Midrash sobre II Samuel 6:11

"And your staff with which you smote the Nile take in your hand, etc.": because of their (seditious) "murmurings." This is one of the three instances where Israel "murmured" against them (the L rd and Moses) and said: They (the following) are instruments of punishment, (but not of good): the incense, the ark, and the staff. They said: This incense is an instrument of punishment. It killed Nadav and Avihu, viz. (Leviticus 10:1) "And the sons of Aaron, Nadav and Avihu, took each of them his coal-pan, etc." Therefore, let all of Israel know that it can (also) effect atonement, viz. (Numbers 17:12) "and he put on the incense and he atoned for the people." They said: This ark is an instrument of punishment. It smote the men of Beth Shemesh, viz. (I Samuel 6:19) "And He smote the men of Beth Shemesh because they looked into the ark of the L rd, etc." And it smote Uzzah, viz. (II Samuel 6:7) "and the wrath of the L rd burned against Uzzah … and he died there by the ark of G d." Therefore, let Israel know that it can (also) effect blessing, as it is written (Ibid. 11) "And the ark of the L rd remained in the house of Oved-Edom the Gittite … and the L rd blessed Oved-Edom, etc." They said: This staff is an instrument of punishment. It brought ten plagues upon the Egyptians in Egypt and ten upon the sea. Therefore, let them know that it can (also) effect (beneficent) miracles, as it is written "And your staff with which you smote the Nile, etc." … because of their "murmurings."

At the end of the persecution,⁶⁰After the death of Hadrian, emperor of Rome, who had outlawed Torah study and made other repressive decrees, and who had crushed the Bar Kokhva revolt. our Rabbis assembled in Usha; they were: Rabbi Yehuda, Rabbi Neḥemya, Rabbi Meir, Rabbi Yosei, Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai, Rabbi Eliezer son of Rabbi Yosei HaGelili, and Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov. They sent to the elders of the Galilee and said: ‘Anyone who is learned, let him come and teach, and anyone who is not learned, let him come and study.’ They assembled, studied, and did everything that they needed to do. When the time arrived to take their leave, they said: ‘Are we to leave empty the place in which we were received?’⁶¹Will we leave without honoring and expressing our appreciation for the residents of the host city? They accorded honor to Rabbi Yehuda, who was a resident of the city; not that he was greater than they were in Torah, but rather because a person’s place entitles him to honor.
Rabbi Yehuda entered and expounded: “Moses would take the Tent and pitch it outside the camp at a distance from the camp… [and anyone who would seek the Lord would go out to the Tent of Meeting outside the camp]” (Exodus 33:7). “At a distance” is stated here, and there it is stated: “There shall be a distance between you and it a measure of approximately two thousand cubits” (Joshua 3:4). Just as “distance” that is stated here is two thousand cubits, so “distance” stated there is two thousand cubits. “And anyone who would seek Moses” is not written here, but rather, “who would seek the Lord.” From here we have learned that anyone who welcomes Torah scholars, it is as though he received the Divine Presence. You, our brethren, our Rabbis, Torah luminaries, those of you who suffered [by traveling] ten mil, or twenty, or thirty, or forty, in order to hear matters of Torah, all the more so that the Holy One blessed be He will not withhold your reward in this [world] and in the [World] to Come.
Rabbi Neḥemya entered and expounded: “An Amonite or Moavite shall not enter the congregation of the Lord” (Deuteronomy 23:4). It is taught: Two great nations were denied entrance into the congregation of the Lord. Why? “Due to the fact that they did not greet you with bread and water” (Deuteronomy 23:5). Did Israel need it at that time? Is it not so, that all forty years that Israel was in the wilderness, the spring would rise for them, the manna would fall for them, quail was available for them, the clouds of glory enveloped them, and the cloud pillar traveled before them, and you say: “that they did not greet you with bread and water”? Rabbi Elazar said: Proper etiquette is that when one comes from travel one greets him with food and drink. Come and see what the Holy One blessed be He repaid these two nations: “An Amonite or Moavite shall not enter the congregation of the Lord.” You, residents of Usha, who welcomed our Rabbis with your food, your drink, and your beds, the Holy One blessed be He will repay you a fine reward.
Rabbi Meir entered and expounded: “A certain elderly prophet was residing in Beit El” (I Kings 13:11). Who was this? This was Amatzya, the priest of Beit El. Rabbi Yosei said: 'Meir, there is much confusion here. Who was this? This was Yonatan ben Gershom ben Moses [Moshe]. That is what is written: “Yehonatan ben Gershom ben Menashe” (Judges 18:30). The nun in Menashe is suspended.⁶²It is written in a suspended manner, smaller than the other letters and not extending to the bottom of the line. If he merited, “ben Moshe”; if not, “ben Menashe.”⁶³If he were to repent, he would merit to be called the son of Moses, or Moshe; if the letter nun is removed from the name Menashe, what is left is Moshe. If he did not repent, he would be referred to as the son of Menashe. This is a prophetical reference to Menashe son of Hezekiah, who was a notoriously wicked king of Judah.
The students raised a question before Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman, they said to him: A priest to idol worship lived all those years?⁶⁴The Yehonatan mentioned in Judges was a priest to idol worship. If he was the grandson of Moses, and also the priest of Beit El mentioned in Kings, by what merit would he have lived from the time of Judges until the time of the events in Kings? He said to them: Yes, because he was discouraging vis-à-vis idol worship. How so? A person would come to worship, and he would say to him: ‘How old are you?’ He would say to him: Forty years old, or fifty, or sixty, or seventy years old, or however old he was. He would say to him: ‘How old are you, forty years old, or fifty, or sixty, or seventy, or eighty years, and this idol was crafted only five or twelve years ago, and you seek to forsake your God and worship it? That is contemptible.’ [The visitor] would then become embarrassed and would leave. A certain contemptible individual came, and [Yehonatan] said this to him. He said to [Yehonatan]: ‘Why are you sitting here and worshipping it?’ He said: ‘I take my salary and mislead him.’⁶⁵Yehonatan said that his employer, Mikha, believed that he worshipped the idol, but that was not actually the case. When David heard of him, he sent and brought him, and he said to him: ‘You are the grandson of that righteous one and you engage in idol worship?’ He said to him: ‘This is the tradition that I receive from the house of my grandfather: Sell yourself for idol worship but do not be beholden to people.’⁶⁶Take a job pertaining to idolatry if necessary, but do not be financially dependent on others. He said to him: ‘Heaven forbid, it is not so, but rather sell yourself to a labor that is foreign⁶⁷The confusion stemmed from the fact that the literal translation of avoda zara, the term used to connote idol worship, is foreign labor. to you, but do not be beholden to people.’ When David saw how fond he was of money, he appointed him officer of the treasury. They say: When David died, he returned to his evil ways.
That is what is written: “I, too, am a prophet like you…kiḥesh lo” (I Kings 13:18). What is kiḥesh lo? He lied to him. What did he lie to him? He fed him the bread of falsehood.⁶⁸He gave the prophet from Judah food, which the prophet from Judah ate for sustenance, but in fact that meal led to his death. It is written: “As they were sitting at the table, the word of the Lord was to the prophet who had caused him to return” (I Kings 13:20). Can the matters not be inferred a fortiori? If this one, who lied and fed him the bread of falsehood, was privileged to have the Divine Spirit rest upon him, you, our brethren, residents of Usha, who welcomed our Rabbis with the food of truth, and drink, and a bed, all the more so that the Holy One blessed be He will pay you a fine reward.
Rabbi Yosei entered and expounded: “The Ark remained in the house of Oved Edom the Gittite [for three months]” (II Samuel 6:11). “It was told to King David saying: The Lord has blessed the house of Oved Edom and everything that is his” (II Samuel 6:12). By what merit? “Because of the Ark of God” (II Samuel 6:12). With what did He bless him? With children; that is what is written: “[Oved Edom had sons: Shemaya the first…] Amiel the sixth and Yisakhar the seventh” (I Chronicles 26:4–5), and likewise it says: “All these were of the sons of Oved Edom, they and their sons” (I Chronicles 26:8). They said: He had eight sons and he had eight daughters-in-law and each one of them would give birth to two each month. How so? She was impure for seven [days] and pure for seven [days] and she would give birth.⁶⁹She would conceive on the night of her purification and miraculously give birth after a gestation period of seven days. Impure seven and pure seven and she would give birth. Sixteen each month for three months, that is forty-eight. And six of his own,⁷⁰He himself had another six children in those three months. that is fifty-four. And the eight of them, that is sixty-two. Is that not what is written: “Sixty-two for Oved Edom (I Chronicles 26:8).
The students raised a question before Rabbi Yoḥanan, they said to him: What is that which is written: “Peuletai the eighth” (I Chronicles 26:5)? He said to them: It is because he performed a great service for the Torah. What service did he perform for the Torah? He would kindle before the Ark one lamp in the morning and one lamp in the afternoon. The matters can be inferred a fortiori: If the Ark of God, which does not eat, drink, or speak, but there were two stone tablets in it, and he kindled one lamp on its behalf and he merited to be blessed for honoring it, you, our brethren, residents of Usha, all the more so.
Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai entered and expounded: “It was one day that Elisha traveled to Shunem and there was a prominent woman and she implored him to eat bread” (II Kings 4:8). Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon said to him: Because it wrote “she implored him to eat bread,” she merited having her son revived. Rabbi Yudan in the name of Rabbi Ze’eira, and Rabbi Yoḥanan in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai, said: So great is sustenance that it causes the revival of the dead to occur not at its appointed time. The woman from Tzorfat, because she fed Elijah, merited having her son revived. The Shunamite, because she fed Elisha, merited having her son revived.
Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Ilai said: Even lamps, even wicks, Elijah would take from place to place so as not to impose upon any person. Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon said: Did he eat from her food? Did not both she and he eat from his food, as it is written: “She and he ate” (I Kings 17:15). “He and she” is written.⁷¹According to tradition, the verse is written such that it states “he and she ate,” but when reading the verse one reads it as though it states “she and he ate.” This is because she was the host, but the sustenance was provided by God in Elijah’s merit. Rather, because she welcomed him hospitably and served him, she merited having her son revived. And you, residents of Usha, who perform acts of kindness, all the more so.
Rabbi Eliezer son of Rabbi Yosei HaGelili entered and expounded: “Saul said to the Kenite: Go, withdraw, descend from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them; for you performed kindness with all the children of Israel when they ascended from Egypt’" (I Samuel 15:6). Did Yitro,⁷²The Kenites are identified as the descendants of Yitro. in fact, perform kindness with all the children of Israel? Was it not with Moses alone that he performed it? Rabbi Elazar said: Yitro certainly performed kindness with Moses; that is what is written: “Call him and let him eat bread” (Exodus 2:20). Rabbi Simon said: That is not so. He fed him as his wages. As it is written: “He also drew water for us [and watered the flock]” (Exodus 2:19).⁷³The verse states “drew water” with a double Hebrew term, dalo dala. The midrash expounds the significance of that double term. Rabbi Yehuda, Rabbi Neḥemya, and the Rabbis, Rabbi Yehuda said: He drew for us and for our fathers.⁷⁴The daughters of Yitro had their own sheep in addition to the sheep of their father Yitro (Etz Yosef). Rabbi Neḥemya said: He drew for us and for the shepherds. The Rabbis say: He drew for us due to the merit of our fathers⁷⁵The reason for the contentiousness with the shepherds was that Yitro had forsaken Midianite idolatry. and he drew for the shepherds to make peace between them. And you say that he performed kindness with all of Israel? Rather, it is to teach you that anyone who performs kindness for one of the prominent leaders of Israel, they ascribe him credit as though he did so to all of Israel, and you, our brethren, residents of Usha, all the more so.⁷⁶You residents of Usha performed kindness for numerous prominent scholars, and you did not owe them a previous debt of gratitude like Yitro owed Moses.
Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov entered and expounded: “Moses and the priests, the Levites, spoke to all Israel, saying: Pay attention and hear Israel, this day you have become a people [to the Lord your God]” (Deuteronomy 27:9). Was it that day that they received the Torah? Had it not been forty years already since they received the Torah, and you say “this day”? Rather, it teaches that since Moses reviewed the Torah for them and they received it welcomingly, the Torah ascribed them credit as though they had received it that day from Mount Sinai. That is why it is stated: “This day you have become a people to the Lord your God.” And you, our brethren, residents of Usha, who hospitably welcomed our Rabbis, all the more so.

R. Nechemiah opened in honor of the one who exercised hospitality [toward strangers] and preached: And Saul said unto the Kenite, 'Go. depart, get you down from the midst of Amalekites lest I destroy thee with them, whereas ye acted kindly with the children of Israel at their coming up out of Egypt (I Sam. 15, 6). "Behold, can this not be concluded through the rule of a fortiori? If Jethro who did not come near Moses for anything else but his own honor was so rewarded, how much more then should a man he rewarded, who takes learned men in his house, feeds them, gives them drink and lets them enjoy of his wealth?' R. Jose opened in honor of the one who is hospitable and preached: Thou shalt not abhor an Edomite, for he is thy brother; thou shalt not abhor an Egyptian, because thou wert a stranger in his land (Deu. 23, 8). "Can this not be concluded through the rule of a fortiori? If the Egyptians who came nigh unto Israel for their own benefit only, as is said (Gen. 47, 6.) And if thou knowest that there are among them men of activity, then appoint them rulers over my cattle, were so protected; how much more then, should he be protected who takes in a learned man and gives him food and drink and lets him enjoy of their wealth?" R. Elazar, the son of R. Jose, the Galilean opened in honor of him who is hospitable to the stranger: And the Lord blessed ObedEdom. and all his household, (II Sam. 6, 11). "Behold, we can infer this through the rule of a fortiori; if keeping the house clean, in honor of the Holy Ark with the Tablet, which neither eats nor drinks, was blessed, how much more will he be blessed who keeps a learned man and gives him food and drink and permits him to enjoy of his wealth?" Of what did the blessing (of Obed-Edom) consist? R. Juda b. Zabida said: "It was that Chamoth and her eight daughters-in-law each gave birth to six at a time, as it is said (I Chr. 26, 5.) Pe'ulthai the eighth because God blessed him, etc., sixty-two were all that Obed-Edom had."

This was one of three things that Israel complained against, saying they were instruments for punishment. These are: the incense, the ark, and the staff. The incense was an instrument of punishment, for it brought distress to Nadab and Abihu. That is why He informed them that incense was to be used for atonement, as is said: And he put on the incense, and made atonement for the people (Num. 17:12). They said that the ark was a tool for retribution, for He killed Uzzah and the men of Beth-shemesh there, as is said: And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God (II Sam. 6:7). And it is written elsewhere: And He smote of the men of Beth-shemesh, because they had gazed upon the ark of the Lord, even He smote of the people seventy men, and fifty thousand men; and the people mourned (I Sam. 6:19). But He revealed to them that it was also an instrument of blessing, as is written: And the ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months; and the Lord blessed Obed-edom and all his house (II Sam. 6:11).