Midrash sobre Provérbios 4:18

Rabbi Yehudah Bar Simon opened with (Daniel 2:22): "He reveals the deep and secret. He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him." "He reveals the deep"--this is Hell, as it says (Proverbs 9:18): "He does not know there are spirits there," and it says (Isaiah 30:33): "deep and large". "And secret"--this is Paradise, as it says (Isaiah 4:6): "for a cover and refuge from storm and rain," and it says (Psalms 31:21): "You hide them in the cover of Your presence." Alternatively, "he reveals the deep and secret"--these are the acts of the wicked, as it says (Isaiah 29:15): "Woe to the ones who seek deep from God to make their counsel secret." "And secret"--these are the acts of the wicked, as the verse states. "He knows what is in the dark"--these are the acts of the wicked, as it says in Isaiah: "Their acts are in the dark." "The light dwells with Him"--these are the acts of the righteous, as it is written (Proverbs 4:18): "The path of the righteous is like the light at dawn," and it says (Psalms 97:11): "Light is sown for the righteous." Rabbi Abba Srungia said: "The light dwells with Him"--this is the Messiah, as it says (Isaiah 60:1): "Arise, shine, for your light has come." Rabbi Yehudah Bar Simon said: From the beginning of the creation of the world, "he revealed the dark and secret". "In the beginning God created the heavens," but it is not explained. Where is it explained? Here (Isaiah 40:22): "He stretches out the heavens like a curtain." "And the land," but it is not explained. Where is it explained? Here (Job 37:6): "For He says to the snow: 'Fall on the earth.'" and (Job 38:38) "When the dust runs into a mass, and the clods cleave together." "And God said: 'Let there be light,'" and it is not explained. Where is it explained? (Psalms 104:2) "You cover Yourself with light like a garment."

Another interpretation (of I Sam. 2:9): HE SHALL PROTECT THE FEET OF HIS SAINTS. This refers to Jacob, when he set out to go to Haran; for the Holy One said this to him (in Gen. 28:15): SEE, I AM WITH YOU. (Ibid., cont.:) BUT THE WICKED SHALL PERISH IN DARKNESS. This refers to Esau, of whom it is stated (in Job 20:26): UTTER DARKNESS AWAITS HIS TREASURES; < AN UNFANNED FIRE SHALL CONSUME HIM >…. (Obad. 18:) THE HOUSE OF JACOB SHALL BE FIRE … AND THE HOUSE OF ESAU SHALL BE STRAW; < THEY SHALL BURN IT AND CONSUME IT >. When Esau set out to pursue Jacob, it was for ten hours that the Holy One concealed the day and made it evening. Accordingly, it is stated (in Gen. 28:11): WHEN HE CAME ACROSS A CERTAIN PLACE, < HE SPENT THE NIGHT THERE BECAUSE THE SUN HAD SET >. So Esau remained in the darkness and did not know where he was going. Thus it is stated (in I Sam. 2:9): BUT THE WICKED SHALL PERISH IN DARKNESS. Why? (Ibid., cont.:) BECAUSE ONE SHALL NOT PREVAIL BY STRENGTH. The Holy One said to him: Perhaps you think you are mighty! And in the world to come he (the Holy One) is also acting for Israel. Thus it is stated (in Ps. 97:11): LIGHT IS SOWN FOR THE RIGHTEOUS. It also says (in Prov. 4:18f.): BUT THE PATH⁶The Buber text has or (LIGHT) here instead orah (PATH). PATH not only fits better into the context, but also represents the traditional biblical text. OF THE RIGHTEOUS IS LIKE LUMINOUS SPLENDOR…. < BUT THE WAY OF THE WICKED IS LIKE DEEP DARKNESS; THEY DO NOT KNOW ON WHAT THEY WILL STUMBLE >. And if you have some doubts (about such treatment of the wicked), it has already happened in this world (to the Egyptians), as stated (in Exod. 10:23): NOR COULD ONE SEE HIS BROTHER.⁷As most translations recognize, the passage simply means that the Egyptians could not see each other under the plague of darkness; however, the midrash understands the Hebrew more literally as a parallel to Esau not being able to see his brother Jacob.

"And Elokim blessed the seventh day and sanctified it"- Rabbi Yishmael says: "He blessed it" with manna "and sanctified it" with manna, He blessed it with manna-for all the days of the week one omer [portion] fell [per person], on Friday two omer [portions] fell [per person]. He sanctified it with manna [on Shabbat] it didn't fall at all. Rabbi Nosson says: He blessed it with manna and sanctified it with blessing. Rabbi Yitzhak says: He blessed it with manna, and sanctified it with the gatherer [of sticks]. "And He blessed it" with robing. Rav Huna says: [one] must change [one's clothes]. R' Chiyya in the name of Rav Yochanon says: [one] must mingle [a garment along with his weekday clothes for the honor of Shabbat]. Avin son of Chasdai says [one] must [let one's cloak] hang. Rabbi Yermiah and R' Zeirah were walking together, and R' Yermiah's cloak was tucked up and Rabbi Zeirah let it hang. This [reflects] what was said [that] one must lower [one's cloak]. R' Elazar says: "He blessed it" with a candle and this occurred to me, one time I lit a candle on the eve of Shabbat and I came and I found it [still] lit at the end of Shabbat and it wasn't diminished at all. "He blessed it" with the light of the face of man, "He sanctified it" with the light of of the face of man. The light of man's face throughout the week isn't comparable to [his face] on Shabbat. "He blessed it" with luminaries, R' Shimon son of Yehuda the man of Acco says in the name of R' Shimon: even though the luminaries were cursed from the Shabbat eve ... Rabbi Yehudah son of Rabbi Simon said : The light that the Holy Blessed One created on the first day, a person could see with it from one end of the universe to the other. Once God saw the perverse actions of the people of the generation of the flood and the generation of the dispersion, God got up and hid [this light], and reserved it for the righteous in the future. From where do we know that God hid it? As it says (Job 38:15), “And [God] withheld from the wicked their light, and the haughty arm shall be broken.” And from where do we know that [God] reserved it for the righteous in the future? As it says (Proverbs 4:18), “And the path of the righteous is like a glowing light, that grows and shines until the arrival of day.” Rabbi Levi said in the name of Rabbi Z’eira: That light served for thirty-six hours - twelve hours on the eve of Shabbat, twelve hours of the night of Shabbat, and the twelve hours of Shabbat [day]. Once the sun set on Saturday night, the darkness began to settle in, Primordial Adam [and exclaimed], “‘Surely darkness comes to bruise/conceal me’ (יְשׁוּפֵנִי; Psalm 139:11); perhaps the one of whom it is said, ‘They shall strike(יְשׁוּפְךָ) at your head’ (Genesis 3:15) will come to attack me?” What did the blessed Holy One do? He presented him with two flints, which he [Adam? God?] struck together and light came forth, whereupon he blessed it, as it is written, “The night was light for my sake” (Psalm 139:11). What did the Holy Blessed One do? He presented him with two flints, which he [Adam? God?] struck together and light came forth, whereupon he blessed it, as it is written, “The night was light for my sake” (Psalm 139:11). What blessing did he say on them? “Who creates the lights of fire.” This is consistent with the opinion of Samuel, for Samuel said: “Why do we recite a blessing over light at the end of Shabbat? Because then it was first created.

Rabbi Yehudah son of Rabbi Simon said: The light that the Holy Blessed One created on the first day, a person could see with it from one end of the universe to the other. Once God saw the perverse actions of the people of the generation of the flood and the generation of the dispersion, God got up and hid [this light], and reserved it for the righteous in the future. From where do we know that God hid it? As it says (Job 38:15), “And [God] withheld from the wicked their light, and the haughty arm shall be broken.” And from where do we know that [God] reserved it for the righteous in the future? As it says (Proverbs 4:18), “And the path of the righteous is like a glowing light, that grows and shines until the arrival of day.” Rabbi Levi said in the name of Rabbi Z’eira: That light served for thirty-six hours - twelve hours on the eve of Shabbat, twelve hours of the night of Shabbat, and the twelve hours of Shabbat [day]. Once the sun set on Saturday night, the darkness began to settle in.

... seven things were taken away from Adam Harishon after he ate from the tree of knowing, including among them] his brilliance, his life, and his stature / zivo v’chayyav v’qomato...

E-lohim is known in Yehudah [in Israel His Name is great] (Ps. 76:2), Rabbi Yehudah bar Ilai said: When Israel was at the sea, the tribes were arguing with each other. One tribe said: 'I will go down first [into the sea]', and the other tribe said 'I will go down first.' Nachshon jumped first into the waves of the sea and went down, and on him David said, "Deliver me, O God, for the waters have reached my neck." Said the Holy One of Blessing to Moshe: My beloved is sinking in the sea and you are praying?! 'Tell the Israelites to get going!'(Ex. 14:15)"This is 'E-lohim is known in Yehudah', and therefore the Holy One of Blessing increased the name of Nachshon among Israel, that he merited to be the first to bring offerings [for the Mishkan] , as it says: 'And the bringer on the first day, etc' - this is 'and in Israel his name became great.' they said to him: we said ours, now you say yours! He said to them: everywhere that it uses the phrase ‘and it will be’ indicates joy. "And it will be on that day that the mountains shall drip with wine..." (Yoel 4:18) “And it will be on that day that living water shall come forth from Jerusalem..." (Zechariah 14:8) "And it will be that on that day, the Lord shall continue…” (Isaiah 11:11) “And it shall come to pass on that day, a man shall keep alive a heifer of the herd…” (Isaiah 7:21) "And it will be on that day, that a great shofar shall be sounded..." (Isaiah 27:13) “And it will be that every survivor shall be in Zion…” (Isaiah 4:3) But it is also written “…and he was when Jerusalem was taken.” (Jeremiah 38:28) He replied to them: this also is joy and not sorrow, because on that very day the comforter was born and on that very day Israel took full recompense for all of their sins. As R’ Shmuel bar Nachman said: Israel took their full recompense for their sins on the day that the Holy Temple was destroyed, as it says “Your iniquity is complete, O daughter of Zion; He will no longer send you into exile…” (Lamentations 4:22)

Another [understanding]: And it was in the days of Amrafel: Rabbi Tanchuma in the name of Rabbi Chiya and Rabbi Berakhiya in the name of Rabbi Elazar [all] said, "This midrash came up to our hands from the exile - 'Any place that it is stated, "and it was in the days of," it is nothing but a term of grief.'" "And it was in the days of Amrafel" (Genesis 14:1): What grief was there over there? They made a war. Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachmani said in the name of Rabbi Natan, "And there are five": (1) [It is comparable] to a dear friend of a king who entered a province, and on his account was the king [concerned] about that whole province. [Then] barbarians came and grappled with him. And when he wanted to leave, they all said to him, "Woe that the king will no longer be concerned about the province as he was": So [too,] was Avraham a dear friend of the Holy One, blessed be He - as it is written about him (Isaiah 41:8), "the seed of Avraham, My dear one"; and it is written (Genesis 12:3), "and through you shall all the families of the world be blessed." And when the barbarians came and grappled with him, they all said, "Woe that the Holy One, blessed be He, will not be concerned with the world as He was; since He was concerned with the world for his sake." This is [the meaning of] that which the verse stated (Genesis 14:7), "And they came to Ein Mishpat (which can be understand as the eye of justice)" - Rabbi Acha said, "They sought to grapple with no less than the eyeball of the world." They said, "They sought to blind the eye that [suppressed] the trait of [strict] judgment in the world." [The verse continues -] "It (hee) is Kadesh," [but] it is written, "he (hu) is Kadesh"; meaning to say, he sanctified (hu kidesh) the name of the Holy One, blessed be He and went down to the fiery furnace. When they saw that the things were like this, they cried out. (2) "And it was in the days of Achaz the son of Yoshiah, King of Yehudah" (Isaiah 7:1). What grief was there over there? "It is what is stated by the verse (Isaiah 9:11), "Aram is in front and the Philistines are behind, etc." [It is comparable] to a king that gave his son over to a mentor, and the mentor hated him. He said, "If I kill him, I will become liable for death. Rather, I will take away his nourishment from him and he will die on his own": So did the evil Achaz say, "If there are no goats, there will be no rams; if there is no flock, there will be no shepherd, [and] where will the world be?" So did he say, "If there are no masters, there will be no students; if there are no students, there will be no sages; if there is no Torah, there will be no synagogues and study halls." What did he do? He passed all the synagogues and study halls and sealed them. And this [is the meaning of] that which the verse states (Isaiah 8:16), "Bind up the message; seal the instruction with My disciples.".... And when they saw that the things were like this, they all started to cried out, "Woe that the world is being destroyed" - when [study of] the Torah was negated, that was in the days of Achaz. (3) "And it was in the days of Yehoyakim the son of Yoshiyahu" (Jeremiah 1:3). What grief was there over there? "I looked at the earth, and behold it was empty and void; at the heavens and their light was not" (Jeremiah 4:23), [It is comparable] to edicts of the kings that were were brought to the province. What did the people of the province do? They tore them up and burned them. This is what the verse stated (Jeremiah 36:23), "And it was when Yehudi would read three columns or four" - meaning to say, he read four verses - and in the fifth verse, he read, "And her tormentors became the head" (Lamentations 1:5) - and it is is written (Jeremiah 36:23), "he would tear it with a scribe's blade and throw it into the fire until the end of all of the scroll." And when they saw this, everyone began to cry out, "Woe for the decree that is hanging over us." (4) "And it was in the days when the judges ruled" (Ruth 1:1) - there was famine there. [And to what is the matter comparable?] To a province that was liable a tax to the king. [So] he sent collectors to collect it. The people of the province rose and smote the collectors and hung them. The judgment that they were liable - as they appointed other judges for themselves - they did to the collectors. So did they do at that time.... (5) "And it was in the days of Achashverosh" (Esther 1:1). What grief was there over there? [It is comparable] to a king that had a vineyard, and he had three enemies. What did they do? One cut the small berries, the second ripped the clusters and the third uprooted the vines: So did Pharaoh began with the small berries, as it is stated (Exodus 1:22), "Any son that is born, throw him into the river." Nevukhadnetsar [ripped the clusters,] as it is stated (Jeremiah 29:2), "the craftsmen and the smiths".... Haman [then] came [to] uproot the vines, as it is stated (Esther 3:13), "to annihilate, to kill and to destroy." Everyone began to cry out, "Woe." Rabbi Shimon ben Abba said in the name of Rabbi Yochanan, "Any place that it is stated, 'and it was (vayehi),' it is used for grief and it is used for joy. And when for grief, there is no grief like it, and when for joy, there is no joy like it." Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachman came and divided it, "Any place that it is stated 'it will be,' it is used for joy; [but] 'and it was' [is for] grief." The Sages responded, "Behold 'And God said, "Vayehi (here used as a command form, and not past tense) light"' [is] joy!" He said to them, "It too is not of joy, as the world did not merit to use that light. As so did Rabbi Yehudah bar Simon say, '[Regarding] the light that the Holy One, blessed be He, created on the first day, Adam [could] look and observe from [one] end of the world to the [other] end. [But] since the Holy One, blessed be He, saw the deeds of the generation of Enosh and the generation of the flood, He arose and hid it from them. That is [the meaning of] what the verse states (Job 38:15), "From the wicked is their light withheld." And to where is it hidden? [It is] in the Garden of Eden, for the righteous ones, as it is stated (Psalms 97:11), "Light is sown for the righteous, and joy for the straight-hearted."'" They responded to him further, "It states, 'And it was evening and it was morning, one day.'" He said to them, "On that day too, it is not of joy, as all the acts of the first day are destined to wither, as it is stated (Isaiah 51:6), 'when the heavens melt away like smoke and the earth wither like a garment.'" They responded to him, "Behold, the [acts of] the second day, the third day, the fourth day, the fifth day, the sixth day." He said to them, "They too are not of joy, as all the acts of the six days of creation require further action - for example, wheat needs to be ground; mustard needs to be mellowed; lupine need to be mellowed." They responded to him, "[And what about,] 'And it was that the Lord was with Yosef and he was a successful man' (Genesis 39:7)?" He said to them, "It too is not of joy, as that 'bear' chanced upon him from this, as it is stated in the verse, 'after' - 'And it was after these things, and the wife of his master raised, etc.' (Genesis 39:7)...." They responded to him, "[And what about,] 'And it was that the Lord was with Yehoshua, and his reputation was in all the land' (Joshua 6:27)?" He said to them, "It too is not of joy, as he had to rend his garments." They responded to him, "And is it not written (I Samuel 18:14), 'And it was that David was successful in all of his ways and the Lord was with him'?" He said to them, "It too is not of joy, as enmity descended into the heart of Shaul from this, as it is stated (I Samuel 18:9), 'And it was that Shaul eyed David.'" They responded to him, "And is it not written (II Samuel 7:1), 'And it was when the king sat in his house and the Lord allowed him rest from all of his enemies'?" He said to them, "It too is not of joy, as on that same day, Natan the prophet came to David and said to him, 'However you will not build the House' (I Kings 8:19)." They said to him, "Behold, we have said what is ours; [now] say what is yours - that 'and it will be' is joy." He said to them, "'And it will be on that day that the mountains will drip with nectar' (Joel 4:18), that will be in the days of the messiah, and there will be great joy for Israel. And so [too,] 'And it will be on that day that a man shall save alive a heifer of the herd and two sheep' (Isaiah 7:21). And so [too,] 'And it will be on that day that living waters will come out from Jerusalem' (Zechariah 14:8). And so [too,] 'And he will be like a tree planted over streams of water' (Psalms 1:3). And so [too,] 'And the remnant of Yaakov will be among many nations' (Micah 5:6)." They said to him, "But behold, it is written (Jeremiah 38:28), 'vahaya (here used in the past tense, and not like the other examples) when Jerusalem was captured'!" He said to them, "It too is not of grief, as on that day was the verdict of Israel for their sins taken; as so is it written (Lamentations 4:22), 'Your sin has been completed, Daughter of Zion, He will not again exile you.'"

(Devarim 11:26) "Behold, I set before you this day blessing and curse": Because it is written (Ibid. 30:19) "The life and the death have I set before you, the blessing and the curse," lest Israel say: Since the Holy One Blessed be He has set before us two ways, the way of life and the way of death, we can choose whichever we wish; it is, therefore, written (Ibid.) "and you shall choose the life, you and your seed." An analogy: A man is sitting at the crossroads, with two paths stretching before him, one, whose beginning is level and whose end is thorns, and one whose beginning is thorns and whose end is level. He apprises the passersby: This path whose beginning you see to be level — for two or three steps you will walk on level ground, and, in the end, on thorns. And this path whose beginning you see to be thorny — for two or three steps you will walk in thorns, and in the end you will walk on level ground. Thus did Moses speak to Israel: You see the wicked prospering — For two or three days they will prosper in this world, and in the end, they will be cast away, as it is written (Proverbs 24:20) "For there is no (good) end for the wicked one," and (Koheleth 4:1) "Behold, the tears of the oppressed (in Gehinnom)." And (Ibid. 5) "The fool folds his hands together (in contentment), and, (in the end) he eats his own flesh." And it is written (Proverbs 4:19) "The way of the wicked is pitch darkness." They see the righteous suffering in this world. Their end is to rejoice, viz. (Devarim 8:16) "to benefit you in your latter end." And it is written (Koheleth 7:8) "Better the end of a thing than its beginning." And (Jeremiah 29:11) "For I (the L-rd) know the thoughts that I think concerning you … to give to you a (goodly) end and a hope." And it is written (Psalms 97:11) "Light is sown for the righteous one," and (Proverbs 4:18) "The path of the righteous is like shining light."