Midrasz do Sędziów 5:19

(Numb. 34:1–2:) THEN THE LORD SPOKE UNTO MOSES, SAYING: COMMAND THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL AND SAY UNTO THEM: WHEN YOU COME INTO THE LAND OF CANAAN, <THIS IS THE LAND THAT SHALL FALL TO YOU AS AN INHERITANCE>…. Let our master instruct us: Before they entered the land, how did they say the blessing over the food?¹³Tanh., Numb. 10:6; Numb. R. 23:7. Thus have our masters taught: Before they entered the land, they used to say a single blessing, Who Sustains All.¹⁴Cf. Philip Birnbaum, Daily Prayer Book (Hebrew Publishing Co., 1949), p. 759/760. After they had entered the land, they said the blessing, For the Land and for the Food.¹⁵Birnbaum, p. 763/764. After Jerusalem was destroyed, they added Builder of Jerusalem.¹⁶See Birnbaum, p. 765/766. The prayer also occurs as the fourteenth blessing in the Shemoneh ‘Esreh (Birnbaum, p. 89/90), as well as in other contexts. For the various versions of the prayer, see Joseph Heinemann, Prayer in the Talmud, trans. Richard S. Sarason (“Studia Judaica, IX; Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1977), pp. 48-50, 70-76. After those slain at Bethther¹⁷During the Bar Cochba war, 132-135. were buried, they added Who is Good and Does What is Good:¹⁸Cf. Birnbaum, p. 765/766. Who is Good, because they did not decay, and Who Does What is Good, because they were given burials. None of them, however, is more dear to you than the blessing of the land. The sages therefore instruct: In the blessing of the food, whoever does not mention For the Land and for the Food; A Desirable, Good, and Spacious Land; the covenant <of circumcision>; Torah; life; and food¹⁹A Desirable, Good, and Spacious Land plus the elements that follow all form part of a single prayer to be found in Birnbaum, p. 761/762. has not satisfied his obligation.²⁰See Ber. 48b-49a. The Holy One said: the land of Israel is more dear to me than everything. I am the one who sought it out, as stated (in Ezek. 20:6): <ON THAT DAY I SWORE (literally: RAISED MY HAND) TO THEM THAT I WOULD BRING THEM OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT> UNTO {THE} [A] LAND WHICH I HAD SOUGHT OUT FOR THEM. So also it says (in Jer. 3:19): <HOW I WOULD PUT YOU AMONG THE CHILDREN> AND GIVE YOU A DESIRABLE LAND <THE MOST BEAUTIFUL HERITAGE OF THE NATIONS>. You find <the same love for the land>, when Joshua slew those kings. R. Jannay the Priest said: There were sixty-two kings, thirty-one at Jericho and thirty one with Sisera. When he went to fight with Israel they also were slain along with him. Why? Because they along with him yearned to drink water from the waters of Israel. They made a request of Sisera and said to him: If you please, let us come with you for free, because we yearn to fill our stomachs with water from the land of Israel. Thus it is stated (in Jud. 5:19): THE KINGS CAME, THEY FOUGHT; <THEN FOUGHT THE KINGS OF CANAAN, AT TAANACH, ON ACCOUNT OF²¹Heb.: ‘al. The more usual translation here is BY. THE WATERS OF MEGIDDO;> THEY TOOK NO GAIN OF MONEY. <This verse serves> to inform you of the esteem in which the land of Israel was held. The Holy One had said to Moses: This land is dear to me, as stated (in Deut. 11:12): A LAND FOR WHICH THE LORD YOUR GOD CARES. Israel also is dear to me, as stated (in Deut. 7:8): BECAUSE THE LORD LOVES YOU…. The Holy One said: [Because Israel] is dear to me, I will bring [them] into a land that is dear to me. {Thus it is stated} [Where is it shown? From what they read on the subject] (in Numb. 34:2): WHEN YOU COME INTO THE LAND <OF CANAAN, THIS IS THE LAND THAT SHALL FALL TO YOU AS AN INHERITANCE>….

(Numb. 34:1-2:) “Then the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, ‘Command the Children of Israel and say unto them, “When you come into the land of Canaan.”’” Let our master instruct us: Before Israel entered the land, how did they say the blessing over the food?¹³Numb. R. 23:7. Thus have our masters taught: Before they entered the land, they used to only say a single blessing, “who sustains all.”¹⁴Cf. Philip Birnbaum, Daily Prayer Book (Hebrew Publishing Co., 1949), p. 759/760. After they had entered the land, they ordained the blessing, “for the land and for the food.”¹⁵Birnbaum, p. 763/764. After Jerusalem was destroyed, they added “builder of Jerusalem.”¹⁶See Birnbaum, p. 765/766. The prayer also occurs as the fourteenth blessing in the Shemoneh ‘Esreh (Birnbaum, p. 89/90), as well as in other contexts. For the various versions of the prayer, see Joseph Heinemann, Prayer in the Talmud, trans. Richard S. Sarason (“Studia Judaica, IX; Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1977), pp. 48-50, 70-76. After those slain at Bethther¹⁷During the Bar Cochba war, 132-135. were buried, they added “who is good and does what is good.”¹⁸Cf. Birnbaum, p. 765/766. “Who is good,” because they did not decay; and “who does what is good,” because they were given burials. None of them, however, is more dear to you than the blessing of the land. The sages [therefore] said, “Whoever does not mention ‘for the land and for the food; a desirable, good, and spacious land; the covenant [of circumcision]; Torah; life; and food’¹⁹A Desirable, Good, and Spacious Land plus the elements that follow all form part of a single prayer to be found in Birnbaum, p. 761/762. has not satisfied his obligation.”²⁰See Ber. 48b-49a. The Holy One, blessed be He, said, “The land of Israel is more dear to Me than everything. I am the one who sought it out, as stated (in Ezek. 20:6), ‘On that day I swore (literally, raised My hand) to them that I would bring them out of the land of Egypt unto a land which I had sought out for them.’” You find [the same love for the land], when Joshua slew those kings. R. Jannay the Priest said, “There were sixty-two kings, thirty-one at Jericho and thirty one with Sisera. When he went to fight with Israel they also were slain along with him. Why? Because they yearned to drink water from the waters of Israel. They made a request of Sisera and said to him, ‘If you please, let us come with you to war.’ And every king that requested to go to war sent and hired other kings with silver, so that they would help him. They said to Sisera, ‘We do not request anything from you, but rather we will come for free, because we yearn to fill our stomachs with water from that land.’ Thus it is stated (in Jud. 5:19), ‘The kings came, they fought; [... on account of²¹Heb.: ‘al. The more usual translation here is BY. the waters of Megiddo; they took no gain of silver.’ This verse serves] to inform you that nothing was more beloved than the land of Israel.” The Holy One, blessed be He, had said to Moses, “This land is dear to Me, as stated (in Deut. 11:12), ‘A land for which the Lord your God cares.’ Israel also is dear to Me, as stated (in Deut. 7:8), ‘Because the Lord loves you….’” The Holy One, blessed be He, said, “I will bring My sons, who are beloved to Me, into a land that is beloved to Me.” Where is it shown? From what they read about the matter (in Numb. 34:2), “when you come into the land of Canaan.”

7 (Numb. 34:2) “When you come into the land of Canaan”: A legal teaching: Before Israel entered the land, how did they say the blessing over the food? Thus have our masters taught: Before they entered the land, they used to only say a single blessing, “who sustains all.”⁸Cf. Philip Birnbaum, Daily Prayer Book (Hebrew Publishing Co., 1949), p. 759/760. After they had entered the land, they ordained the blessing, “for the land and for the food.”⁹Birnbaum, p. 763/764. After Jerusalem was destroyed, they added “builder of Jerusalem.”¹⁰See Birnbaum, p. 765/766. The prayer also occurs as the fourteenth blessing in the Shemoneh ‘Esreh (Birnbaum, p. 89/90), as well as in other contexts. For the various versions of the prayer, see Joseph Heinemann, Prayer in the Talmud, trans. Richard S. Sarason (“Studia Judaica, IX; Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1977), pp. 48-50, 70-76. After those slain at Bethther¹¹During the Bar Cochba war, 132-135. were buried, they added “who is good and does what is good.”¹²Cf. Birnbaum, p. 765/766. “Who is good,” because they did not decay; and “who does what is good,” because they were given burials. None of them, however, is more dear to you than the blessing of the land. The sages [therefore] said, “Whoever does not mention ‘for the land and for the food; a desirable, good, and spacious land; the covenant [of circumcision]; Torah; life; and food’¹³A Desirable, Good, and Spacious Land plus the elements that follow all form part of a single prayer to be found in Birnbaum, p. 761/762. has not satisfied his obligation.”¹⁴See Ber. 48b-49a. The Holy One, blessed be He, said, “The land of Israel is more dear to Me than everything. I am the one who sought it out, as stated (in Ezek. 20:6), ‘On that day I swore (literally, raised My hand) to them that I would bring them out of the land of Egypt unto a land which I had sought out for them […].’” And similarly it states (in Jer. 3:19), “And I gave you a desirable land – the fairest heritage of all the nations.” You find [the same love for the land], when Joshua slew those kings. R. Jannay the Priest said, “There were sixty-two kings, thirty-one at Jericho and thirty one in the days of Sisera. When he went to fight with Israel they also were slain along with him. Why? Because they yearned to drink water from the waters of Israel. They made a request of Sisera and said to him, ‘If you please, let us come with you to war.’ And every king that requested to go to war sent and hired other workers with silver, so that they would help him. They said to Sisera, ‘We do not request anything from you, but rather we will come for free, because we yearn to fill our stomachs with water from that land.’ Thus it is stated (in Jud. 5:19), ‘The kings came, they fought; [...] on account of¹⁵Heb.: ‘al. The more usual translation here is BY. the waters of Megiddo; they took no gain of silver.’ [This verse serves] to inform you that nothing was more beloved than the land of Israel.” The Holy One, blessed be He, had said to Moses, “This land is dear to Me, as stated (in Deut. 11:12), ‘A land for which the Lord your God always cares.’ Israel also is dear to Me, as stated (in Deut. 7:8), ‘Because the Lord loves you….’” The Holy One, blessed be He, said, “I will bring Israel, who are beloved to Me, into a land that is beloved to Me, as stated (in Numb. 34:2), “when you come into the land of Canaan.”