פֶּ֣רֶה ׀ לִמֻּ֣ד מִדְבָּ֗ר בְּאַוַּ֤ת נפשו [נַפְשָׁהּ֙] שָׁאֲפָ֣ה ר֔וּחַ תַּאֲנָתָ֖הּ מִ֣י יְשִׁיבֶ֑נָּה כָּל־מְבַקְשֶׁ֙יהָ֙ לֹ֣א יִיעָ֔פוּ בְּחָדְשָׁ֖הּ יִמְצָאֽוּנְהָ׃
אַ װילדע אײַזעלין צום מדבר געװױנט, װאָס שלינגט דעם װינט אין דער גלוסטונג פֿון איר זעל; פֿון איר פּאָרונג װער קען זי אָפּהאַלטן? אַלע אירע זוכער דאַרפֿן זיך ניט אײַנמיען, אין איר חוֹדש װעלן זײ זי געפֿינען.
Devarim Rabbah
“When you will come to the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall take possession of it, and you shall live in it, and you will say: I will install a king over me, like all the nations that are around me” (Deuteronomy 17:14).
“When you will come to the land…” – halakha: A king of Israel who had a legal issue, what is the ruling? Is it permitted for him to go for a trial before the court? This is what the Sages taught: A king cannot act as judge and others cannot judge him; he cannot testify and others cannot testify concerning him. Our Rabbis taught us: Why is it that others may not judge him? Rabbi Yirmeya said: As it is written regarding King David: “Let my judgment emerge from before You” (Psalms 17:2). That is, no person may judge the king except for the Holy One blessed be He.
The Rabbis said: The Holy One blessed be He said to Israel: ‘My children, I had thought that you would be free from the rule of kings.’ From where is this derived? It is as it is stated: “A wild donkey accustomed to the wilderness” (Jeremiah 2:24). Just as the wild donkey grows up in the wilderness and has no fear of man, so I thought that you would have no fear of kings. But that is not what you sought. Instead, “at its soul's desire it inhales wind” (Jeremiah 2:24). “Wind” [here] refers to nothing other than kingdoms. From where is this derived? It is as it is stated: “And behold, the four winds of the heavens bursting forth to the great sea”15The text there goes on to say that the four winds represent four kingdoms: Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome. (Daniel 7:2). The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘And if you should say that I do not know that you will ultimately forsake Me [by appointing a king], I already cautioned you through Moses. I said to him: Since, ultimately, they will request a flesh and blood king, from their midst they should crown a king over themselves, not a foreign king.’ From where is this derived? It is from what we read regarding the matter: “And you will say: I will install a king over me.”16In the following verse it says: “From among your brethren you shall install a king over you; you may not install over you a foreign man” (Deuteronomy 17:15).
“When you will come to the land…” – halakha: A king of Israel who had a legal issue, what is the ruling? Is it permitted for him to go for a trial before the court? This is what the Sages taught: A king cannot act as judge and others cannot judge him; he cannot testify and others cannot testify concerning him. Our Rabbis taught us: Why is it that others may not judge him? Rabbi Yirmeya said: As it is written regarding King David: “Let my judgment emerge from before You” (Psalms 17:2). That is, no person may judge the king except for the Holy One blessed be He.
The Rabbis said: The Holy One blessed be He said to Israel: ‘My children, I had thought that you would be free from the rule of kings.’ From where is this derived? It is as it is stated: “A wild donkey accustomed to the wilderness” (Jeremiah 2:24). Just as the wild donkey grows up in the wilderness and has no fear of man, so I thought that you would have no fear of kings. But that is not what you sought. Instead, “at its soul's desire it inhales wind” (Jeremiah 2:24). “Wind” [here] refers to nothing other than kingdoms. From where is this derived? It is as it is stated: “And behold, the four winds of the heavens bursting forth to the great sea”15The text there goes on to say that the four winds represent four kingdoms: Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome. (Daniel 7:2). The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘And if you should say that I do not know that you will ultimately forsake Me [by appointing a king], I already cautioned you through Moses. I said to him: Since, ultimately, they will request a flesh and blood king, from their midst they should crown a king over themselves, not a foreign king.’ From where is this derived? It is from what we read regarding the matter: “And you will say: I will install a king over me.”16In the following verse it says: “From among your brethren you shall install a king over you; you may not install over you a foreign man” (Deuteronomy 17:15).
Bereshit Rabbah
“He will be a wild man: His hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him and he will dwell among all his brethren” (Genesis 16:12).
“He will be a wild [pereh] man” – Rabbi Yoḥanan and Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish, Rabbi Yoḥanan said: This means that everyone else would inhabit settlements, but he would inhabit the wilderness.37The word peleh is used in connection with the wilderness in Jeremiah 2:24: “A wild ass [pereh] accustomed to the wilderness.” Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: “A wild man” – in its plain sense. Most people plunder wealth, but he plunders people.
“His hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him [kol bo].” Read it as “his dog [kalbo]” – he and a dog are equal; just as the dog eats carcasses, so, too, he eats carcasses.
Rabbi Elazar said: When will it be that “his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him”? It will be with the advent of that man38Nebuchadnezzar. in whose regard it is written: “And everywhere the sons of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens dwell, He has given into your hand and set your rule over all of them” (Daniel 2:38). That is what is written: “Concerning Kedar,39Kedar was one of Ishmael’s sons (see Genesis 25:13). and concerning the kingdoms of Ḥatzor that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon smote” (Jeremiah 49:28) – Nebuchadrezzar is written,40With an added vav, so that the last four letters spell atzur, gathered in. as he gathered them together in the wilderness and killed them.
“He will dwell among all his brethren” – here it says: “He will dwell [yishkon] [among all his brethren],” but elsewhere it is written “He settled [nafal]41Literally, fell. [among all his brethren] (Genesis 25:18). The explanation is that as long as Abraham our patriarch was alive – yishkon. When Abraham died – nafal.42He fell in stature. Before he extended his hand against the Temple – yishkon. Once he extended his hand against the Temple43See Psalms 83:7–13. – nafal. In this world – yishkon; but in the future – nafal.
“He will be a wild [pereh] man” – Rabbi Yoḥanan and Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish, Rabbi Yoḥanan said: This means that everyone else would inhabit settlements, but he would inhabit the wilderness.37The word peleh is used in connection with the wilderness in Jeremiah 2:24: “A wild ass [pereh] accustomed to the wilderness.” Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: “A wild man” – in its plain sense. Most people plunder wealth, but he plunders people.
“His hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him [kol bo].” Read it as “his dog [kalbo]” – he and a dog are equal; just as the dog eats carcasses, so, too, he eats carcasses.
Rabbi Elazar said: When will it be that “his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him”? It will be with the advent of that man38Nebuchadnezzar. in whose regard it is written: “And everywhere the sons of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens dwell, He has given into your hand and set your rule over all of them” (Daniel 2:38). That is what is written: “Concerning Kedar,39Kedar was one of Ishmael’s sons (see Genesis 25:13). and concerning the kingdoms of Ḥatzor that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon smote” (Jeremiah 49:28) – Nebuchadrezzar is written,40With an added vav, so that the last four letters spell atzur, gathered in. as he gathered them together in the wilderness and killed them.
“He will dwell among all his brethren” – here it says: “He will dwell [yishkon] [among all his brethren],” but elsewhere it is written “He settled [nafal]41Literally, fell. [among all his brethren] (Genesis 25:18). The explanation is that as long as Abraham our patriarch was alive – yishkon. When Abraham died – nafal.42He fell in stature. Before he extended his hand against the Temple – yishkon. Once he extended his hand against the Temple43See Psalms 83:7–13. – nafal. In this world – yishkon; but in the future – nafal.