מדרש אויף משלי 21:31

When you go out to war and you see horse and chariot, a people more numerous than you (Deuteronomy 20:1): This is what is stated in the verse (Proverbs 21:31), "The horse is readied for the day of battle, but the salvation comes from the Lord." What is [the meaning of] "The horse is ready?" At the time that Israel left Egypt, what is written there? "And it was told to the king of Egypt that the people had fled" (Exodus 14:5). Immediately, "And he tied his chariot, and he took his people with him. And he took six hundred of his picked chariots" (Exodus 14:6-7). Pharaoh stood and dressed all of the horses - and even the common ones - with precious stones and pearls. "And Egypt gave chase to them, etc. all the chariot horses of Pharaoh, his horsemen, and his army" (Exodus 14:9). [This] teaches that not one of them fell ill and not one of them died, and not one of them got tired. Hence it is stated, "all the chariot horses of Pharaoh, etc." "As Pharaoh drew near, the Children of Israel raised their eyes" (Exodus 14:10). At that time, the Children of Israel began to cry out to the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is stated (Exodus 14:10) "and the Children of Israel cried out to the Lord." The Holy One, blessed be He, said, "O My dove, in the cranny of the rocks, hidden by the cliff" (Song of Songs 2:14). To what was Israel comparable at that time? To a dove that fled from in front of a hawk, and came to [hide] behind a rock, but a snake was within [that space already. If] it sought to exit, behold the hawk is at the opening. So [too] was Israel. The sea was increasingly storming against them, the enemy was giving chase behind them and the [wild] animals [were closing in] from the wilderness, and [so] they were surrounded on four sides. And from where [do we know] that there were animals from the wilderness? Since it is stated (Exodus 14:3), "the wilderness enclosed (sagar) them." And "enclosed" is only an expression [indicating] wild animals, as it is stated (Daniel 6:23), "My God sent His angel, who closed (sagar) the mouths of the lions." What did they do? They lifted their eyes to their Father in the heavens and yelled out, as it is stated, "As Pharaoh drew near, the Children of Israel raised their eyes, etc. and the Children of Israel cried out to the Lord." Hence it is written, "O My dove, in the cranny of the rocks."

O my dove, in the cranny of the rocks (Song of Songs 2:14): This is that which is stated in the verse (Psalms 18:3), "The Lord is my rock and my fortress." Rabbi Elazar ben Pedat said, "Israel said to Moshe, 'What have you done to us? Now they are coming and doing to us like what we did to them, as we have killed their first-born and taken their money. Is it not you that said to us, "Each woman shall borrow from her neighbor and the lodger in her house" (Exodus 3:23).' He said to them, 'You do not need [to do anything], but you should stand and be silent and the Holy One, blessed be He will [fight] your wars,' as it is stated (Exodus 14:14), 'The Lord will fight for you and you shall be quiet.' That is [the meaning of] 'and the Children of Israel yelled out' (Exodus 14.10)." Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said, "To what is this matter comparable? To the daughter of a king that was passing on a road, and brigands took her as a [captive]. She began to yell out to the king. The king said, 'This is what I desired.' So [too] with Israel. They were subjugated in Egypt [and] placed their eyes towards the Heavens, as it is stated (Exodus 2:23), 'and the Children of Israel groaned from the work and screamed.' [So] the Holy One, blessed be He, took them out and desired to hear their prayer [again]. But they did not pray. What did He do? He agitated Pharaoh and his army against them and they pursued them. As it is stated (Exodus 14:10), 'As Pharaoh drew close (hikriv).' As he drew the Children of Israel close to prayer. Immediately, 'and the Children of Israel cried out to the Lord.'" Hence it is written, "O my dove, in the cranny of the rocks, hidden by the cliff, let me see your appearance, let me hear your voice," that same voice that I heard in Egypt. Immediately the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moshe (Exodus 14:16), "And you lift up your rod and hold out your arm over the sea and split it, so that the Children of Israel may come into the sea on dry ground." And the Holy One, blessed be He, made war with Pharaoh, destroyed [his army], trounced them in the sea and saved Israel. That is [the meaning of] that which is written (Psalms 140:8), "God, my Lord, the strength of my deliverance, You protected my head on the day of weapons (nashek)," [meaning] the day of the war at the sea. As it is stated (Psalms 78:9), "The Children of Ephraim, warriors (noshkei) lifting their bows." Everything that Pharaoh was doing, the Holy One, blessed be He would [also] do. Pharaoh came out like a warrior; and the Holy One, blessed be He, is like a warrior, as it is stated (Isaiah 42:13), "The Lord goes forth like a warrior, like a man of war He whips up His rage," as only upon Pharaoh did He first make known His strength. At the time of war, He is called a man, as it is stated (Exodus 26:3), "The Lord is a man of war, the Lord is His name." Pharaoh went forth dressed in tin-plated armor; and the Holy One, blessed be He, likewise, as it is stated (Habakuk 3:11), "as Your arrows fly in brightness, Your flashing spear in brilliance." Pharaoh went forth with catapult stones; and the Holy One, blessed be He, went forth with stones of elgavish and hail stones. Pharaoh rode on a horse; and the Holy One, blessed be He, upon a cherub, as it is stated (Psalms 18:11), "He rode on a cherub and flew." Upon what did Pharaoh ride? Upon a female mare, as it is stated (Song of Songs 1:9), "To a mare in Pharaoh’s chariots have I likened you, my darling." Another interpretation [of] "To a mare in Pharaoh's chariots": What is [the meaning of] "to a mare?" Rather the Holy One, blessed be He, saw that Pharaoh did not want to enter the sea. [So] what did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He rode upon a light cloud and transformed it into a mare. And He stood [it] in front of the horses of the troops. And the horses ran after the mare, and the Holy One, blessed be He, descended into the sea with the horses [coming] after Him [to pursue the mare]. Hence, "to a mare," [meaning a] female. Another interpretation [of] "To a mare in Pharaoh's chariots": Pharaoh said to his troops, "What is the lightest (fastest) animal upon which to ride, so that I can go forth and chase the Children of Israel?" They said to him, "A mare, as there is nothing like it in the world." Therefore (due to her speed) the males were following her. And Pharaoh rode [speedily] like the gazelles. And the Holy One, blessed be He, also did this. The Holy One, blessed be He, said in front of the ministering angels, "Which among all of the creatures that serve in front of Me is light?" They said to Him, "Is it not revealed in front of You, that there is none among all of the creatures that serve in front of You that is as light as the cherub that comes out from under the wings of the cherubs." [So] the Holy One, blessed be He, rode upon the cherub and beat the horse of Pharaoh and all of his troops, as it is stated (Exodus 15:19), "For the horse of Pharaoh, with his chariots and horsemen, went into the sea." And it is [also] stated (Psalms 136:15), "And He shook Pharaoh and his army in the Reed Sea." Moshe said to them, "Is this not what I told you (Exodus 14:14), 'and you shall be quiet.' There is nothing for you to do except to stand silently, and the Holy One blessed be He, will [fight] your wars." Therefore he said to them, "When you enter the land and see many multitudes and horses and chariots, do not be afraid of them," as it is stated (Deuteronomy 20:1), "When you go out to war and you see horse and chariot, a people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them, as the Lord, your God is with you." Hence (Proverbs 21:31), "The horse is readied for the day of battle, but the salvation comes from the Lord."

Another matter: “They shall take Me a gift” – that is what is written: “A name is preferable [nivḥar] to great wealth” (Proverbs 22:1). The name of Moses is preferable, as it is stated: “Were it not for Moses His chosen one [beḥiro]” (Psalms 106:23), and likewise it says: “I have known you by name” (Exodus 33:17) – to Koraḥ’s wealth, as it is stated: “Two hundred and fifty firepans” (Numbers 16:17).⁵The implication of the verse is that all two hundred fifty gold firepans were provided by Koraḥ himself, which is an indication of his great wealth (Maharzu). The Holy One blessed be He said to him: Because you have wealth you are haughty? The name of Moses is preferable to all your wealth of silver and gold. That is, “and good grace to silver and gold” (Proverbs 22:1).
Another matter: The name of Pinḥas is preferable to the wealth of Zimri, who was the prince of the tribe of Simeon. What did Zimri do? In his regard, Solomon said: “A wicked man is insolent” (Proverbs 21:29). “And the upright, he discerns his way” (Proverbs 21:29) – this is Pinḥas. In what way was Zimri insolent? It was, that when Kozbi came, he sought to take her. She said to him: ‘I will not submit to you, as my father commanded me that I should submit only to Moses.’ He said to her: ‘I am greater than Moses, as he is from the third tribe⁶Levi, Jacob’s third-born and I am from the second tribe.⁷Simeon, Jacob’s second-born Do you want to know that I am greater than Moses? I will take you in his presence,’ as it is stated: “And, behold, a man from the children of Israel came and brought the Midianite woman near to his brethren, before the eyes of Moses” (Numbers 25:6), as he was flinging words against [Moses]. He said to him: ‘Moses, is this one forbidden or permitted?’ He said to him: ‘She is forbidden to you.’ Zimri said to him: ‘Are you the one who is most faithful to the Torah, such that the Holy One blessed be He takes pride in you and says: “Not so My servant Moses; [in all My house he is faithful]” (Numbers 12:7)? If you say that this one is forbidden, then the wife that you took is forbidden to you. This one is Midianite and that one is Midianite. This one is the most prominent of her patrilineal family, and your wife is the daughter of a priest.’ That is, “before the eyes of Moses.” Solomon cries out: “A wicked man is insolent.” When they saw him⁸When the Israelite elders saw Zimri’s insolent attack on Moses. they were weeping, as it is stated: “And they were weeping” (Numbers 25:6). The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘Moses, are you weeping? Where is your wisdom that you said something and you caused Koraḥ to be swallowed, and now you are weeping?’ The Divine Spirit calls out: “The stout-hearted ran rampant. They fell into a stupor” (Psalms 76:6). Moses said to Him: “There is no wisdom, no understanding, and no counsel against the Lord” (Proverbs 21:30).⁹Zimri’s attack is purely against the Lord. Therefore, human wisdom is irrelevant, and it is God who should punish Zimri (Yefe To’ar).
The Holy One blessed be He said: I know who is prepared for this matter. What is written thereafter? “A horse is ready for the day of battle, but salvation is for the Lord” (Proverbs 21:31). Rabbi Yosei said: Pinḥas himself expounded: If a horse that gives its life on a day of war, even if it dies, it gives its life for its owner, I, for the sanctity of the name of the Holy One blessed be He, all the more so. “Pinḥas son of Elazar saw” (Numbers 25:7) – he began saying to himself: What will I do? Two can prevail over one; can one, perhaps, prevail over two? While he was deliberating to himself, the plague was afflicting and the Holy One blessed be He was saying: “You faltered on a day of trouble” (Proverbs 24:10), “Deliver those taken to death” (Proverbs 24:11). “If you say: Behold, we did not know this” (Proverbs 24:12), I will attest in your regard, as it is stated: “Is He not the assessor of hearts, He understands” (Proverbs 24:12).¹⁰God said to Pinḥas: If you are concerned that people will suspect your motives, I will attest that your motives were pure (Rabbi David Luria).
Pinḥas entered, and he found that the Holy One blessed be He had secured them one to the other; they were intertwined one with the other, and they were unable to separate themselves. And he stabbed them in the place of their attachment, as it is stated: “He stabbed the two of them” (Numbers 25:8). When he exited, the tribe of Zimri entered. What did the Holy One blessed be He do? He smote them all with the plague. When Pinḥas saw the plague, he was standing and praying, as it is stated: “Pinḥas stood and he prayed” (Psalms 106:30). Immediately the Holy One blessed be He summoned Moses and said to him: ‘Come and I will inform you who preserved the descendants of Abraham,’ as it is stated: “Pinḥas son of Elazar [the son of Aaron the priest has turned My wrath away from the children of Israel]” (Numbers 25:11). That is why it is stated: “A name is preferable to great wealth” (Proverbs 22:1).
Another matter: The name of Mordekhai is preferable to the wealth of Haman. Rabbi Yoshiya said: What did that wicked one do? He took out all the silver and gold that he had and he gave it to Aḥashverosh. The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘By your life, “good grace [ḥen] is preferable to silver and gold”’ (Proverbs 22:1). The grace of Esther, as it is stated: “Esther found favor [ḥen]” (Esther 2:15), is preferable. When the wicked one came with the money, the king said to him: “The money is given to you” (Esther 3:11). The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘Is this how you are selling Mine for what is Mine?’ As it is stated: “For the children of Israel are slaves to Me” (Leviticus 25:55), and it is written: “The silver and the gold are Mine” (Haggai 2:8). ‘As you live, what you said: “The money is given to you…,” so, “on that day, King Aḥashverosh gave the house of Haman to Queen Esther”’ (Esther 8:1).