Midrash sobre Isaías 61:6

The Holy One created twenty-two good attributes in His world. All of them were nullified and in the future the Holy One will return them to Israel in the time to come. They are: four for the first man, four for the generation of the flood, one for the generation of the dispersion, two for Sodom, six in the wilderness, six for Jerusalem, on for the ten tribes…Six for Jerusalem. First, the Gihon spring comes out from Jerusalem and waters the land of Israel. Hezekiah stood up and saw with his holy spirit and said: I know that Israel will be exiled from their land and the House will be destroyed, and if the Gihon remains in its place all the nations will come to here. He rose up and sealed it off, as it says "And he-Hezekiah-stopped up the source of the waters of the upper Gihon…" (Chronicles II 32:30) In the future the Holy One will return it to Israel and water their land, as it says "…and a spring shall emanate from the house of the Lord…" (Joel 4:18) Second, prophecy was given to them and then hidden away. In the future the Holy One will return it to Israel, to make every member of Israel a prophet, as it says "And it shall come to pass afterwards that I will pour out My spirit upon all flesh…" (Joel 3:1) Third, the priesthood was given to them and then hidden away. In the future the Holy One will return the high priesthood to Israel, as it says "And you shall be called the priests of the Lord…" (Isaiah 61:6) Fourth, the Sanhedrin and advisers were given to them and when a case came before them they would write the judgment on a piece of paper and place it in the ark, and an angel would descend in the night to absolve the innocent and convict the guilty. In the morning they would look at the paper and declare the judgment. In the future the Holy One will return them to Israel, as it says "And I will restore your judges as at first and your counsellors as in the beginning…" (Isaiah 1:26) Fifth, the Messiah was born and then hidden away. In the future the Holy One will console Israel with the Messiah, as it says "There I shall cause David's horn to sprout…" (Psalms 132:17) Sixth, Jerusalem was given to them and when they became corrupt it was destroyed. In the future the Holy One will rebuild it and gather Israel back in, as it says "The Lord is the builder of Jerusalem; He will gather the outcasts of Israel." (Psalms 147:2)

Another matter, “your belly is a pile of wheat,” but would one of pine cones not be fairer than one of wheat? But it is possible for the world to exist without pine cones, but it is not possible for the world to exist without wheat. Rabbi Idi said: Just as this wheat kernel is cleft, so Israel’s circumcision is cleft.³¹This is a reference to peria, the process in which the membrane under the foreskin is split and pulled back (Maharzu). Rabbi Yosei bar Ḥananya said: Just as wheat absorbs, so too Israel absorbs the property of the nations of the world. That is what is written: “You shall devour all the peoples…” (Deuteronomy 7:16), and it is written: “You will consume the wealth of the nations and in their glory you will revel” (Isaiah 61:6). Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: Just as with wheat, its waste is measured with it, so too Israel, “from the hewer of your wood to the drawer of your water” (Deuteronomy 29:10).
Rabbi Yitzḥak said: Just as these wheat kernels, when they go out for sowing go out by measure, and when they enter from the grain pile they enter by measure, so too Israel, when they descended to Egypt they descended by number, as it is stated: “With seventy people, your ancestors descended to Egypt” (Deuteronomy 10:22), and when they ascended, they ascended by number, as it is stated: “some six hundred thousand men on foot” (Exodus 12:37). Rabbi Ḥonya said regarding the statement of Rabbi Yitzḥak: Just as the landowner does not monitor boxes of manure, and not boxes of hay, and not boxes of straw, and not chaff; why? Because they are considered worthless; so too, the Holy One blessed be He does not monitor the nations of the world, why, because they are considered worthless, as it is stated: “All the nations are like nothing before Him…” (Isaiah 40:17). Whom does He monitor? Israel, as it is stated: “When you take a census of the children of Israel…” (Exodus 30:12), “take a census of the entire congregation of Israel” (Numbers 1:2).
Rabbi Neḥemya [said] in the name of Rabbi Avun: The nations of the world have no planting, have no sowing, and have no root, and the three of them are in one verse: “It is as though they were not planted, as though they were not sown, as though their trunk had not taken root in the earth” (Isaiah 40:24). However, Israel has planting, as it is stated: “I will plant them in this land” (Jeremiah 32:41), and it is written “I will plant them upon their land” (Amos 9:15). They have sowing, as it is stated: “I will sow her for Me in the land” (Hosea 2:25). They have root, as it is stated: “It is coming that Jacob will take root” (Isaiah 27:6).
To what is this matter comparable? Hay, chaff, and straw were deliberating with each other. This one said: The land was sown for my sake, and that one said: The field was sown for my sake. The wheat said to them: Wait until the [time for] threshing arrives and we will know for whose sake the field was sown. The time of the threshing arrived, and when they entered the threshing floor, the field owner emerged to winnow it. The chaff went with the wind, he took the hay and cast it to the ground, he took the straw and burned it, and he took the wheat and made it into a pile. People would pass and everyone who saw it would kiss it, just as it says: “Kiss the grain” (Psalms 2:12). So too the nations of the world; these say: We are the true Israel, and the world was created for our sake, and those say: We are the true Israel and the world was created for our sake. Israel said to them: Wait until the day the Holy One blessed be He will arrive and we will know for whose sake the world was created. That is what is written: “For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven [and all the wicked people and all the evildoers will be like straw; and that coming day will burn them]” (Malachi 3:19), and it is written: “You will winnow them and the wind will carry them” (Isaiah 41:16). However, it is stated in Israel’s regard: “But you will rejoice in the Lord, you will be glorified in the Holy One of Israel” (Isaiah 41:16).

... Teach us o teacher: toward where should one who prays orient his heart? This is what our Rabbis taught: one should orient his heart toward the place of the Holy of Holies (Berachot 4:5). R’ Eliezer ben Yaakov says: if one is praying outside of the land, he should orient his heart to the land of Israel. If one is praying within the land of Israel, he should orient his heart to Jerusalem. If one is praying in Jerusalem, he should orient his heart to the Holy Temple. If one is praying in the Holy Temple, he should orient his heart to the Holy of Holies. R’ Avin the Levi said: “our neck is like the Tower of David, built as a model (talpiyot)…” (Song of Songs 4:4) What does talpiyot mean? The hill (tel) toward which all turns (peniyot) are directed. And after all this praise, it is written “Open your doors, O Lebanon, and let the fire consume your cedars.” (Zechariah 11:1) And so too they said “He has hurled fire into my bones…” (Lamentations 1:13) Israel said to Him: Master of the World! How long will it be like this? Did You not write in Your Torah “…the one who ignited the fire shall surely pay” (Exodus 22:5)? And You are the one who ignited the fire, as it says “From above He has hurled fire into my bones…” (Lamentations 1:13) You need to rebuild it and to console us, not at the hands of an angel but You in Your glory. The Holy One said to them: by your life, so I will do! As it says “The Lord is the builder of Jerusalem; He will gather the outcasts of Israel.” (Psalms 147:2) And I am the one who consoles you. From where do we learn this? From that which they read in the prophets “I, yea I am He Who consoles you…” (Isaiah 51:12)