa. 43:2).

And they were the sons of Noah that went forth from the ark (Gen. 9:18). And they were indicates that the Holy One, blessed be He, would cause them (their descendants) to exist permanently in the world. In reference to idolaters it is written, however: I will make thee a terror, and thou shalt be no more; though thou be sought for, yet shalt thou never be found again (Ezek. 26:21).

R. Juda said: "Whoever lives in Babylonia is considered as if he lives in the land of Israel, as it is said (Zach. 3, 11) Ho, Zion, escape, thou that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon." Said Abaye: "We have a tradition that those who live in Babylonia will never experience the troubles of the Messanic days."' This was explained to refer to the town Huzal, of Benjamin, and the place is called the corner of refuge. R. Elazar said: "The dead outside of the land of Israel will not survive; for it is said (Ez. 26, 20) But I will bestow glory in the land of life; i.e., the land in which my glory is bestowed shall cause to revive its dead, but the land in which my glory is not bestowed will not revive its dead." R. Abba b. Mammal raised the following objection: (Is. 26, 19) Thy dead shall live, my dead shall arise. Does not thy dead shall live, refer to the dead of the land of Israel, and my dead bodies shall arise, refer to the dead outside of the land of Israel? And as to the meaning of the above passage (Is. 25 20) But I will bestow glory in the land of life, we may say that it refers to Nebuchadnezzar, as the Torah means to say: "I will cause a king to rule upon them as lenient as a deer." Whereupon R. Elazar replied to R. Abba: "I have another passage from which I infer the above (Ib. 43, 5) He that giveth breath unto people upon it, and spirit to those that walk thereon." If so, then what of the above passage, But I will bestow glory in the land of life? We must therefore say that the first passage refers to miscarriage. But R. Abba b. Mammal, who infers it from the previous passage, what will he do with the last passage, He that giveth breath unto people upon it? He will explain it as R. Abahu did, for R. Abahu said: "Even a Shifcha Kna'anith living in the land of Israel is assured to be one who will inherit the future world, for it is written here, Unto people (L'am) upon it; and again it is written (Gen. 22, 5) Abide ye here with (im) the ass; which means a people [Am] who are like the ass." And spirit to those that walk thereon. R. Jeremiah b. Abba in the name of R. Jochanan said: "This means that whoever walks four cubits upon the soil of the land of Israel is assured that he will be one to inherit the future world." But is it indeed so according to the story of R. Elazar, that all the righteous who died outside of the land of Israel will not revive? Said R. Illai: "They will revive, but they will be subject to rolling under the ground for resurrection in the Holy land:" The senior R. Abba Salla raised the following objection: "Behold, such rolling will cause pain to the righteous." Said Abaye: "Underground passages will be made for them through which they will walk, [until they will reach the land of Israel]."

[Another interpretation (of Gen. 9:18): AND THE CHILDREN OF NOAH < WHO WENT FORTH FROM THE ARK > EXISTED.] This text is related (to Ezek. 26:21): I WILL MAKE YOU INTO HORRORS, AND YOU ARE NO MORE; YOU SHALL BE SOUGHT, BUT YOU SHALL NEVER BE FOUND AGAIN, SAYS THE LORD GOD. < The text > is speaking about the nations of the world. What is the meaning of I WILL MAKE YOU INTO HORRORS, AND YOU ARE NO MORE? The nations of the world had no existence and are not going to exist, as stated: I WILL MAKE YOU INTO HORRORS, AND YOU ARE NO MORE. HORRORS (BLHWT) means "not to exist" (BLHYWT); AND YOU ARE NO MORE now. YOU SHALL BE SOUGHT, BUT YOU SHALL NEVER BE FOUND AGAIN in the world to come. But Israel had existence and is also going to exist. It existed before the world was created, as stated (in Ps. 74:2): REMEMBER YOUR CONGREGATION WHICH YOU ACQUIRED OF OLD. And it exists now, as stated (in Deut. 29:9 [10]): YOU ARE STANDING TODAY, ALL OF YOU. You are also going to exist, as stated (in Mal. 3:17): AND THEY SHALL BE MINE, SAYS THE LORD {GOD} [OF HOSTS], ON THE DAY THAT I PREPARE A PERSONAL TREASURE. The nations of the world, however, had horrors (i.e., nonexistence) in that they did not exist in the world; but the children of Noah did have {purification} [existence] in the world, as stated (in Gen. 9:18): AND THE CHILDREN OF NOAH < WHO WENT FORTH FROM THE ARK > EXISTED.

(Exodus 12:29) "And it was in the middle of the night": Its Creator divided it. What is the intent of this? It is written (Ibid. 11:4) "And Moses said (to Pharaoh): Thus said the L rd: When the night is divided (i.e., at midnight) I shall go out into the midst of Egypt." Now is it possible for flesh and blood to ascertain the middle of the night? It must be, then, that its Creator divided it. R. Yehudah b. Betheira says: He who knows its hours and its times — He divided it. R. Eliezer says: It is written here "And it was in the middle of the night," and elsewhere (Genesis 14:15) "And they 'divided' against them at night." Just as here the plague did not begin until the middle of the night, there, too, (their attack) occurred in the middle of the night. "and the L rd smote every first-born": I might think through an angel or through an emissary. It is, therefore, written (Ibid. 12:12) "and I shall smite every first-born, etc." — not through an angel and not through an emissary. "and the L rd smote every first-born in the land of Egypt": even (those first-born) from different places. And whence is the same derived for the first-born of Egypt (who were found) in different places? From (Psalms 136:10) "Who smote Egypt by their first-born" (wherever they were). Whence do I derive the same for the first-born of Cham, Kush, Put, and Lud? From (Ibid. 78:51) "He smote every first-born in Egypt, the first-fruit of their strength in the tents of Cham." "from the first-born of Pharaoh sitting on his throne": Scripture hereby apprises us that Pharaoh (himself) was a first-born, (the throne passing in succession to the first-born). __ But perhaps the intent is only to teach that his son was a first-born? __ "sitting on his throne" already speaks of his son. Why (the redundant) "from the first-born of Pharaoh"? To apprise us that Pharaoh himself was a first-born. He alone remained (alive) of all the first-born. Of this, Scripture states (Ibid. 9:16) :But because of this I have preserved you, in order to show you My might, etc." (Likewise,) Ba'al Tzefon remained (standing) of all the Egyptian idols in order to raise their hopes. Of such as these it is written (Iyyov 12:23) "He lifts up nations and destroys them." "until the captive first-born": Now what sin did the captives commit (that their first-born should be killed)? So that they not say (if they were spared) "Our god brought this catastrophe upon them ([the Egyptians] for incarcerating us). Awesome is our god, that stood up for itself! Awesome is our god, who shielded us from this punishment!" And we are hereby apprised that the captives rejoiced in all the decrees inflicted by Pharaoh upon Israel, (for which they were punished) in keeping with (Mishlei 17:5) "He who rejoices in (another's) misfortune will not be absolved," and (Psalms 24:17) "Do not rejoice in the downfall of your foe," and (Ezekiel 26:2-3) "Son of man, because Tyre said about (the besieged Jerusalem) 'Heach!' (an expression of joy) — thus said the L rd G d: 'Behold, Tyre, I am (coming) against you, and I will raise up many nations against you, as the sea raises its waves!'" And not only captives alone (were thus smitten), but even men-servants and maid-servants, viz. (Exodus 17:5) "… until the first-born of the maid-servant." "and every first-born of the beast": Now what sin did the beasts commit? (They were smitten) so that the Egyptians not say (if they were spared) "Our god (i.e., the beasts, whom they worshipped) brought this catastrophe upon us. Awesome is our god, against whom this catastrophe did not prevail!"