Midrash sobre Jó 20:17

Zavday ben Levi said: Two thousand cubits (of manna) came down each day⁶⁹Cf. M. Pss. 78:3, according to which Zavday ben Levi said: Enough food for two thousand years came down every day as manna to feed Israel. and remained four hours. As soon as the sun rose over it, it melted and became countless torrents as it flooded and ran down. For whom is it destined now? For the righteous in the age to come. Whoever believes has the right to eat of it, but whoever does not believe, (according to Job 20:17): MAY NOT LOOK UPON THE STREAMS, <THE TORRENTIAL RIVERS OF HONEY AND CREAM>. As soon as it ran down in rivers, the peoples of the world came to drink from it; but it became wormwood and gall in their mouths, as stated (in Numb. 11:7): NOW THE MANNA WAS LIKE BITTER (gad)⁷⁰While Bible translations of Numb. 11:7 commonly render gad as CORIANDER, in the context of this midrash the word must denote something unfit to eat. SEED…. For Israel, however, <the manna > became honey within their mouths, just as it says: (in Exod. 16:31): <AND ITS TASTE WAS> LIKE WAFERS IN HONEY. R. Judah b. R. Shallum the Levite said: There is a calculation that < enough > manna came down to Israel [on every day] <to provide > food for two thousand years, and it was sixty cubits deep.⁷¹Cf. Yoma 76a; Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael, Wayyassa‘, 4, 6. It is written concerning the flood (in Gen. 7:11): ON THAT DAY ALL THE SPRINGS <OF THE GREAT ABYSS > BURST FORTH <AND THE WINDOWS OF THE HEAVENS WERE OPENED>. It is also written concerning the manna (in Ps. 78:23): SO HE COMMANDED THE SKIES ABOVE, AND HE OPENED THE DOORS OF HEAVEN. The doors equal four windows. It is also written (concerning the Holy One in Exod. 34:7): PRESERVING STEADFAST LOVE <FOR THOUSANDS>. And it is written (ibid.): VISITING THE INIQUITY OF PARENTS <UPON CHILDREN AND UPON CHILDREN'S CHILDREN >…. From here it is shown that a good measure is five hundred times greater than a measure of divine punishment.⁷²The plural of “thousand” denotes at least two thousand with reference to steadfast love, while children and children’s children denote at least four. Therefore, steadfast love is five hundredfold greater than the punishment for iniquity. When two windows were opened during the flood, all those rains came down for twelve months. Now it is written here (concerning the manna in Ps. 78:23): AND HE OPENED THE DOORS OF HEAVEN. From here it is shown that < enough > manna came down on every day <to provide > food for two thousand years.⁷³Since the doors have four windows and a measure of good (i.e., the manna) is five hundred times greater than a measure of evil (i.e., the flood), the daily manna coming down through the heavenly doors, i.e., equivalent of four heavenly windows, was two thousand times (4 X 500) greater than the one year of flood that came down through the heavenly windows.

Variantly (Devarim 32:1) "Listen, O heavens": An analogy: A king hands his son over to a pedagogue to sit and take care of him. The son says: Does father really think that this will help? Now I will "take care" of him! Let him eat and drink and sleep, and I will do as I wish! The father: I have handed you over to a pedagogue, who will not budge from you! Thus, Moses to Israel: Do you think to flee from the wings of the Shechinah or to move from off the earth? And, what is more, the heavens write!, viz. (Iyyov 20:17) "The heavens will reveal his sin." And whence is it derived that the earth, too, informs against him? From (Ibid.) "and the earth will rise up against him." Israel is destined to stand up in judgment before G-d and to tell him: L-rd of the universe, I do not know who was remiss with whom or who changed (in his conduct) to whom — whether Israel was remiss with the L-rd or whether the L-rd changed with Israel. From (Psalms 50:6) "And the heavens will tell His righteousness" (we know that) it is Israel who was remiss with the L-rd. And the L-rd did not change (in His conduct) to Israel, viz. (Malachi 3:6) "for I, the L-rd, have not changed."