יְהוָ֤ה ׀ אֱלֹ֘הֵ֤י צְבָא֗וֹת מִֽי־כָֽמ֖וֹךָ חֲסִ֥ין ׀ יָ֑הּ וֶ֝אֱמֽוּנָתְךָ֗ סְבִיבוֹתֶֽיךָ׃
O Walang-Hanggan, Diyos ng mga Hukbo, sino ang tulad Mo, makapangyarihan, O Walang-Hanggan? At ang Iyong katapatan ay nasa Iyong palibot.
Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael
"I shall sing to the L–rd," who is comely, who is glorious, who is exalted, whose like does not exist — (Psalms 89:7) "For who in the heavens can be compared to the L–rd, can be likened to the L–rd among the sons of the mighty"? (Ibid. 8) "G–d greatly dreaded in the great council of the holy, (held in awe by all around Him?") And it is written (Ibid. 9), "O L–rd, the G–d of hosts ("tzeva'oth"), who, as You, is mighty, O L–rd?: What is "tzeva'oth" (acronymically)? He is an "oth" (i.e., unique) in the midst of His retinue ("tzava"). And thus is it written (Devarim 33:2) "Ve'atha" ('and He shall come') from Rivevoth Kodesh" (figuratively: "the ten thousands of His holy ones.") And thus did David say (Psalms 86:8) "There is none like You among the great ones, O L–rd, and there are none like Your works." And (Song of Songs 5:19-15) "My Beloved is clear and red," "His head is finest gold," "His eyes are like doves by water-courses," "His cheeks are like beds of spice," His hands are rods of gold," "His legs are pillars of marble" — His are comeliness, greatness, strength, and glory!
Ruth Rabbah
“The two of them went until they came to Bethlehem. Upon their arrival in Bethlehem the entire city was in a tumult about them, and the women said: Is that Naomi?” (Ruth 1:19).
“The two of them went” – Rabbi Shmuel son of Rabbi Simon said: That day was the harvesting of the omer,139Meaning, it was the second day of Passover, on which the new barley would be harvested in order to bring the omer offering. as it is taught there:140In the Land of Israel. See Mishna Menaḥot 10:3. All the adjacent towns would assemble there, so that it would be harvested with great fanfare. Some say: Ivtzan was marrying off his daughters that day. Rabbi Tanḥuma in the name of Rabbi Azarya, and Rabbi Menaḥama in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua bar Avin: It is written: “Lord, [God] of hosts, who is mighty like You, Lord” (Psalms 89:9) – who brings things about in their appropriate time. Boaz’s wife died on that day, and all of Israel assembled to show kindness [to participate in the funeral]. As all the populace was going to show kindness, Ruth entered with Naomi; this one [Boaz’s first wife] departed, and that one entered.
“The entire city was in a tumult about them and the women said: Is that Naomi” – is that she whose actions are fine and pleasant [ne’imim]? In the past, she would go about in her litters, and now she is walking barefoot, and [that is why] you say: “Is that Naomi?” In the past she was clothed in silken garments, and now she is clothed in rags, and you say: “Is that Naomi?” In the past, her face was red from food and drink, and now her face is pale from hunger, and you say: “Is that Naomi?”
She said to them: Do not call me Naomi, call me Mara; as the Almighty has greatly embittered [hemar] me (Ruth 1:20).
And she says to them: “Do not call me Naomi [pleasantness]; call me Mara [bitterness]” – Bar Kappara said: [It is analogous] to an inferior cow whose owner stood it in the marketplace and said: It is for plowing and it plows straight furrows. They said: If it is for plowing, what are all these wounds on it?141If the cow plowed well it would not have been necessary to whip it. So said Naomi: “[I went full, and the Lord brought me back empty;] why [call me Naomi,] and the Lord has afflicted me, and the Almighty has hurt me” (Ruth 1:21)?
“The two of them went” – Rabbi Shmuel son of Rabbi Simon said: That day was the harvesting of the omer,139Meaning, it was the second day of Passover, on which the new barley would be harvested in order to bring the omer offering. as it is taught there:140In the Land of Israel. See Mishna Menaḥot 10:3. All the adjacent towns would assemble there, so that it would be harvested with great fanfare. Some say: Ivtzan was marrying off his daughters that day. Rabbi Tanḥuma in the name of Rabbi Azarya, and Rabbi Menaḥama in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua bar Avin: It is written: “Lord, [God] of hosts, who is mighty like You, Lord” (Psalms 89:9) – who brings things about in their appropriate time. Boaz’s wife died on that day, and all of Israel assembled to show kindness [to participate in the funeral]. As all the populace was going to show kindness, Ruth entered with Naomi; this one [Boaz’s first wife] departed, and that one entered.
“The entire city was in a tumult about them and the women said: Is that Naomi” – is that she whose actions are fine and pleasant [ne’imim]? In the past, she would go about in her litters, and now she is walking barefoot, and [that is why] you say: “Is that Naomi?” In the past she was clothed in silken garments, and now she is clothed in rags, and you say: “Is that Naomi?” In the past, her face was red from food and drink, and now her face is pale from hunger, and you say: “Is that Naomi?”
She said to them: Do not call me Naomi, call me Mara; as the Almighty has greatly embittered [hemar] me (Ruth 1:20).
And she says to them: “Do not call me Naomi [pleasantness]; call me Mara [bitterness]” – Bar Kappara said: [It is analogous] to an inferior cow whose owner stood it in the marketplace and said: It is for plowing and it plows straight furrows. They said: If it is for plowing, what are all these wounds on it?141If the cow plowed well it would not have been necessary to whip it. So said Naomi: “[I went full, and the Lord brought me back empty;] why [call me Naomi,] and the Lord has afflicted me, and the Almighty has hurt me” (Ruth 1:21)?
Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition)
On his return, Vespasian dispatched Titus the Wicked, who when he reached Jerusalem said (Deut. 32, 37) Where are their Gods, the rock in whom they trusted? This is the same Titus the Wicked who profaned and shamefully violated the scrolls of the Torah; who vulgarly reviled and blasphemed the Holy One. What did he do after he had committed an adulterous act in the most sacred sanctuary? He took the sacred vessels of the sanctuary, wrapped them in the veil that was hanging in the holy place to sail with it to his capital and rejoice over his success, as it is said (Ecc. 8, 10) Then also do I see the, etc. At sea a storm arose and threatened to sink the ship; upon which Titus remarked: "It seems that their God has no power anywhere else except at sea. Pharaoh He drowned, Sisera He drowned, and now He is about to drown me also. If He be mighty, let Him go ashore and contest with me there." Then came a voice from heaven and said: "O thou wicked one, son of wicked man and grandson of Esau the wicked, go ashore. I have an insignificant creature in My world that is called a gnat. It is called insignificant, because it only receives but does not excrete, so go and fight with it." Immediately, after he had landed, a gnat flew up his nostrils and gnawed at his brain, for a period of seven years. One day he happened to pass a blacksmith's forge, when the noise of the hammer soothed the gnawing at his brain. "Aha!" said Titus, "I have found a remedy at last"; and he ordered a blacksmith to hammer before him. To a Gentile blacksmith he paid for this four zuzim a day, but to a Jewish blacksmith he paid nothing, remarking ot him: "it is enough for you to see thy enemy suffering so painfully." For thirty days he felt relieved, but after, it being used [to the hammering], the gnat did not heed it. We are taught that Rabbi Phineas, the son of Ariba said: "I myself was among the Roman magnates when an autopsy was made upon the body of Titus, and upon opening his brain they found therein a gnat as big as a swallow, weighing two selas." Others say it was as large as a pigeon a year old and weighed two literoth. Abaye said: "We have a tradition that its mouth was of copper and its claws of iron." Titus gave instructions that after his death his body should be burned, and the ashes thereof scattered over the surface of the seven seas, that the God of the Jews might not find him and bring him to judgment.