Мидраш к Даниэль 2:37

(Fol. 35b) All the Divine names found in the Torah in connection with Abraham, are holy, except that of (Gen. 18, 3) And he said, my Lord, if now I have found favor in Thy sight, [which was addressed to an angel]. Chanina, the nephew of R. Joshua, and R. Elazar b. Azaria in the name of Elazar the Modite, say that even this name, too, is holy. In accordance with whose opinion will be that which was said in the name of R. Juda b. Rab that hospitality is considered greater than the reception of the glory of the Shechina? It is in accordance with these two. Furthermore, all the names found in connection with Lot, are common, except (Ib. 19, 18-19) Oh, not so, my Lord; Thy servant hath found grace in Thy eyes, and Thou hast magnified Thy kindness, etc., and who but God can save? Again, all names in connection with Nab'oth are holy; those in connection with Micha (Jud. 17) are common. R. Elazar, however, said that the names with Nab'oth are holy, but those with Micha are partly holy and partly common, namely of Aleph, Lamed (Lord) is a common and of Yud, Hay (God) is holy, except (Ib. 18, 31) which, though beginning with Aleph-Lamed is nevertheless holy. All the names in connection with the Vale of Benjamin (Ib. 20) are according to R. Eliezer, common, and according to R. Joshua, they are holy. R. Eliezer said to him. The passage He promiseth and doth not fulfil [How can it be holy when He has not fulfilled His promise?] Said R. Joshua: "He has fulfilled His promise, but the people there did not understand what was said to them"; a proof to this you find in the fact that after they had comprehended it, they conquered, as it reads (Ib. 20, 28) And Phineas, the son of Elazar, … the son of Aaron, stood, etc. The name Shlomah wherever mentioned in Solomon's Songs is holy (Son. 1, 1) A song to whom peace belongs; except (Ib. 8, 12) My vineyard, which is mine, is before me; Thou, O Solomon, shalt have the thousands. According to others, the following (Ib. 3, 7) Behold, it is the litter of Solomon, is also common. Wherever in Daniel the word king is mentioned, it is common except (Dan. 2, 37) Thou, O king, art a king of kings, unto whom the God of heaven hath given the kingdom, the power, and the strength, and the glory. According to others also (Ib. 4, 16) My Lord … . for those who hate thee; for, to whom did Daniel address this? Surely not to Nebuchadnezzar, because by so doing he would curse Israel who hated him; hence he must have addressed it to God. The first Tanna, however, maintains that enemies exist only to Israel, but other nations have no enemies.

The sixth king was Nebuchadnezzar, who ruled from one end of the world to the other. Moreover, he ruled over the beasts of the field and the birds of heaven, and they could not open their mouth except by the permission of Nebuchadnezzar, || as it is said, "And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand" (Dan. 2:88).

R’ Elazar said: the whole Torah hangs on judgment. That is why the Holy One gave the laws of justice after the Ten Commandments - because people cross the line of justice, are punished and this teaches the whole world. Sodom was not overturned until it crossed the line of justice, as it says “…pride, abundance of bread, and careless ease…“ (Ezekiel 16:49) Even Jerusalem was not exiled until she crossed the line of justice, as it says “…the orphan they do not judge, and the quarrel of the widow does not come to them.” (Isaiah 1:23) And why did the Holy One give the crown to Yehudah? He is not the sole mighty one from among his brothers, are not Shimon, Levi and the others mighty as well? Rather, it was because he gave true judgment to Tamar, therefore he was made judge of the world. This is like a judge before whom an orphan’s judgment comes and he finds in her favor. So too Yehudah – Tamar’s judgment that she should be burned came before him, and he found in her merit because he found merit in her. How? Yitzchak and Yaakov were sitting there, and all his brothers were covering for him. Yehudah acknowledged Gd (HaMakom) and spoke the truth of the matter, saying “She is more in the right than I…” (Bereshit 38:26) and the Holy One made him prince. So Ben Zoma used to say and explain: if you were ashamed in this world, you will not be ashamed of the Holy One, who is a consuming fire, in the coming world. Why? Because the shame of this world is nothing other than the shame of one’s standing in the coming world, as it says “For this let every pious man pray to You…” (Tehillim 32:6)