Мидраш к Нехемья 2:21

(2) (Fol. 3b) R. Abahu said: "Cyrus was a worthy king, and therefore were his royal years counted in accordance with those of the kings of Israel [beginning with Nissan]." R. Joseph raised the following question: If this be so, the passages would contradict each other, for it is written (Ezra 6, 15) And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king, etc. This is not difficult to explain; one passage refers to the time prior to his becoming wicked, and the other refers to the time after he had become wicked. R. Cahana raised the following objection: 'How can we assume that Cyrus became wicked? Behold (Fol. 4), it is written (Ib. ib., 9), And that which they have need of both young bullocks, and rams, and lambs, for burnt-offerings to the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine and oil, according to the word of the priests that are at Jerusalem, let it be given them day by day without fail." Whereupon R. Isaac said to him: "Rabbi, I shall borrow from your own argument; [i.e., I will prove the contrary, from the very passage on which you base your inference]. That they may offer sacrifices of sweet savour unto the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king, and of his sons, hence he did it for his own benefit." But do you mean to say that if one acts in this way, it is not considered proper? Behold, we are taught in a Baraitha, that if one says: "This dollar shall go for charity in order that my son shall remain alive, or that I shall merit the reward of the future world," he is considered perfectly righteous. This is not difficult to explain. The latter deals with an Israelite, and the former with an idolator. And if you please, I will say that although there is no difference between an Israelite and a nonIsraelite, it can be proved from the following passage that Cyrus became wicked (Ib. ib., 4) With three rows of great stones, and a row of new timber, etc. For what purpose did he order it to be constructed in this way; viz., with timber? Was it not for the purpose that he entertained the thought: In case Israel will rebel against me, I shall put the Temple on fire. But has it not so been done also by Solomon? Behold, it is written (I Kings 6, 36) Of three rows of hewn stone and one row of cedar beams! Solomon inserted the wood in the upper part, where it could not be affected; but Cyrus set it in the lower part, which could he put on fire; Solomon also inserted it inside, while Cyrus inserted it outside the wall. And if you please, I say that Solomon covered the wood with cement, hence it became harmless; but Cyrus did not cover it with cement.

What did Ezra, Zerubbabel, and Jeshua do? First, they summoned the entire community to the House of the Lord. They brought there three hundred priests, three hundred books of the law, three hundred shofars, and three hundred children. The children blew the shofars, and the Levites chanted and sang. After that, they proclaimed the ban, the curse, and the excommunication against the Samaritans with the secret of the ineffable Name and the writing used on the tablets (of the Decalogue), and the excommunication of the heavenly and earthly courts, so that no Israelite would henceforth eat the bread of a Cuthite. As a result of this episode, our sages said that anyone who ate the bread of a Cuthite would be considered as eating the meat of a pig, and that no Cuthite could be admitted into the ranks of Israel, nor could they participate in the resurrection of the dead, as it is said: It is not for you, but for us, to build the house of God (Ezra 4:3), And ye have no portion, no right, no memorial in Jerusalem (Neh. 2:20). They wrote out the ban, sealed it, and sent it to the Israelites who were in Babylon, and these added other decrees against them. King Cyrus also established an everlasting ban against them, as it is said: May the God who has caused His name to dwell there overthrow all kings and peoples that shall put forth their hand to alter the same (Ezra 6:12).

Simeon and Levi were moved by a great zeal on account of the immorality, as it is said, "And they said, Should he deal with our sister as with an harlot?" (Gen. 34:31). And each man took his sword and slew all the men of Shechem. When Jacob heard thereof, he became sorely afraid. For he said: Now all the people of the land will hear, and they will gather together against me || and smite me. He began to curse the wrath of his sons, as it is said, "Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce" (Gen. 49:7); and he also cursed their sword in the Greek language, for he said: "Weapons of violence are their swords" (Gen. 49:5). All the kings of the earth heard (thereof) and feared very much, saying: If two sons of Jacob have done all these great things, if they all band themselves together, they will be able to destroy the world. And the dread of the Holy One, blessed be He, fell upon them, as it is said, "And the terror of God was upon the cities,… and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob" (Gen. 35:5).

What did Ezra, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua son of Jehozadak, do? They gathered all the congregation to the Temple of the Lord, and they brought 800 priests, 800 children, and 800 scrolls of the Torah in their hands, and they blew (the trumpets), and the Levites sang songs and praises, and they excommunicated the Cutheans with the mystery of the Ineffable Name, and with the script such as was written upon the tables (of the Law), and by the ban of the heavenly Court of Justice, and by the ban of the earthly Court of Justice (decreeing) that no one of Israel should eat the bread of the Cutheans. Hence (the sages) said: Everyone who eats the bread of the Cutheans is as though he had eaten of the flesh of swine. Let no man make a proselyte in Israel from among the Cutheans. They have no || portion in the resurrection of the dead, as it is said, "Ye have nothing to do with us to build an house unto our God" (Ezra 4:3), neither in this world, nor in the world to come. So that they should have neither portion nor inheritance in Israel, as it is said, "But ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem" (Neh. 2:20).