מדרש אויף משלי 8:8

Another interpretation of “Blessed is the person” (Psalms 1:1) – This [relates to] that which is said in the verse: “Then King David came and sat before God [and he said, “What am I, Oh Sovereign God, and what is my family, that You have brought me thus far?” (2 Samuel 7:18). And so, Rabbi Chiya taught: “There is no sitting in the Temple courtyard except for the kings of the Davidic dynasty.” And Rabbi Ami said, in the name of Reish Lakish: “There is no sitting in the Temple courtyard except in the place designated for the kings of the Davidic dynasty.” And that’s why it says that, “David sat” (2 Samuel 7:18). Rav Huna said, in the name of Rabbi Yishmael, “Not so! There is no sitting above [in heaven], as it is stated, “I approached one of the [heavenly] attendants” (Daniel 7:16) [and the Aramaic word for “attendant” suggests that he was standing,] since [angels] do not have knees. As it is said, “Their legs were straight legs” (Ezekiel 1:7). And it is written, “Seraphs stood above him” (Isaiah 6:2). And it is written, “I will grant you walking among those who stand here” (Zechariah 3:7). Above there is no sitting, but David sits?!” Rabbi Ami said, “Even the kings of the house of David have no sitting. And what [does the verse mean when it says that] “he sat”? It means that he leaned himself.” And for whom was there sitting? You might suggest [that there was sitting for] the high priest. As it is said, “And Eli the priest sat upon a seat” (1 Samuel 1:9). If so [if there was only sitting for the high priest in the Tabernacle], what [does it mean when it says of David that] “he sat before the Lord” (2 Samuel 7:18)? It means that he placed himself in prayer [i.e., with such devotion that he could be described as dwelling/sitting within his prayer]. There [in 2 Samuel 7:18] we learn that the prohibition upon male Ammonite and Moabite [converts] is an eternal prohibition, but that their women are permitted [to convert] immediately: “Who am I, and who is my household, that you have brought me this far?” (2 Samuel 7:18). What is “this far”? Is it not enough that I [even managed] to come into the congregation [given my Moabite background], but that I became king? And “this far” [i.e., the Hebrew word הלום] refers only to a king, as it is said, “Behold the king comes” (1 Samuel 10:22) [and the word used for “king,” in that verse, is הלום איש]. “And this was yet small in Your eyes” (2 Samuel 7:19) — like a person who says to his fellow: “This is but a small thing in your presence.” “And You have spoken also of Your servant’s house for a great while to come” (2 Samuel 7:19) — [the fact that the future is described in terms of its being far away is an allusion to David’s feeling that] “I was far away [as a descendent of Moab], yet I have been brought near.” “And this is the Torah for mankind” (2 Samuel 7:19) — This is what you wrote in your Torah, “An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord” (Deuteronomy 23:4). You wrote only about the men, but their women are permitted immediately. And [in 2 Samuel 7:19] the Torah is not described as the Torah of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but the Torah of mankind. And who is the most praiseworthy of the prophets, and who is the most praiseworthy of the kings? The most praiseworthy of the prophets is Moses. The most praiseworthy of the kings is David. Moses took the Israelites out of Egypt. And David took Israel [out from under] the subjugation of [various] kingdoms. Moses made war with Sihon and Og. And David fought the wars of the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is said “for the wars of God, my master has fought” (1 Samuel 25:28). Moses was king over Israel and Judah as it is said, “And he was king in Yeshurun” (Deuteronomy 23:5). And David ruled over Israel and Judah. Moses split the sea for [the Israelites]. And David split the rivers for them, as it says, “He fought against Aram Naharayim” [which can be creatively translated, given the etymology of the various words, to mean, “He split mighty rivers”] (Psalms 60:2). Moses built an altar. And David built an altar. This one brought sacrifices, and that one brought sacrifices. Moses gave them five books of the Torah, and to correspond to them, David gave them the book of Psalms which contains five books: [the one which starts with] “Blessed is the person” (Psalms 1:1); [the one which starts with] “For the leader” (Psalms 42:1); [the one which starts with] “A psalm of Asaph” (Psalms 73:1); [the one that starts with] “A prayer of Moses” (Psalms 90:1); [and the one that begins] “Let those who have been redeemed say” (Psalms 107:2). Moses blessed the Israelites with the word “אשריך - you are blessed” (Deuteronomy 33:29), and David blessed [them] with [the word] אשרי [which begins the book of Psalms in Psalms 1:1]. “All my words are just. None of them are perverse or crooked” (Proverbs 8:8). There is neither pedantry nor deviation within them. We find that Scripture deviates two or three letters rather than to utter an ugly thing. As it is said, “from the pure animal, and from the animal which isn’t pure” (Genesis 7:8). Rabbi Yudan ben Rabbi Menasia said, “even when [it describes the properties of unkosher animals, the Torah prefers] to start with the pure [attributes that it might have. For example, the Torah] doesn’t say, “the Camel [is unkosher], because it doesn’t have split hooves;” instead [it opens by telling us that despite the fact that it] “chews the cud” [it isn’t kosher, because it doesn’t have split hooves] (Leviticus 11:4). [Likewise, the Torah] doesn’t say, “And the pig [isn't kosher], because it doesn’t chew the cud;” instead [it opens by telling us that despite the fact that it] “has split hooves” [it isn’t kosher, because it doesn’t chew the cud] (Leviticus 11:7). David said, even the Holy One, blessed be He, has testified about me, and said: “God will search for a more like-hearted person” (1 Samuel 13:14). He likened his name to his creator. Just as his creator doesn’t utter anything unsightly, the same could be said of David. He could have said, “Cursed is the person who walks in the company of the wicked,” or “Blessed is the person that walks in the company of the righteous.” But he said, “[blessed is the person] who doesn’t walk..." (Psalms 1:1). You could say a similar thing, [given the following verse:] “[Even if] Moses and Samuel [were to] intercede [with me...]” (Jeremiah 15:1). You find that everything that is written about one [i.e. Moses] is written about the other [i.e. Samuel]. This one was a Levi, and that one was a Levi. This one built an altar and that one built an altar. This one brought sacrifices, and that one brought sacrifices. This one was king, and that one was king. And so, it is said, “a prophet from among your brethren will arise like me” (Deuteronomy 18:15). And thus, you find [what we’ve just seen in the book of] Jeremiah [that Moses and Samuel are compared]. That which is written about this one [i.e. Moses] is written about that one [i.e. Samuel]. And a similar thing could be said about David and Solomon. That which is written about this one is written about that one. Rabbi Yuden says that this Psalm [i.e., the first one] is more praiseworthy than all of the others.

And it shall be if you truly listen (Deuteronomy 28:1): This is that which was stated in the verse (Song of Songs 1:3), "Your ointments yield a sweet fragrance, your name is like finest oil." Rabbi Yannai said in the name of Rabbi Shimon, "You gave the aroma of commandments to the early ones: To the children of Noach, seven [commandments]; Avraham arose, You gave him circumcision; to Yaakov, You gave [the prohibition of eating] a limb from a living [animal. But] when we stood in front of Mount Sinai, you gave us commandments like a man pouring from the mouth of a barrel." "Your name is like finest (turak) oil." What is [the meaning of] "turak?" Rabbi Levi said in the name of Rabbi Shila, "That bring alacrity to the one that does His will. And the expression turak can only be a weapon, as it is stated (Genesis 14:14), 'and he armed (vayarek) his retainers.'" Another interpretation [of] "Your name is like finest (turak) oil." The Torah is compared to oil and it is compared to water. To water, as it is written (Isaiah 55:1), "Ho, all who are thirsty, come for water." Just like the world cannot stand without them and a man purifies himself in them, so too can the world not stand without Torah, and the Torah teaches man how to purify himself. And just like water, a man does not plant a tree and does not build a house if he has no water, so too can the world not stand without Torah. And just like water is life to the world, so too is Torah life to the world. Just like [with] water, anyone who does not know how to swim in it will cause himself to be lost from the world, so too anyone who is not able to find words of Torah is lost from the world. Just like water can be drawn to any place one wants, so too is the Torah drawn in all of the world. Just like water is not preserved in silver containers nor in gold containers but rather in ones of clay, so too is Torah not preserved in the haughty, but in one with a humble spirit. And Rabbi Acha says, "'But from where (which can also be read as, from nothing) can wisdom be found.' What is [the meaning of] 'from nothing?' From those who make themselves like nothing." And just like this water no one supervises [to demand a price], so is the Torah. You find that it is [also] compared to honey, as it is written (Psalms 19:11), "sweeter than honey, than drippings of the comb." Just like honey is not polluted, so is the Torah not polluted, as stated (Proverbs 8:8), "All my words are just, none of them perverse or crooked." And the Torah is compared to oil. Just like oil brings light to the whole world, so too is the Torah light to the world. And just like this oil is crushed and the more it is crushed, the better it is; so too [with] the Torah, [the more] one [exerts] himself upon it, the better it is to its Owner. You find that with all liquids, you can counterfeit them and put other liquids in them; but [with] this oil, he [can] put it in any liquid that he wants, and it rises to the top. So too is Israel; even if they are placed at the bottom, behold they are like this oil that [rises] to the top, as stated (Deuteronomy 28:1), "the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth."

"You are righteous, O Lord, etc." Solomon said (Proverbs 8:8-9), "In righteousness, all the words of my mouth are just; none of them is crooked or perverse. All of them are clear to the perceptive, etc." What is meant by "In righteousness, all the words of my mouth"? Everything that the Lord has spoken from His mouth in righteousness, they are righteous and upright. Therefore it is said, "You are righteous, O Lord, and Your judgments are upright." Just as You are righteous, so are Your judgments righteous and upright. And it is also said (Deuteronomy 4:7), "For what great nation is there that has God so close to them, etc." And so the Assembly of Israel said (Nehemiah 9:13), "And You descended upon Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven, and gave them just ordinances, etc." Therefore it is said, "You are righteous, O Lord, etc." "You have commanded righteousness in Your testimonies." What is meant by "You have commanded righteousness"? The Lord acted righteously with Israel by giving them the Torah. And it is also said (Deuteronomy 6:24), "And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, etc." What is written after it? "And it will be righteousness for us if we are careful to do all these commandments before the Lord our God, etc." Therefore it is said, "You have commanded righteousness in Your testimonies." "What is faith? Great faith is the Torah, in which the Lord created his world and swore by it, as it is said (Psalm 89:3): "Where are your former mercies, O Lord, which you swore to David in your faithfulness?" Therefore, the Torah is called "very faithful". (Psalm 119:139) "My zeal has consumed me," etc. David said, "I am not jealous of the food and drink of the wicked, but I am jealous of all the good that you bring upon them, and how they have forgotten your Torah." And likewise it says (Lamentations 3:17): "You have removed peace from my life," etc. Therefore it is said, "For they have forgotten your word, my enemy." (Psalm 119:139) "Your word is very pure," etc. What is meant by "very pure"? A parable: To what is this matter comparable? To a king who had a bowl of silver. He gave the silver to a refiner and said to him, "Refine it for me." He put it in the crucible, refined it, and took it out. He said to him, "Refine it again." He refined it a second time, and a third time. So too, the Holy One, blessed be He, refined the Torah 49 times. And it says (Proverbs 30:5), "Every word of God is pure." And it says (Psalm 12:7), "The words of the Lord are pure words," etc. Thus, the Torah is interpreted in 49 ways. Therefore it is said (Proverbs 30:5), "Every word of God is pure." And it says, "Your word is very pure."