מדרש אויף משלי 1:14

[9] "If they say, 'Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood; let us lurk secretly for the innocent without cause'" - These are the brothers of Joseph, who were lurking and saying, 'When will the end come, and we will kill him?' And when he came to them, they began to say to one another, 'This is the hour; this is the season,' and the Divine Presence (Shechinah) was jesting and saying, 'Woe to them for the blood of this righteous one.' Therefore, it is said, "We will lurk secretly for the innocent without cause." And of them all, none wanted to save him except Reuben, as it is said, "Reuben heard, and he saved him from their hand." He said to them, 'Come, and I will give you advice,' They said to him, 'What advice are you giving us?' He said to them, 'Let us throw him into the pit while he is alive, and our hand will not be upon him,' From where [do we learn this]? As it is stated: (Proverbs 1:12): "We will swallow them up alive as the grave, and whole, as those that go down into the pit" - that he went down to the pit in his innocence, and he did not know what they were going to do to him. Rabbi Levi ben Zavdai said: "Who lowered [Joseph] into the pit from among all his brothers? You must say it was Simeon and Levi, as it is said (Genesis 49:6), 'Into their council let my soul not enter.' But Reuben intended to save him and return him to his father, as it is said (Genesis 37:22), 'That he might save him from their hand, to restore him to his father.' (Genesis 37:29): 'And Reuben returned to the pit' - where was he? Rabbi Judah and Rabbi Nehemiah [disagreed]: Rabbi Judah said, 'The burden of the household was thrust upon him, and as soon as he was free from his burden, he came and looked into the pit and did not find him. This is the meaning of "And Reuben returned to the pit, and behold, Joseph was not in the pit, and he tore his clothes."' Rabbi Nehemiah said, 'He was occupied in his sackcloth and fasting over the incident that occurred, and he did not turn [from it], and as soon as he was free from his sackcloth and fasting, he came and looked into the pit and did not find him, as it says "And Reuben returned to the pit, etc." ' Not only that, but once they sold him, the Divine Presence (Shechinah) mocked them and said to them (Isaiah 55:8), 'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, etc.,' not with the thought that you think, 'nor your ways my ways,' and not in the way that you say, for if there were not a decree from before Me, your counsel would be nothing. (Proverbs 1:13): 'All precious substance shall we find, our houses shall be filled with spoil' - this is the sale of Joseph, who was a precious son to his father, as it is said (Genesis 37:3), 'For he was the son of his old age,' he was found to sustain them, as it is written (Genesis 45:5), 'For God sent me before you to preserve life.' 'Our houses shall be filled with spoil' - that they filled their houses with silver and gold from Joseph's treasures. Rabbi Joshua ben Levi said: The ten martyrs were drawn [to their deaths] only by the sin of selling Joseph. Rabbi Avin said: You must say that ten were exacted from every generation, and still, that sin persists. (Proverbs 1:14): 'Your lot shall be cast among us' - when Joseph sat down, he took the key and was calling out: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun - they are sons of one mother, let them come and sit; Dan and Naphtali - they are sons of one mother, let them come and sit; Gad and Asher - they are sons of one mother, let them come and sit; and he went back and hit with the key and said: Benjamin is an orphan, and I am an orphan, it is fitting for an orphan to sit with an orphan, 'One purse shall be ours' - for they all ate at one table at the banquet. How did he do it? He gave each one one portion, and to Benjamin five portions, how? He took his portion, and Benjamin's portion, and Ephraim's portion, and Manasseh's portion, and the portion of Asenath, Joseph's wife, and gave it to Benjamin, as it is said (Genesis 43:34): 'And he took and sent portions to them from before him, but Benjamin's portion was five times as much as any of theirs, and they drank and were merry with him.' Rabbi Shmuelai said in the name of Rabbi Isaac from Magdala: From the day that Joseph separated from his brothers he did not taste the taste of wine until that day, as it is written (Genesis 49:26), 'And the crown of the head of his brothers' Nazirite.' Rabbi Yosei bar Hanina said: They also did not taste the taste of wine, as it is said, 'And they drank and were merry with him.' Another explanation, 'Your lot shall be cast among us' - this is the Torah, which was the lot of the Holy One, Blessed be He, and given to Israel; 'One purse shall be ours' - at the time when they stood at Mount Sinai and said (Exodus 24:7), 'All that the Lord has spoken we will do and we will hear.'"

Rabbi Azarya began: “Do not see wine in its redness, for one who sets his eye on the cup will walk the straight path” (Proverbs 23:31). Rabbi Azarya said: “Do not see wine in its redness [yitadam]” – as he will lust [yitav] for menstrual blood [dam] and for the blood of discharge [ziva]. “For one who directs his eye to the cup [kos]” – kis is written, a euphemism;¹This is a euphemism for licentiousness. that is what you say: “We will have one purse [kis] for all of us” (Proverbs 1:14). “Will walk the straight path”²The midrash understands this phrase in the verse to be ironic. – ultimately his wife says: I have seen like a red rose, and he does not separate from her. Rabbi Asi said: If he is a Torah scholar, he will ultimately purify the ritually impure, and impurify the ritually pure.
Alternatively, “do not see wine in its redness” – it will certainly cause him to flush. “For one who sets his eye on the cup” – he fixes his eyes on the cup and the storekeeper fixes his eye on the purse. “Will walk the straight path [bemeisharim]” – ultimately, he will render his house a plain [meishra].³Meaning it will be empty. He says: Whatever this bronze cup does an earthenware cup does, and he sells it and drinks wine with its proceeds. Whatever this bronze pot does an earthenware pot does, and he sells it and drinks wine with its proceeds. Rabbi Yitzḥak bar Raddifa said in the name of Rabbi Ami: Ultimately, he will sell all the vessels in his house and drink wine with [what he gets for] them.
Rabbi Aḥa said: There was an incident involving a certain person who sold all the vessels in his house and drank wine with [what he got for] them. His sons said: This father of ours is not leaving us anything. What did they do? They gave him to drink, they lifted him up and carried him, and placed him in a certain cemetery. Some wine merchants passed the gate of the cemetery and heard the angaria [military unit commandeering provisions] was in the city. They unloaded their burden in that cemetery. They said: Let us go and see what is being said in the city. The old man awoke from his slumber and saw a wineskin that had been placed above his head. He untied it and put it in his mouth and drank. He drank until he fell asleep. After three days, his sons said: Should we not go and see how our father is doing? They went and found him and there was a wineskin in his mouth. They said: Here, too, your Creator has not forsaken you. Since you have it from Heaven, we don’t know what we to do with you. They made an arrangement among themselves that each of them [in turn] would provide him with drink on each day.
It is written:⁴These verses relate to the drinker of wine referred to above, and describe the results of drunkenness. “You will be like one lying in the midst of the sea, like one who lies atop a mast” (Proverbs 23:34). You will be like this ship that is becalmed on the high seas.⁵Some understand this to mean: “like a ship that is tossed on the high seas.” “Like one who lies atop a mast,” – like a rooster that sits on a rope and goes constantly to and fro; like a captain who sits atop a mast and goes constantly to and fro. “They struck me, but I did not feel it” (Proverbs 23:35) – they struck him, but he did not feel. “They beat me, but I did not know” – they exploit him, but he is unaware. He drinks five kustin⁶A measure of liquid volume, about a third of a liter. of beer and they say to him: ‘You drank ten kustin.’ If you say that he will awaken from his sleep and forget it, Scripture says [about the drunk]: “When will I awaken? I will continue to seek it” (Ibid.).
]“To whom is there woe? To whom alas? To whom strife? To whom talk? To whom wounds without cause? To whom redness of eyes? To those who linger over wine”] (Proverbs 23:29-30). “To whom is there woe? To whom alas?” Rav Huna said: To one who does not toil in Torah study. “To whom strife?” – to whom disputes? “To whom talk” – to whom prattle? “To whom wounds without cause” – to whom wounds for nothing? “To those who linger over wine” (Proverbs 23:30).
There was an incident involving a certain man who was accustomed to drink twelve kistin of wine every day. One day he drank eleven kistin, and he lay down but sleep would not come. He awoke in the dark and went to the storekeeper. He said to him: ‘Sell me one kista.’ He [the storekeeper] said to him: ‘I will not open for you, because it is dark and I fear the watchmen.’ He directed his eyes and saw a hole in the door. He said to him: ‘Give me from it through the hole, you will position it inside and I will drink it outside.’ He did so for him. He drank and fell asleep before the door. The watchmen passed by him; they thought he was a thief, they struck him and they wounded him. They proclaimed about him: “To whom wounds without cause” – to whom wounds for nothing? “To whom redness of eyes” – to whom eyes red like the sun?
All these befall whom? “Those who linger over wine” – this is one who enters the store first and leaves last. “To those who come to assess the mixture” – to one who hears that this [particular] person has fine wine and pursues him. What is written about him at the end? “Its [wine’s] end is that it bites like a serpent and secretes [poison] like an adder” (Proverbs 23:32). Just as this adder separates between death and life, so wine separated between Adam and Eve, as Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Ilai said: The tree from which Adam the first man ate was a grape [vine]. That is what is written: “Their grapes are grapes of gall, bitter clusters for them” (Deuteronomy 32:32). These brought bitterness to the world.
Alternatively, “and secretes [yafrish] like an adder” – just as this adder separates [mafrish]⁷The verb lehafrish can mean both to secrete and to separate. between death and life, so, wine separated between Noah and his sons for enslavement. That is what is written: “He drank from the wine and was intoxicated and he was exposed inside the tent” (Genesis 9:21), as a result⁸ Subsequently, Noah’s son Ham, father of Canaan, “saw the nakedness of his father.” he [Noah] said: “Cursed is Canaan [a slave of slaves he shall be to his brothers]” (Genesis 9:25).
“And secretes [yafrish] like an adder” – just as this adder separates [mafrish] between death and life, so wine separated between Lot and his daughters for mamzerut.⁹The status of a child born from incest. That is what is written: “They gave their father to drink that night” (Genesis 19:33), as a result he said: “Lot’s two daughters conceived from their father” (Genesis 19:36).
Alternatively, “and secretes like an adder” – just as this adder separates between death and life, so wine separated between Aaron and his sons for death, as it is taught: Rabbi Shimon says: The sons of Aaron died only because they entered the Tent of Meeting intoxicated with wine. Rabbi Pinḥas in the name of Rabbi Levi said: This is comparable to a king who had a loyal member of his household. He found him standing at the entrance of his house, and he decapitated him without saying anything and appointed another member of his household in his stead. We do not know the reason that he killed the first one. It is only from what he commanded the second one and said to him: ‘Do not enter the house’ that we know why he killed the first one. Likewise, “Fire emerged from before the Lord and consumed them” (Leviticus 10:2) – we do not know the reason they died. It is only from what he commanded Aaron and said to him “You shall not drink wine or intoxicating drink” (Leviticus 10:9), that we know that they died only due to the wine.
Alternatively, “and secretes like an adder” – just as this adder separates between death and life, so wine separated between the ten tribes and the tribes of Judah and Benjamin for exile. That is what is written: “Woe! Those who rise early in the morning pursue intoxicating drink; those who tarry late, wine will inflame” (Isaiah 5:11), as a result: “Therefore, My people is exiled for lack of knowledge” (Isaiah 5:13).
Alternatively, “and secretes like an adder” – just as this adder separates between death and life, so wine separated the tribe of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin for exile. That is what is written: “These too erred with wine and strayed with intoxicating drink” (Isaiah 28:7); these and those.¹⁰Not only the ten tribes of Israel but also the tribes of Judah and Benjamin were eventually exiled.
Alternatively, “and secretes like an adder” – just as this adder separates between death and life, so wine separated between kingdom and kingdom for death. That is what is written: “Belshatzar said, as he tasted the wine” (Daniel 5:2), as a result it says: “During that night, Belshatzar the Chaldean king was killed” (Daniel 5:30).
Alternatively, “and secretes like an adder” – just as this adder separates between death and life, so wine separated between Aḥashverosh and Vashti for death. That is what is written: “On the seventh day, when the king was merry with wine” (Esther 1:10) – as a result he became angry and killed her.

There was an incident involving a certain woman who came to Rabbi Eliezer to convert.⁷⁵She was a heretic and wanted to repent (Matnot Kehuna). She said to him: ‘Rabbi, draw me near.’ He said to her: ‘Detail your actions.’ She said: ‘My little son is from my big son.’ He rebuked her. She went to Rabbi Yehoshua, and he accepted her. His students said to him: ‘Rabbi Eliezer rebuffed her and you draw her near?’ He said to them: ‘Once she has decided to convert she will not live at all, as it is written: “None that go to her will return” (Proverbs 2:19), and if they did return, “they do not attain ways of life” (Proverbs 2:19).’⁷⁶The woman had been a heretic, and would not be able to avoid severe transgressions for very long. However, since she had decided to repent, she would not live long enough to return to her sinful ways, and therefore Rabbi Yehoshua was not concerned that she would lead others to sin (Midrash HaMevoar).
Ḥanina the son of Rabbi Yehoshua’s brother went toward Kefar Naḥum, and the heretics cast a spell on him, and they lifted him and placed him on a donkey on Shabbat. He went to [Rabbi] Yehoshua his uncle, and he placed oil on him, and he was cured. He said to him: ‘Since the donkey of that wicked one rose against you, you cannot dwell in the Land of Israel.’ He descended to Babylon and died there in peace.
Rabbi Yonatan, one of his students absconded to them [the heretics]. He went and he found him completely debauched.⁷⁷He had become a heretic himself, and had involved himself in debauchery as had the other heretics. They sent heretics after [Rabbi Yonatan], and so they said to him: But is it not written: “Cast your lot among us, let us all have one purse” (Proverbs 1:14)?⁷⁸“Purse” is a euphemism for a prostitute. He [Rabbi Yonatan] was flying and they were flying after him.⁷⁹He miraculously flew away from them, and they flew after him to chase him, using black magic. He was barely able to escape from them. They had said to him:⁸⁰This is what happened before he escaped. ‘Rabbi, come and perform a kindness for this bride.’ He went and found them engaged [in promiscuous behavior] with a certain young woman. He said to them: ‘Is this the way that Jews act?’ They said to him: ‘But is it not written in the Torah: “Cast your lot among us, [let us all have one] purse”?’ He was flying and they were flying after him, until they reached his door and he slammed it in their faces. They said: ‘Rabbi Yonatan, go and relate joyfully to your mother that you did not turn around and did not look at us, as had you turned around and looked at us, more than the extent to which we would have flown after you, you would have flown after us.’
Rabbi Yehuda ben Nekosa, the heretics were harassing him. They would ask him and he would respond, they would ask him and he would respond. He said to them: ‘You are responding to me for naught. Let us agree between us that any person who prevails over his counterpart will wound the brain of his counterpart with a hammer.’ He prevailed over them and wounded their brains until they were filled with wounds upon wounds. When he came, his students said to him: ‘Rabbi, they aided you from Heaven and you prevailed.’ He said: ‘For naught [do you praise me], go and pray for that man and for that bag, which was filled with gems and pearls, but is now filled with coals.’⁸¹The reference is to himself. He was full of Torah, but now, having debated the heretics extensively, he had been exposed to their claims and ideas.