ציטירנדיקער פּירוש אויף משלי 22:17

But my beloved had turned and gone: The shekhinah did not dwell there and prophecy in Israel ceased. Forty years after the Temple was built, prophetic vision was sealed. As our sages state in Seder Olam: “Alexander, king of Macedonia, reigned twelve years and died.” Until this time the prophets prophesied through the holy spirit. From this time onwards, “Incline your ears and listen to the sages’ words” [Prov. 22:17]. As our Sages said in tractate Yoma: “Why is it written: ‘rebuild the House, then I will look on it with favor and I will glorify it’ [Haggai 1:8] where the transmitted text states ‘I will be glorified.’¹³⁸We are dealing with ketiv/keri—the written text is akhabed (I will be glorified) but it is pronounced akhabdah (I will glorify it). The difference between the text as written and pronounced is the letter heh, whose numerical equivalent is five. These are the five differences distinguishing the first Temple from the second. They are: the Ark of the Covenant, the Urim and Tummim, the annointing oil, the heavenly fire upon the altar and the divine presence.”¹³⁹b. Yoma 21b. This is the proper rendition of the text.

Write me for [all] the generations, etc.: The explanation is that Esther requested that the Scroll [of Esther] be included in the Writings, as Rashi explains on the verse, "And he fulfilled the word of Esther, etc. and inscribed in the book" (Esther 9:32) - Esther requested of the Sages of the generation to commemorate her and to write this book with the rest of the Writings. And that is [the meaning of], "and inscribed in the book." To here [are his words]. And they answered here that Scripture excluded the Scroll from being included in the Writings, since it is written (Proverbs 22:20), "Have I not written for you, etc." As Scripture had written earlier (Proverbs 22:17), "For Incline your ear and hear the words of the sages, etc." The explanation is that the Scroll would be among the commandments that were only words of the Sages, like the commandment of the Chanukkah light; and not among the written commandments that were spoken with the holy spirit (ruach hakodesh). As it is written after this, "Have I not written for you, three times, etc." - you should not do it four times. [That was] until they found a support from Scripture that the Scroll is included in the three, like the one that reasons like this: As it is written (Exodus 17:14), "Write this" - that which is written in the Torah here in Exodus, and in Mishneh Torah (Deuteronomy) is one place; "a memorial" - that which is written in the Prophets is the second place; "in the book" - that which is written in the Scroll is the third place. So, "Have I not written for you, three times, etc." is now better understood as about the Torah, the Prophets and the Writings. And this is how it is explained in the Yerushalmi (Jerusalem Talmud Megillah 1:5:3): It is written in the Torah, as you would say (Deuteronomy 4:44), "And this is the Torah" (corresponding to "Write this"). "A memory" - that is the Prophets, as it is written (Malachi 3:16), "and a book of memory has been written before Him." "In the book - that is the Writings, as it is written, "And the word of Esther, etc. and inscribed in the book, etc." And they also said in the Yerushalmi that they answered her that it is because no other prophet is permitted to add anything for you afterwards. [That was] until the Holy One, blessed be He, illuminated their eyes and they found it written in the Torah, in the Prophets and in the Writings. And it can be said that our Talmud (Bavli) did not concern itself that they should answer her this, since it is surely an a fortiori argument (kal vechomer), as [it is found] later (Megillah 14a:5): If from slavery to freedom, they recited songs, from death to life, is it not all the more so? However this a fortiori argument is not sufficient for [our previous discussion], so that the verses are required here. For on account of this a fortiori argument, it is [also] fit to say it [only] as a commandment of the Sages, like the song (Hallel). But were it not for those verses, it could not be learned out from the a fortiori argument that it should be fixed among the Writings. And likewise, Rabbi Yehoshua who disagrees here is [with reference to] it not being fixed in the Writings, that it should [therefore] render hands impure. But he accepts the a fortiori argument from later, to read it [as a commandment] from the words of the Sages.

A Midrashic approach based on Tanchuma Behaalotcha 11: the words אספה לי are reminiscent of 13 different items which G’d has an exclusive claim on as they are all associated directly with the name of the Lord. They are: silver, gold, the priests, the Levites, the Jewish people, the firstborn, the altar, the terumah., (first tithe of the grain harvest for the priests), the oil of anointing, the Tabernacle, the dynasty of David, the sacrificial offerings, the land of Israel, and the elders. The author lists 13 verses in each of which the word לי appears to signify that the phenomenon mentioned is G’d’s.
The Midrash interprets Amos 9,6: “Who builds His chambers in heaven, and founded His vault on earth,” as describing a palace built on a number of ships which are tied together. As long as these ships remain closely linked together the walls of the palace remain intact. G’d built the heavens on the assumption that the twelve tribes of the Jewish people remain closely linked to one another. The celestial structure’s integrity is linked inextricably to the fate of the Jewish people, i.e. to their conduct.
The Midrash extrapolates further on the appropriateness of the word אספה, “gather, assemble,” by quoting from Deut. 33,5: “then he became king in Israel when the people assembled.” The Midrash goes on to explain the function of these elders by quoting Kohelet 12,11: “the words of the sages are like goads.” Just as it is the function of the goads to prompt the animal to plough straight lines, so the function of the elders is to see to it that the Jewish people “toe the line,” i.e. obey the commandments of the Torah meticulously. They are to reveal different aspects of the Torah to the people. There are three Hebrew words, each of which means “goad;” they are דרבן, מלמד, מרדע. The word דרבן suggests that the sages instill some דר, i.e. בינה, insight, in the cow (people). The word מלמד suggests that the goad teaches the animal to plough properly. Finally, the word מרדע, suggests that the goad imbues the cow with some דעה, knowledge.