הֶן־אֵ֭ל יַשְׂגִּ֣יב בְּכֹח֑וֹ מִ֖י כָמֹ֣הוּ מוֹרֶֽה׃
Narito, ang Diyos ay dakila sa Kanyang kapangyarihan; sino ang guro na gaya Niya?
Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition)
(Fol. 58a) Our Rabbis taught: "He who sees Jewish troops or bands shall say the fol-following grace: 'Praised be He who understandeth their secrets (the minds of men);' for their knowledge is not equal to one another's, just as their features are not like one another's.'" Ben Zoma saw troops on the elevation of the Temple mound. He said: "Blessed is He who understandeth their secrets, and blessed is He who created them all to serve me." He (b. Zoma) said: "Behold, how much labor did Adam, the first man, have until he got bread to eat; plowed, sowed, reaped, heaped together in sheaves, threshed winnowed, cleansed, ground, sieved, kneaded and baked; only after all these was he able to eat; but I rise in the morning and find all this done and prepared for me. And how much labor did Adam, the first man, have before he found a garment with which to clothe himself; he sheared the sheep, whitened the wool, dispersed it, spinned it, weaved, dyed, and sewed; only after [doing] all these did he find garments to clothe himself; but I rise in the morning and find everything done for me. All nations are anxious to come to the door of my house, and I rise and find everything [prepared] for me." Ben Zoma was accustomed also to say: "What says a good guest? 'The master of the house troubled himself so much for me; he brought so much wine for me; he brought so much meat for me, and he brought so many rolls for me; and all this trouble was on my account only.' But what says a bad guest? 'What trouble was the master of the house put to. How little wine he brought, how little meat he brought, how little rolls he brought, and all this trouble was for the sake of his own wife and children only [not for me] .' Concerning the good guest, the passage says (Job 36, 24.) Reflect that thou shouldst magnify his work, but regarding the bad guest it says (Ib. 37, 24.) Therefore do men fear him." And the man mas old in the days of Saul (I Sam. 17, 12.) Raba, and according to some R. Zebid, and according to others, R. Oshiya, said: "This is Jesse, David's father, who used to go out with troops and enter with troops, and lectured before a crowd." Ulla said: "We have a tradition that Babylon has no troops." In a Baraitha we are taught: They are not called "troops" if loss than sixty myriads. Our Rabbis taught: "He who sees Kings of Israel shall say, 'Blessed be He who shared his honor with those who fear Him'; and if he see kings of other nations he shall say, 'Blessed be He who shared His honor with [one who is] flesh and blood.' Seeing wise men of Israel, he shall say, 'Blessed be He who shared his wisdom with those who fear Him'; and if he see the wise men of other nations he shall say, 'Blessed be He who gave from his wisdom to [one who is] flesh and blood.'" R. Jochanan said: "A man should always try his utmost to go out to meet the Kings of Israel, and not only to meet the Kings of Israel [did the Rabbis urge], but also to meet kings of other nations, because if he will have merit [to see the King Messiah] he will then note the distinction between the Kings of Israel and the kings of other nations." R. Shesheth was blind, yet, when the whole community once went out to meet the king, he went out with them and was met by a certain heretic who laughed at him saying: "All the earthen pitchers are indeed going to the stream [to draw water]; whither do the broken vessels go?" "Come!" R. Shesheth said unto him, "I will show thee that I know more than you do." When the first company of troops passed by making a great noise, the heretic asked, "Has the king passed?" "No." replied R. Shesheth. When a second group of troops passed, the heretic again asked whether the king had passed. Again R. Shesheth answered "No." A third company passed in a very quiet manner. The heretic asked: "Is the king coming now?" Whereupon R. Shesheth answered: "Yes." The heretic asked him how he knew this. R. Shesheth replied: "The kingdom on the earth is like the kingdom in Heaven, for it is written (I Kings 19, 12.) After the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; after the fire there, was heard the sound of a soft whisper." When the king approached. R. Shesheth began to say, "Praised be He, etc.; whereupon the heretic interrupted him saying: "Since you do not see, how can you bless?" What happened to that heretic? Some say his associates pierced his eyes; according to others, R. Shesheth himself looked at him and he thereupon became a heap of bones.
Shemot Rabbah
“You shall say to him: The Lord, God of the Hebrews, has sent me to you, saying: Let My people go, and they will serve Me in the wilderness; and, behold, you have not heeded until now. So said the Lord: With this you will know that I am the Lord. Behold, I will strike with the staff that is in my hand on the water that is in the Nile, and it will be turned into blood” (Exodus 7:16–17).
“You shall say to him: The Lord, God of the Hebrews.… So said the Lord: With this you will know” – this is what is written: “Behold, God is exalted in His power, who is a teacher like Him?” (Job 36:22). It is the way of the world that when a human being seeks to bring harm to his enemy, he brings it upon him suddenly so he will not sense it [is coming]; but the Holy One blessed be He forewarned Pharaoh for each and every plague so he would repent; this is what is written: “With this you will know that I am the Lord”; “Behold, I will strike all your borders with frogs (Exodus 7:27); “send and gather” (Exodus 9:19).13This is the forewarning that preceded the plague of hail.
“On the water that is in the Nile, and it will be turned into blood” – why was the water afflicted first with blood? It is because Pharaoh and the Egyptians worshipped the Nile. The Holy One blessed be He said: I will smite the god first and then his people. This is a folk parable: Smite the gods and the priests will be afraid. Likewise it says: “The Lord will reckon with the host of the high heavens on high,” and after that, [“the kings of the earth upon the earth”] (Isaiah 24:21).
“You shall say to him: The Lord, God of the Hebrews.… So said the Lord: With this you will know” – this is what is written: “Behold, God is exalted in His power, who is a teacher like Him?” (Job 36:22). It is the way of the world that when a human being seeks to bring harm to his enemy, he brings it upon him suddenly so he will not sense it [is coming]; but the Holy One blessed be He forewarned Pharaoh for each and every plague so he would repent; this is what is written: “With this you will know that I am the Lord”; “Behold, I will strike all your borders with frogs (Exodus 7:27); “send and gather” (Exodus 9:19).13This is the forewarning that preceded the plague of hail.
“On the water that is in the Nile, and it will be turned into blood” – why was the water afflicted first with blood? It is because Pharaoh and the Egyptians worshipped the Nile. The Holy One blessed be He said: I will smite the god first and then his people. This is a folk parable: Smite the gods and the priests will be afraid. Likewise it says: “The Lord will reckon with the host of the high heavens on high,” and after that, [“the kings of the earth upon the earth”] (Isaiah 24:21).
Shemot Rabbah
“The Lord said to Moses: Rise early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say to him: So said the Lord, God of the Hebrews: Let My people go, and they will serve Me. For this time, I will send all My plagues against your heart and upon your servants and against your people, so that you will know that there is none like Me on the entire earth” (Exodus 9:13-14).
“The Lord said to Moses: Rise early in the morning” – that is what is written: “Behold [hen], God is exalted in His power, who teaches like Him?” (Job 36:22). Rabbi Berekhya said: Hen means one, as in the Greek language, one is called hen. In other words, our God is one. “Exalted in his power” – He increases the strength of the righteous to perform His will. And “who teaches like Him?” – as He teaches the path of repentance. So you find with Moses, whom the Holy One blessed be He strengthened to go on His mission and perform His commands. He taught the wicked Pharaoh to repent because He did not want to send the plague until he forewarns him to [allow him to] repent, as it is written: “Rise early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh.” He would give Moses strength to rise early and stand before Pharaoh, and he taught the wicked Pharaoh about the path of repentance, as it is written: “And say to him: So said the Lord, God of the Hebrews…. For this time…”
“Why isn’t it stated here “behold, he is going out to the water” (Exodus 8:16)?1This was the previous place where Moses was instructed to “rise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh.” Once Pharaoh saw that when he would go out to the water, Moses would precede him on the path, he refrained and did not go out, so that Moses would not encounter him. The Holy One blessed be He said to him: Go to him early, before he leaves his house.
“For I could have now extended My hand and afflicted you and your people with pestilence, and you would be eliminated from the earth” (Exodus 9:15).
“For this time (Exodus 9:14)…For I could have now extended My hand…” The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘Woe, wicked one, do you believe that I am unable to eradicate you from the world? Learn from the plague of pestilence. When I sent that pestilence, had I sent it upon you and on your people, you would have been eradicated from the land. However, I only sent it upon you in order to show you the power of My might, and so that you would tell of My strength throughout the land.’ That is what is written: “However, for this I have sustained you [in order to show you My power, and so that My renown will be told of throughout the earth]” (Exodus 9:16).
“You continue to oppress My people, not letting them go” (Exodus 9:17).
“You continue to oppress [mistolel]2The word mistolel is obscure. The midrash understands it to be derived from the root s-l-l, and thus it means literally to cause to be crushed, i.e., in the manner that a road is levelled. Others understand it to be derived from the root s-l-s-l, with mistolel therefore meaning “exalt oneself.” My people.” He would make them like a road [mesila] on which everyone treads, as you say: “…who said to your soul: Bow down, so we may pass, and set down your body like the ground” (Isaiah 51:23).
“The Lord said to Moses: Rise early in the morning” – that is what is written: “Behold [hen], God is exalted in His power, who teaches like Him?” (Job 36:22). Rabbi Berekhya said: Hen means one, as in the Greek language, one is called hen. In other words, our God is one. “Exalted in his power” – He increases the strength of the righteous to perform His will. And “who teaches like Him?” – as He teaches the path of repentance. So you find with Moses, whom the Holy One blessed be He strengthened to go on His mission and perform His commands. He taught the wicked Pharaoh to repent because He did not want to send the plague until he forewarns him to [allow him to] repent, as it is written: “Rise early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh.” He would give Moses strength to rise early and stand before Pharaoh, and he taught the wicked Pharaoh about the path of repentance, as it is written: “And say to him: So said the Lord, God of the Hebrews…. For this time…”
“Why isn’t it stated here “behold, he is going out to the water” (Exodus 8:16)?1This was the previous place where Moses was instructed to “rise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh.” Once Pharaoh saw that when he would go out to the water, Moses would precede him on the path, he refrained and did not go out, so that Moses would not encounter him. The Holy One blessed be He said to him: Go to him early, before he leaves his house.
“For I could have now extended My hand and afflicted you and your people with pestilence, and you would be eliminated from the earth” (Exodus 9:15).
“For this time (Exodus 9:14)…For I could have now extended My hand…” The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘Woe, wicked one, do you believe that I am unable to eradicate you from the world? Learn from the plague of pestilence. When I sent that pestilence, had I sent it upon you and on your people, you would have been eradicated from the land. However, I only sent it upon you in order to show you the power of My might, and so that you would tell of My strength throughout the land.’ That is what is written: “However, for this I have sustained you [in order to show you My power, and so that My renown will be told of throughout the earth]” (Exodus 9:16).
“You continue to oppress My people, not letting them go” (Exodus 9:17).
“You continue to oppress [mistolel]2The word mistolel is obscure. The midrash understands it to be derived from the root s-l-l, and thus it means literally to cause to be crushed, i.e., in the manner that a road is levelled. Others understand it to be derived from the root s-l-s-l, with mistolel therefore meaning “exalt oneself.” My people.” He would make them like a road [mesila] on which everyone treads, as you say: “…who said to your soul: Bow down, so we may pass, and set down your body like the ground” (Isaiah 51:23).