מדרש אויף תהילים 1:5

“He shall be like a tree planted [besides streams of water]” (Psalms 1:3). [Continuing from the previous Midrash: this refers to Adam, since] the Holy One, blessed be He, took him and planted him in the Garden of Eden; “which yields its fruit in its season” (ibid.) — this refers to Cain; “whose foliage never fades” (ibid.) — this refers to Abel; “and all that it produces thrives” (ibid.) — this refers to Seth. “Not so the wicked” (Psalms 1:4) — this refers to the snake. “Therefor the wicked will not survive judgement” (Psalms 1:5). Everything [and everyone] will be healed [and repaired from the consequences of their sins] in the time to come; [all] except for the snake and the Gibeonites. As it is said: “The wolf and the lamb shall graze together, [and the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and the food of the snake will be dust]...” (Isaiah 65:25) [The snake is excluded from the transformation promised to the other animals, and the] Gibeonites [are also an exception to the principle that all things will be healed]; as it is said, “The workers in the city from all of the tribes of Israel shall cultivate it” (Ezekiel 48:19) — [which the Midrash creatively reads as a reference to the Gibeonites; replacing the world יעבדוהו with the almost homophonic word יאבדוהו to read: “they] shall be destroyed [from among the tribes of Israel].” The Holy One, blessed be He, gave three virtuous traits to the Israelites: mercy, bashfulness, and loving-kindness; as it is said: “[God] has given you mercy” (Deuteronomy 13:18); and it is written, “[God has come only in order to test you, and] in order that the fear of God should be upon your face, so that you not go astray” (Exodus 20:17). Because of this it is said, regarding anybody who has no shame, that his ancestors did not stand at Mount Sinai. And it is written, “And the Lord your God will guard for you the covenant and the loving-kindness that He swore to your fathers” (Deuteronomy 7:12) — [creatively read to be suggesting that God swore to give us the character trait of loving-kindness]. King David saw, regarding the Gibeonites, that they didn’t have a single one of these [virtues]; he arose and he distanced them [from the rest of Israel]. As it is said, “And the Gibeonites are not part of the Children of Israel” (2 Samuel 21:2). And Ezra also distanced them, as it is said: “The temple servants [who were Gibeonites] lived in Ophel” (Nehemia 11:21). [The point here might be that they were sent to live in a town that was far away from the Israelites. Moreover, there may be an additional play on words between עופל and אופל, to suggest that they were sent to live in darkness]. And even the Holy One, blessed be He, will distance them in the time to come, as it is said, “The workers in the city … shall cultivate it” (Ezekiel 48:19); [we read “cultivate it” but] “will be destroyed” is written [playing again with the almost homophonic switch between יעבדוהו and יאבדוהו]. As it is said, “And Joshua made them hewers of wood and drawers of water” (Joshua 9:27) [to leave us in no doubt that the workers referred to in Nehemia and Ezekiel are the Gibeonites]. [Our reading of Psalms 1 continues]: “For God knows the way of the righteous” (Psalms 1:6) — this refers to [the way of] Adam and Eve, “but the way of the wicked is doomed” (ibid.) — this refers to the [way of the] snake [and presumably, to the way of the Gibeonites] for whom there is no healing [or repair] in the future to come.

Another interpretation of “Blessed is the person” (Psalms 1:1) — this is Abraham, as it is said, “And now, return the wife of this person, since he is a prophet” (Genesis 20:7) [Abraham is described by God as a person, using the word האיש, which the Psalm uses to describe the blessed person]; “who doesn’t walk in the counsel of the wicked” (ibid.) — this refers to the generation of the dispersion, as it is said, “Come let us build a city for ourselves” (Genesis 11:4), and the word “come” always alludes to [people taking] counsel, as it is said, “you should take counsel and devise a plan” (Judges 20:7). And the word “city” always alludes to God, as it is written, “[In the vision of my mind in bed, I looked and saw] a holy Watcher [coming down from heaven]” (Daniel 4:10 [see also Daniel 4:20 – and the Aramaic word that’s used for the “Watcher” is a homonym with the Hebrew word for city –עיר ; such that their desire to build an עיר might allude to some sort of idolatry, or an attack on God.] [The generation of the dispersion] were divided into three sects. One said, “Let us ascend [the tower] and live there.” One said, “Let us make war with [God, atop the tower].” And one said, “Let us ascend and practice idolatry there.” And all three were struck. One [sect] was transformed into monkeys, spirits, and demons. Of one [sect], God swallowed their tongues and divided their language [see Psalms 55:10]. And one [sect] God dispersed [over the face of the earth], [in conformity with] that which is written, “An evildoer’s plans backfire” (Proverbs 10:24). [Returning to our Psalm, and our reading it in conjunction with the life of Abraham:] “And in the path of the sinners he doesn’t stand” (Psalms 1:1) — these are the people of Sodom [with whom Abraham didn’t stand], as it is said “And the people of Sodom were wicked and sinful” (Genesis 13:13); “the company of scoffers” (Psalms 1:1) — this refers to Avimelech, as it is said, “Behold my land lies before you, [settle wherever you please]” (Genesis 20:15), and [Abraham] didn’t accept [the offer; he refused to sit in the company of scoffers]; “but his delight is in the Torah of God” (Psalms 1:2) – this refers to Abraham, as it is said, “For I have singled him out, that he may instruct [his children and his posterity to keep the way of God by doing what is just and right, in order that God may bring about for Abraham what has been promised to him” (Genesis 18:19); “and on His law he meditates [day and night]” (Pslams 1:2) – Rabbi Shmuel son of Nachmani said, “Abraham didn’t have a father that would teach him Torah. From where did he learn it?” Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai taught that this teaches us that the Holy One, blessed be He, appointed [Abraham’s] two kidneys for him, as two rabbis, and [Torah would] flow [from them] and they would teach him wisdom all night, in conformity with that which is written, “I bless God who has guided me; my conscience [literally: my kidneys] admonish me at night” (Psalms 16:7). And Rabbi Shmuel son of Nachmani said in the name of Rabi Yonatan, that Abraham our father observed [all of Jewish law], even the laws of eiruv tavshilin [a Rabbinic device that allows for a person to prepare food for Shabbat during a festival that precedes Shabbat] and eiruv chatzerot [another Rabbinic device that allows a person to carry items between properties on Shabbat], as it is said, “Because Abraham heeded by voice, observed my charge, my commandments, my statues, and my teachings [literally: my Torahs – alluding, in the Midrashic imagination to both the Written and the Oral Torahs]” (Genesis 26:5). “He shall be like a tree planted besides streams of water” (Psalms 1:3), since the Holy One, blessed be He, took [Abraham] and planted him in the land of Israel. Alternatively, the Holy One, blessed be He, took [Abraham] and planted him in the Garden of Eden; “which yields its fruit in its season” (ibid.) — this refers to Isaac; “whose foliage never fades” (ibid.) — this refers to Ishmael; “and all that it produces thrives” (ibid.) — this refers to the children of Ketura. “Therefore, the wicked will not survive judgement” (Psalms 1:5) — this refers to Nimrod and his fellows.

“Therefore the wicked will not survive judgment, [nor will sinners [survive], in the assembly of the righteous]” (Psalms 1:5). This [relates] to that which is said in Scripture, “The lips of the wise sow [the seeds] of knowledge; [not so the hearts of the foolish]” (Proverbs 15:7). [The Midrash is now going to focus on the phoneme, זר, which appears in the verb “to sow,” which appeared in the verse from Proverbs.] This refers to the Israelites because they made a זר for the ark of the covenant [which, in this context, means a rim], as it is said “And you shall make upon it a golden rim” (Exodus 25:1). “Not so the hearts of the foolish” (Proverbs 15:7) – this refers to the idolatrous nations who have become estranged [זרים] from the Omnipresent. Alternatively, “The lips of the wise sow [the seeds] of knowledge,” (Proverbs 15:7) – this refers to the Israelites who constantly coronate the Omnipresent, each day, and unify His name every evening and morning [This is again a play on the phoneme זר which is related to the word for a crown, זיר]. “Not so the hearts of the foolish” (ibid.) – these are the apostates who say that the universe is a self-moving power [which is to say, it wasn’t created by anything external to itself. The word that appears in the Midrash here for “self-moving power” is טומטום (a word for a person whose genitals are hidden or under-developed), but our translation follows Marcus Jastrow. He argues that טומטום, in this context, is a consequence of a scribal error, and that the original word must have been אַבְטוֹמְטוֹס, from the Greek αὐτόματος (automatos)]. Another interpretation of “Not so the hearts of the foolish” (Proverbs 15:7). Rabbi Yuden and Rabbi Pinchas say, “The Holy One, blessed be He, said to the wicked, “I created the world, as it is said, “And it was so,” (Genesis 1:7), and you say that “it isn’t so.” Therefore, by your lives, [I swear, that] “the wicked will not survive judgement” (Psalms 1:5). [The Midrash understands this verse to be saying that they won’t be present on Judgement Day at all]. And it is [actually] good for them that they don’t stand and face judgement like a person, of whom it is said, So-and-so stood trial and he didn’t have a leg to stand on. Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said [that our verse – “Therefore the wicked will not survive judgement nor will sinners [survive] in the assembly of the righteous” (Psalms 1:5) – discusses the] wicked [in the plural, which suggests at least] two [sources of wickedness]; and sinners [in the plural, which also suggests at least] two [sinners]. These are the four kingdoms that, come Judgement Day, will not have a leg to stand on. Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachmani said that a single affliction destroys [a wicked person], and there is Scriptural support for this: “Therefore the wicked will not survive judgement” (Psalms 1:5) – it doesn’t say “judgements” but rather “judgement” [as if to suggest that a single judgement will suffice to destroy them]. This [accords with] what is written, “they are both dull and foolish” (Jeremiah 10:8) [which, given the Hebrew wording, the Midrash is able to creatively re-read to be saying, “in one fell swoop they are burnt and brought to folly;” [and the point is also evident in the verse,] “the wicked will perish in misfortune” (Psalms 34:22) [which is read as “one single misfortune will be enough for the wicked to perish.”] “For seven times a righteous person falls and gets up, while the wicked are tripped up by misfortune” (Proverbs 24:16) – by a single misfortune and not two.