Midrasz do Malachiasza 2:3
הִנְנִ֨י גֹעֵ֤ר לָכֶם֙ אֶת־הַזֶּ֔רַע וְזֵרִ֤יתִי פֶ֙רֶשׁ֙ עַל־פְּנֵיכֶ֔ם פֶּ֖רֶשׁ חַגֵּיכֶ֑ם וְנָשָׂ֥א אֶתְכֶ֖ם אֵלָֽיו׃
Oto wyniszczę wam siewy, a rzucę mierzwę w oblicze wasze, mierzwę świątecznych ofiar waszych, i wyprowadzą was do niej.
Kohelet Rabbah
“Before the silver cord is severed, the golden skull is shattered, the pitcher is smashed at the spring, and the wheel is shattered into the cistern” (Ecclesiastes 12:6);
“Before the silver cord is severed” – this is the spinal column; “the golden skull is shattered” – this is the skull. Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Neḥemya said: This is the throat, which expels the gold and expends the silver.8A glutton spends much of his resources on food. “The pitcher is smashed at the spring” – this is a person’s stomach. Three days after [death] a person’s stomach bursts, and it moves [its contents] to the mouth and says to it: ‘Take for yourself what you stole and robbed and placed within me.’ Rabbi Ḥagai derives it from this verse: “I will scatter filth upon your faces, the filth of your festive offerings” (Malachi 2:3). Bar Kappara said: The full intensity of mourning is for three days, while the form of the countenance is still recognizable. We learned: One testifies only about the full face with the nose…9One can testify that someone has died only if one sees the entire face of the corpse while it is intact, including the nose. This is a quote from a mishna (Yevamot 16:3), which continues by specifying that it is possible to positively identify the corpse only within three days of death.
“The wheel is shattered into the cistern” – two amora’im: One said: Like those wheels of Tzippori.10Tzippori is located in the mountains, and its wells extended deep into the ground. Water was drawn using a long rope attached to a wheel. This is representative of a corpse being lowered into a grave (Etz Yosef). One said: Like the clods in Tiberias, as it is stated: “The clods of the stream are sweet to him” (Job 21:33).11Tiberias is located in an area with many streams of water that flow into the nearby Sea of Galilee. These streams carry with them stones, which are smoothened by the running water and would be used to cover graves. Thus, the wheel [galgal] of the verse is understood as referring to the stones covering a grave [golel].
“Before the silver cord is severed” – this is the spinal column; “the golden skull is shattered” – this is the skull. Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Neḥemya said: This is the throat, which expels the gold and expends the silver.8A glutton spends much of his resources on food. “The pitcher is smashed at the spring” – this is a person’s stomach. Three days after [death] a person’s stomach bursts, and it moves [its contents] to the mouth and says to it: ‘Take for yourself what you stole and robbed and placed within me.’ Rabbi Ḥagai derives it from this verse: “I will scatter filth upon your faces, the filth of your festive offerings” (Malachi 2:3). Bar Kappara said: The full intensity of mourning is for three days, while the form of the countenance is still recognizable. We learned: One testifies only about the full face with the nose…9One can testify that someone has died only if one sees the entire face of the corpse while it is intact, including the nose. This is a quote from a mishna (Yevamot 16:3), which continues by specifying that it is possible to positively identify the corpse only within three days of death.
“The wheel is shattered into the cistern” – two amora’im: One said: Like those wheels of Tzippori.10Tzippori is located in the mountains, and its wells extended deep into the ground. Water was drawn using a long rope attached to a wheel. This is representative of a corpse being lowered into a grave (Etz Yosef). One said: Like the clods in Tiberias, as it is stated: “The clods of the stream are sweet to him” (Job 21:33).11Tiberias is located in an area with many streams of water that flow into the nearby Sea of Galilee. These streams carry with them stones, which are smoothened by the running water and would be used to cover graves. Thus, the wheel [galgal] of the verse is understood as referring to the stones covering a grave [golel].
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