מדרש אויף משלי 24:29

Another matter, “you are crossing the Jordan today” – he said to them: ‘When you cross the Jordan, there will be a new order. Do not think that it will be just as it was in the wilderness, where you would sin and I would pray on your behalf for mercy.’ He said to them: ‘When you performed that act,¹⁸The sin of the Golden Calf. and the Holy One blessed be He sought to eradicate you, did I not pray and advocate on your behalf?’ From where is this derived? As it is stated: “I prayed to the Lord, and said: My Lord God, do not destroy Your people…” (Deuteronomy 9:26). Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said: When the Holy One blessed be He said to Moses in the firmament: “Rise, descend quickly from here” (Deuteronomy 9:12), five angels of destruction heard and sought to harm him. They were: Wrath, fury, anger, destruction, and annihilation. When Moses mentioned the merit of the three patriarchs, as it is written: “Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants” (Exodus 32:13), anger, destruction, and annihilation fled, and the two harshest remained, wrath and fury. [Moses] said before [God]: ‘Master of the universe, I mentioned three, and three fled; You overcome wrath,’ as it is stated: “Arise, Lord, in Your wrath” (Psalms 7:7).¹⁹This is understood to mean: ‘Arise, Lord, and hold back Your wrath’ – i.e. the angel of wrath, one of the angels of destruction that remained. That [indicates] that the Holy One blessed be He overcame wrath. From where is it derived that Moses overcame fury? As it is stated: “Had it not been for Moses, His chosen one, who stood before Him in the breach, to turn back His fury from destroying” (Psalms 106:23).
Moses descended from the firmament and the Tablets were in his hand, but he did not shatter them until he saw [the Golden Calf] with his eyes. From where is this derived? As it is stated: “It was when he approached the camp and he saw the calf,” (Exodus 32:19), at that moment, “he cast the Tablets from his hand [and he shattered them at the foot of the mountain]” (Exodus 32:19). The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘Moses, did you not believe Me that they crafted a calf,’ as it is stated: “They quickly deviated from the path that I commanded them; [they crafted themselves…a calf]”? (Exodus 32:8). The Rabbis say: From this matter, Moses quickly ascertained how to exonerate Israel, as the Holy One blessed be He said to him: “That I commanded them.” He said before Him: ‘Master of the universe, I was commanded; did I perhaps violate the command? They were not commanded and they did not know.’ The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘Moses, were they not commanded?’ He said to Him: ‘They were not.’ He said to Him: ‘What did You say at Sinai: “I am the Lord your God [Eloheikhem]”? You said only: “I am the Lord your God [Elohekha]” (Exodus 20:2).²⁰In giving the Ten Commandments, God had used the second person singular term “your God [Elohekha],” rather than the second person plural term “your God [Eloheikhem].” Moses argued that the command could be understood as being addressed only to him, and not to the entire nation. What did You say: “You [lakhem] shall have no other gods before Me”? You said only: “You [lekha] shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3).’²¹In the second commandment as well, which prohibited idolatry, the singular term you [lekha] was used rather than the second person plural term you [lakhem]. That is: “My Lord God, do not destroy Your people and Your inheritance” (Deuteronomy 9:26).
Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said: Moses did not leave any corner of the firmament regarding which he did not exert himself.²²He exhausted every possible argument in pleading on behalf of the Israelites (Etz Yosef). What would he say? What the mouth knows, it will say.
Another matter, “My Lord God, do not destroy Your people and Your inheritance” – Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said: When the advocate stopped,²³When Moses concluded his prayers. the Divine Spirit was advocating on their behalf. So it would say: “Do not be a witness against your friend for nothing, nor spread wide your lips” (Proverbs 24:28). “Do not be a witness against your friend for nothing” – this is Israel, who are called friends of the Holy One blessed be He, as it is stated: “For the sake of my brothers and friends…” (Psalms 122:8). “And do not spread wide [vahafitita]” – as it is written: “They beguiled Him [vayfatuhu] with their mouths” (Psalms 78:36). [The Divine Spirit said:] ‘Even when you said at Sinai: “We will heed and we will perform” (Exodus 24:7), and did not fulfill it, I said to the Holy One blessed be He: “Do not say: I will repay him; as he did to Me, so I will do to him” (based on Proverbs 24:29). Instead, “my Lord God, do not destroy Your people and Your inheritance.”’
That is why, when they came to cross the Jordan, he reminded them of all the advocacy in which he had engaged on their behalf, as he believed that they would pray for mercy for him so that he would enter with them. What is “you are crossing”? Rabbi Tanḥuma said: Moses was expending every effort before them and saying to them: ‘You are crossing, I am not crossing,’ providing them with an opening so that, perhaps, they would pray for mercy for him. But they did not understand. To what is the matter comparable? To a king who had many children from a noblewoman. The noblewoman betrayed him. He sought to expel her, and he said to her: ‘You should know that I will take another [wife].’ She said to him: ‘Yes; but will you not tell me who she is that you are going to take?’ He said to her: ‘So-and-so.’ What did the noblewoman do? She gathered her children and said to them: ‘You should know that your father seeks to divorce me and to take so-and-so, will you be able to bear being subject to her?’²⁴Translation based on Rabbi David Luria. See also Etz Yosef. They said: ‘Yes.’ She said to them: ‘Know what she is going to do to you.’ She was saying [all this] so that perhaps they would understand and request mercy on her behalf from their father. But they did not understand. When they did not understand, she said: ‘I am commanding you only for your own sake, so you will be vigilant regarding the honor of your father.’ So, Moses, after the Holy One blessed be He said to him: “Take to you Joshua son of Nun…” (Numbers 27:18), “as you will not cross the Jordan” (Deuteronomy 3:27), he would say before Israel: “When the Lord your God will bring you to the land into which you are coming to take possession of it” (Deuteronomy 7:1); “you are crossing today,” I am not crossing – perhaps they would understand and ask for mercy on his behalf. But they did not understand. When they did not understand, he said: ‘I am commanding you only so you will be vigilant regarding honoring your Father in Heaven.’ From where is this derived? As it is stated: “You shall fear the Lord your God…” (Deuteronomy 6:13).²⁵Since Moses would not be there with them to instruct them or to intercede on their behalf if they would sin, it was that much more necessary to reinforce to them that they must fear God. If the people would not do so and, on the contrary, would worship idols, Moses warns, “He will destroy you from upon the face of the earth” (Deuteronomy 6:15).
The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘In this world, everyone was yearning for the Land of Israel, but because of iniquities, you were exiled from it. But in the future, when you have neither sin nor iniquity, I will plant you in it in tranquility.’ From where is this derived? As it is stated: “I will plant them upon their land, and they will not be uprooted from their land” (Amos 9:15).

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.

“And if a person will sin, and hear the voice of adjuration, and he is a witness, who either saw or knew; if he does not tell, he shall bear his iniquity” (Leviticus 5:1).
“And if a person will sin, and hear the voice of adjuration, and he is a witness, who either saw or knew…” – that is what the verse said: “Do not be a witness against your friend in vain…” (Proverbs 24:28). “Do not be a witness…in vain” – this is Israel, as it is stated: “You are My witnesses, the utterance of the Lord, and I am God” (Isaiah 43:12). “Against your friend” – this is the Holy One blessed be He, as it is stated: “Do not forsake your friend and your father’s friend…” (Proverbs 27:10).¹See Shemot Rabba 27:1, where the word friend in this verse is interpreted as a reference to God. Do not deceive with your lips” (Proverbs 24:28) – after you beguiled Me²See Psalms 78:36. at Sinai and said: “Everything that the Lord has spoken we will perform and we will heed” (Exodus 24:7), ultimately at the end of forty days, you said to the calf: “This is your god, Israel” (Exodus 32:4). Rav Aḥa said: This is the Divine Spirit as an advocate, advocating for this party and that party. It says to Israel: “Do not be a witness…in vain.” Then it says to the Holy One blessed be He: “Do not say: I will do to him as he did to me” (Proverbs 24:29). Rabbi Yitzḥak said: It is written: “But they, like men,³Man is fallible with a tendency to sin. have violated the covenant” (Hosea 6:7). However, here: “For I am God⁴God’s tendency is to forgive. and not man” (Hosea 11:9).
Reuven knew testimony regarding Shimon.⁵This is a hypothetical case. The names Reuven, Shimon, and Levi are often used in rabbinic literature to refer to people in hypothetical circumstances. [Shimon] said to him: ‘Come and testify this testimony on my behalf.’ He said yes. When he entered before the judge, he reconsidered. The Divine Spirit said to him: “Do not deceive with your lips” (Proverbs 24:28) – after you beguiled him with your lips and brought him to trial, you recanted. The next day, testimony regarding Reuven came to Shimon. What will he do? Shall he do what he did to him? “Do not say: I will do to him as he did to me; I will repay the man according to his actions” (Proverbs 24:29). But did the Torah not already issue a decree: “And he is a witness, who either saw or knew; if he does not tell, he shall bear his iniquity.”