מדרש אויף ישעיהו 22:8

“With slothfulness the ceiling sags and with idleness of the hands the house leaks” (Ecclesiastes 10:18).
“With slothfulness the ceiling sags” – because the Israelites were slothful from encamping at Mount Sinai in dispute,⁷⁸Although the Israelites had engaged in disputes in their other encampments, when they encamped at Sinai they did so peacefully. “the ceiling sags” – it is written: “He bent the heavens and descended” (Psalms 18:10).⁷⁹God descended to them and rested His presence in their midst. “And with idleness [uvshiflut] of the hands the house leaks” – because the Israelites humbled themselves [nishtapelu] [and refrained] from encamping in dispute at Mount Sinai, “the house leaks” – “the clouds, too, dripped water” (Judges 5:4).
Another matter: “With slothfulness the ceiling sags” – because the Israelites were slothful in repenting in the days of Jeremiah, “the ceiling sags,” – “He uncovered the covering of Judah” (Isaiah 22:8), he removed its covering.⁸⁰The roof of the Temple. “And with idleness [uvshiflut] of the hands the house leaks” – because the Israelites abased themselves [nishtapelu] from repenting in the days of Jeremiah, “the house leaks,” it is written: “For behold, the Lord commands, and He will shatter the great house⁸¹The ten tribes of the kingdom of Israel. into smithereens and the small house⁸²The two tribes of the kingdom of Judah. into fragments” (Amos 6:11). Rabbi Huna said: This shattering into smithereens is unlike the shattering into fragments. This shattering into fragments, there are no remnants from it, while the shattering into smithereens, there are remnants from it.⁸³When something is shattered into smithereens the tiny slivers cannot possibly be reconstructed into a whole. When something is broken into fragments the pieces are large enough to be usable and reconstructed (Etz Yosef).
Another matter: “With slothfulness the ceiling sags” – Rabbi Kohen interpreted [it] regarding a woman: Because a woman is slothful in examining herself at her appropriate time, she suffers, as it is stated, “and of she who suffers in her menstruation” (Leviticus 15:33). “And with idleness [uvshiflut] of the hands…” – because she abases herself [mishtapelet] [and refrains] from examining herself, she becomes a zava,⁸⁴A zava is a woman who experiences a discharge of blood when it is not the time for her menstruation. See Leviticus 15:25–30. as it is stated: “And a woman, if her bloody discharge shall flow [many days, not at the time of her menstruation]” (Leviticus 15:25).

Rabbi Kohen began: “Through slothfulness the ceiling sags [and through idleness of the hands the house leaks]” (Ecclesiastes 10:18). Because Israel was slothful from encamping before Mount Sinai in dispute,²²Although the Israelites had engaged in disputes in their other encampments, when they encamped at Sinai they did so peacefully. “the ceiling sags,” – “the Lord descended upon Mount Sinai” (Exodus 19:20); “He bent the heavens and descended” (Psalms 18:10).²³God descended to them and rested His presence in their midst. “And through idleness of the hands,” because Israel was idle from encamping in dispute, “the house leaks,” “the clouds, too, dripped water” (Judges 5:4).
Another matter, “through slothfulness the ceiling sags,” because Israel was slothful in repenting during the days of Jeremiah, “the ceiling sags” – “He uncovered the covering of Judah” (Isaiah 22:8); He exposed what was concealed. “And through idleness of the hands,” because they were idle from repenting during the days of Jeremiah, “the house leaks” – “for, behold, the Lord commands, and He will shatter the great house²⁴The ten tribes of the kingdom of Israel. into smithereens and the small house²⁵The two tribes of the kingdom of Judah. into fragments” (Amos 6:11). This shattering into smithereens is unlike the shattering into fragments. This shattering into smithereens, there are slivers from it, while the shattering into fragments, there are no slivers from it.²⁶When something is shattered into smithereens the tiny slivers cannot possibly be reconstructed into a whole. When something is broken into fragments the pieces are large enough to be usable and reconstructed (Etz Yosef). They are not identical.
Another matter, “through slothfulness the ceiling sags” – because a person is too slothful to cover his head properly, “the ceiling sags,” he becomes congested with a head cold. “And through idleness of the hands,” because a person is idle and does not dry his body properly, “the house leaks,” he develops infections.
Rabbi Abahu interpreted the verse regarding a woman. Because a woman is too slothful to cover herself properly, “the ceiling sags,” that is what is written: “And he uncovered her nakedness, he has probed her source and she has exposed the source of her blood” (Leviticus 20:18). “And through idleness of the hands,” because a woman is idle and does not examine herself at her proper time, “the house leaks,” she will be inundated with blood. That is what is written: “And a woman, if her bloody discharge will flow many days.”
Tavita, the maidservant of Rabban Gamliel, was examining barrels [of wine]. When she had a sensation,²⁷She sensed that she was experiencing menstrual bleeding. she sat. He said to her: ‘Are they sour?’ She said to him: ‘No.’ When he understood, he said: ‘Alas, the wine is lost!’²⁸He was assuming that she had impurified all the barrels due to her status as a menstruating woman, and bemoaning the fact that he would be unable to partake of the wine in ritual purity. She said to him: ‘For each and every barrel I would examine myself, and I had a sensation only with this one.’ He said to her: ‘May the tranquility of your soul be given to you, just as you gave the tranquility of my soul to me.’

Rabbi Alexandri began: “And the leper in whom there is a mark [his garments shall be rent, the hair of his head shall be grown, he shall cover his upper lip, and he shall cry: Impure, impure]” (Leviticus 13:45). “And the leper” – this is the Temple. “In whom there is a mark” – this is idol worship, which imparts impurity like a leprous mark, as it is stated: They desecrated My Temple and defiled it.⁵⁷There is no such verse, although there are several verses expressing the same idea and employing similar terminology; see, e.g., Jeremiah 7:30, 32:34; Ezekiel 5:11. “His garments shall be rent” – these are the priestly vestments. “The hair of his head shall be grown [parua]” – this is what is stated: “He laid bare the covering of Judah” (Isaiah 22:8) – exposing what was covered.⁵⁸The allusion is to the roof of the Temple, which was destroyed. The word parua can mean exposed. “He shall cover his upper lip” – once Israel was exiled from among the nations, none of them was capable of expressing a matter of Torah with his mouth. “And he shall cry: Impure, impure” – the first destruction and the second destruction.
Rabbi Yosei ben Ḥalafta said: Anyone who knows how many years Israel engaged in idol worship knows when the son of David will come. We have three verses that support him. One, “I will reckon upon it the days of the Be’alim, to which it burned incense” (Hosea 2:15) – [meaning,] like the days of the Be’alim. Second, “It was, that just as He called and they did not heed, so they will call out and I will not heed” (Zechariah 7:13). Third, “it will be when you will say: For what did the Lord…do [all these to us? You will say to them: Just as you forsook Me and served strange gods in your land, so you will serve strangers in a land not yours]” (Jeremiah 5:19).
Rabbi Yoḥanan and Reish Lakish, both of them addressed this. Rabbi Yoḥanan said: “Because [yaan uvyaan]” (Leviticus 26:43) – measure for measure.⁵⁹The doubling of the term yaan indicates that the punishment will mirror the sin, measure for measure. Reish Lakish said: “Your land, strangers devour it in your presence [lenegdekhem]” (Isaiah 1:7) – strangers shall devour it corresponding to you [kenegdekhem].⁶⁰Corresponding to the sins you have committed; for the same length of time you worshipped idols. Rabbi Alexandri learned it from this verse: “All the days that the mark is on him he shall be impure” (Leviticus 13:46). Eikha!