“The Lord afflicted Pharaoh and his household with great afflictions over the matter of Sarai, Abram’s wife” (Genesis 12:17). “The Lord afflicted Pharaoh…with great afflictions.” It is written: “The righteous man flourishes like a palm tree; [like a cedar in Lebanon he grows tall]” (Psalms 92:13) – just as the palm and cedar have neither curvatures nor protuberances, so, too, the righteous have neither curvatures nor protuberances.1In their character.
Just as the palm tree and cedar, their shade extends far away, so the reward of the righteous extends far away.2Their reward is in the World to Come. Just as the palm tree and the cedar, their heart [trunk] goes straight upward, so too the righteous, their heart is straight toward the Holy One blessed be He. That is what is written: “My eyes are always toward the Lord, as He draws my feet out of the net” (Psalms 25:15).
Just as the palm tree and the cedar have desire,3The reference is to the palm tree, which unlike most trees, come in male and female varieties. Only the female produces fruit, and only if it is cross-pollinated from a male tree. so too the righteous have desire. What is their desire? It is for the Holy One blessed be He, as it is stated: “I hoped for the Lord” (Psalms 40:2).
Rabbi Tanḥuma said: There was once an incident involving a palm tree that was situated in Ḥamtan, and it would not produce fruit. A certain palm farmer passed by and saw it. He said: ‘This palm is yearning toward Jericho.’4It desires a male palm from Jericho. Once they pollinated it [from that Jericho palm], it produced fruit.
But might one not argue: Just as vessels are not made from [the wood of] the palm tree, so, too with the righteous?5The righteous provide no benefit or value to the world. That is astonishing. The verse therefore states: “Like a cedar.”6Cedar wood is used to make vessels. Rav Huna said: There,7In Babylon. they do craft utensils from it [palm wood].
And might one not argue: Just as the cedar does not produce fruit, so too the righteous? That is astonishing. The verse therefore states: “Flourishes [like a palm tree].” [Furthermore,] just as the palm has nothing that goes to waste, but, rather, it [produces] dates for eating, fronds for praise,8They are waved during Hallel on Sukkot. branches for roofing, fiber for ropes, leaves for sieves, large beams for roofing the house, so, too, Israel has no one who goes to waste.
Rather, some of them are masters of Bible, some of them are masters of Mishna, some of them are masters of Talmud, some of them are masters of aggada. [Furthermore,] just as with the palm tree and cedar, anyone who climbs to the top of them and does not take care falls and dies,9Because they are very tall. so, too, anyone who comes to accost Israel, will receive his just deserts by their hand. You may know that it is so, since Sarah, because Pharaoh took her for just one night, he and the members of his household were punished with afflictions. That is what is written: “The Lord afflicted Pharaoh…with great afflictions…”