Midrash Aggadah Reader

"And the men rose up from there" (Genesis 18:16). Because Abraham was righteous, they were not called angels; and the entire time that they were with him, Abraham did not suppose that they were angels, and therefore Abraham went with them to send them off. "And they looked down upon the face of Sodom" (Genesis 18:16). Every place where "looking down" (hashkafah) is stated is for evil, except for "Look down from Your holy habitation" (Deuteronomy 26:15); for because they give terumot and ma'asrot to their owners, the attribute of punishment turns into blessing.

"And the LORD said: Shall I hide from Abraham [what I am doing]?" (Genesis 18:17) And thus said the Holy One, blessed be He: I gave all this land to Abraham, and now I wish to destroy five cities of his on account of their sin; and if I do not reveal it to him, he will say, "Perhaps the Holy One, blessed be He, has gone back on what He said."

"And the LORD said, etc." To Abraham He said, "Let Me go down now" — to the end, [that is,] their intent, "and I will see" whether there is in their heart [the will] to repent or not. "Whether according to its cry" — I will see: if they return in repentance I will forgive them, and if they do not return in repentance, no. And it says, "For the LORD knows the way of the righteous" (Psalms 1:6). And what were the deeds of the men of Sodom? When a guest would pass by them, each and every one would give a gold coin, but bread they would not give him, and he would die of hunger. After he had died, each and every one would take back his gold coin. Once there was a poor man there and he was dying of hunger, and Lot had a daughter whose name was Kallah, and she would go to draw water, and she would put bread in her jar and give it to that poor man. The men of Sodom said, "From where does this poor man live?" They investigated the matter and understood that the daughter of Lot was sustaining him. And what did they do? They went and stripped her and smeared her with honey, and the bees and the flies were eating the honey and stinging her until they killed her. Therefore it says, "they have done [kallah / an end]." And furthermore, when a poor man would enter there and wished to leave, immediately they would lay him on a small bed, and they would cut off his legs — whatever extended beyond that bed, which was short. And if he was short, they would lay him on a long bed and seize him from his head to his feet, and they would stretch him, so that his body would come out whole like the bed; and they would do thus until they killed him. And there were the judges there: Shakrai and Shakrurai, Zayfi, and Matzlerin. When a whole [unharmed] man entered there, one of them would strike him on his head, and the blood would come out of him; and when the one who was struck went to the judges, the judge would say to him, "Go out and give him his wage for letting your blood." And when a man would bring there fruit or kinds of legumes to sell, each and every one would take one of the fruits, and would say to the owner of the fruit, "I took only a single fruit," and thus they would do to him until they had taken everything that he brought in his hand. One time, Eliezer the servant of Abraham went up there. They sought to lay him down and to do to him what they were accustomed to do to the rest of the guests. He said to them, "Go away from me, for I have taken an oath that I will not lie on a bed until I see the face of my master." On the next day, when he was walking in the marketplace, a certain man came, took up a club, and struck him on his head. Eliezer went to the judge to cry out concerning his being struck. The judge said to him, "Go give him his wage for the blood that he let out of you." What did Eliezer do? He took up a stone and struck the judge on his head, and blood came out. He said to the judge, "The wage that you are to give to me, give it to this one."

"And the men turned away from there" (Genesis 18:22) — for [the Holy One] cleared away from them every measure of mercy. "But Abraham was still standing before the LORD" — from here you learn that the Holy One, blessed be He, hearkened to Abraham, who had said, "Do not, I pray, pass on from your servant" (Genesis 18:3).

"Perhaps there are fifty righteous ones." And why did he open with fifty? Because there were five towns, so that there would be for each and every one ten righteous ones. And because in the generation of the Flood there were eight — Noah and his wife and his three sons and their three wives, behold, eight — and they were not able to save them; for this reason he said, "If I find in Sodom fifty righteous ones," and so forth.

"Behold now, I have taken upon myself" (Genesis 18:27) — like that which is said, "we have done foolishly" (Numbers 12:11). "And I am dust and ashes" — had the kings with whom I fought killed me, I would have been dust; and had Nimrod burned me, I would have been ashes; but You saved me from both of them, [so] I consider myself dust and ashes before You. And in the merit of his having said "I am dust and ashes," his children merited two commandments: the dust of the sotah and the ashes of the [red] heifer.

"And the two angels came to Sodom" (Genesis 19:1). From here you learn that they did not go to Sodom until He had finished speaking with Abraham. And why in the evening? So that the men of Sodom should not see them. "And Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom" — so that if a person should pass by from there, he might receive him.

"In the third month." Everything was threefold. The Torah is threefold: Torah, Prophets, and Writings. The Mishnah is threefold: halakhot, midrash, and aggadot. The intermediary was threefold: Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. Three times one prays: evening, morning, and noon. Three times they say, "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of Hosts." Israel, who received the Torah, are threefold: Kohanim, Levites, and Israelites. The patriarchs are threefold: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The days are threefold, as it is said, "Be ready for three days" (verse 15). The months are threefold, as it is said, "in the third month." Another interpretation: "In the third month." This is Sivan, which is the third of the months, and the Torah was given to Israel by means of a third one. "On this day they came to the wilderness of Sinai." Let the covenant be cut in your eyes as if on this very day you received the Torah. And this is what is said, "Not with our fathers did the LORD cut this covenant" (Deuteronomy 5:3).

"Every man shall fear his mother and his father" (Leviticus 19:3). I have only "man"; whence a woman? Scripture teaches, saying "you shall fear" (plural) — the minimum of a plural is two. And what does "man" come to teach? It teaches that the man has the ability in his hand, but the woman is not able, because the authority of others is upon her. And it says "his mother and his father" — it is revealed and known before the Holy One, blessed be He, that the son fears the father more than the mother; therefore Scripture put the fear of the mother before the fear of the father. "You shall fear." What is fear? That he shall not sit in his place, and shall not speak in his place, and shall not contradict his words, and shall not overrule him. "And you shall keep My Sabbaths." All of you are obligated in My honor and in My fear. "I am the LORD." My fear precedes father and mother. And why was the section of the Sabbath placed next to the fear of father and mother? To teach you that if your father or your mother told you to desecrate the Sabbath, do not listen to them, for My fear precedes their fear.

"For they have indeed come under the shadow of my roof" (Genesis 19:8). This teaches that his wife said to him: The people of the city have refrained from receiving guests, and you bring them into the house? Do you wish that they kill you and kill me? And if you want to receive them, divide the house with me, and let the guests be in your portion. Therefore it is said, "under the shadow of my roof."

"And Moses brought back the words of the people." He answered them with words that settle their heart. Another interpretation: "And Moses brought back." It would have been fitting to say, "And Moses told the words of [the people]," etc., for we do not find that he told the people what the Holy One, blessed be He, had said to him. Israel said to him, "We do not want [this]." And Moses was afraid to tell the Holy One, blessed be He, that He would tell him to say it another time, and they would not believe me, lest he be smitten with leprosy as he was smitten at the bush. And this is what people say: "He whom a snake has bitten is frightened by a rope." The Holy One, blessed be He, answered him: I know what you wish to say, "so that the people may hear when I speak with you." Moses answered before the Holy One, blessed be He, and said: Master of the worlds, may Your praise and Your remembrance be blessed and exalted, for You search hearts and kidneys and know the hidden things; You knew what is in the heart of Your servant. At that hour he told Him the words of the people, as it is written: "And Moses told the words of the people to the LORD."

"And they said, 'Stand back'" (Genesis 19:9). When he [Lot] said to them a thing that was pleasing in their eyes, as it is said, "Behold now, I have two daughters" (Genesis 19:8), [and at the moment when he was saying to them words that were not pleasing to them], they said to him, "This one came to sojourn, and he would surely judge" (Genesis 19:9) — immediately they were struck with blindness. "And the men said to Lot, 'Whom else have you here?'" (Genesis 19:12). This teaches that they [the angels] were pleading advocacy the entire night, until they came to that matter.

"You shall not steal." And even when the intent is to cause distress, such as a case where one was guarding vessels or some other matter, and he came and stole it — not that he steals it altogether, but in order to distress him. "And you shall not deal falsely." Even in the smallest amount. "One with his fellow." To include even a man with a woman or a woman with a man.

"For we are destroying this place" (Genesis 19:13). And because they revealed the secret of the Holy One, blessed be He, they were banished from their enclosure until Jacob came. And concerning them it is said, "And behold, the angels of God ascending and descending on it" (Genesis 28:12) — those who had been banished from their enclosure.

"You shall not do injustice in judgment" (Leviticus 19:15). This teaches that a judge who corrupts judgment is called "unjust," and he brings about [five things]: he defiles the land, and he banishes the Shekhinah, and he profanes the Name, and he makes Israel fall by the sword, and he exiles them from their land.

"And the men seized his hand" (Genesis 19:16). They said to him: It is enough for you that you yourself are saved. Therefore they said: In the condemned city, the wealth of the righteous who are within it is lost. "the LORD being merciful unto him" (Genesis 19:16). Because the Holy One, blessed be He, had compassion upon Lot for the sake of Abraham; for when Abraham went down to Egypt, Lot did not reveal Abraham's secret — that he had said, "She is my sister." Therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, had compassion upon him and saved him. Concerning Abraham, washing is mentioned before lodging, and concerning Lot, lodging is mentioned before washing. Abraham, who was scrupulous about the filth of idolatry, placed washing before lodging; Lot, who was not scrupulous about the filth of idolatry, placed lodging before washing.

"You shall not go about as a talebearer (rakhil)." [This means] soft (rakh) to this one and hard (kasheh) to that one. [Another interpretation:] Do not be like this peddler (rokhel) who carries words from this house to that house. "You shall not stand upon the blood of your neighbor." That you should not see your fellow being dragged off by a wild beast, or bandits coming upon him, and leave him be — because you are obligated to save him.

"And he said: Escape for your life" (Genesis 19:17). It does not say "and they said," but rather "and he said," for one angel does not perform two missions, nor do two angels [perform] a single mission. For those two angels who came, one [came] to save Lot and the second to overturn Sodom. The one to save Lot — who is he? This is Raphael. "Do not look behind you" — because the Shekhinah descends to Sodom, and one whose heart lusts for fornication does not see the face of the Shekhinah. "Escape to the mountain" — go to Abraham, and you shall be saved.

"Do not hate your brother in your heart." Rather, learn from the tribes, for out of their disgrace we learned their praise, as it is said, "and they could not speak to him peaceably" (Genesis 37:4). That is to say, they hated Joseph and were not able to speak with him peaceably with the mouth, since the heart hated. And the Torah warned you not to keep the hatred in your heart while you speak soft words with the mouth; rather, remove the hatred, and be among the disciples of Aaron, loving peace and pursuing peace.

"You shall not take revenge and you shall not bear a grudge." "You shall not take revenge": [if] he said to him, "Lend me your axe," and he did not lend it [to him]; the next day he said to him, "Lend me your sickle," [and] he said to him, "I will not lend you, just as you did not lend me [yours]" — this is revenge. "You shall not bear a grudge": [if] he said to him, "Lend me your axe," and he did not lend it [to him]; the next day he came to him [and] said to him, "Lend me your sickle," [and] he said to him, "Here, take it; I am not like you, who did not lend me [yours]" — this is grudge-bearing.

"Your animal you shall not mate with diverse kinds." To set up a kind before one that is not its kind is forbidden; a kind with its own kind is permitted. And sha'atnez, too, is forbidden for a person to wear, on account of Cain and Abel — for Cain offered seed of flax, and Abel from the firstlings of his flock and from their fat, and Abel was killed. And the Torah — "its ways are ways of pleasantness, and all its paths are peace" (Proverbs 3:17).

"And it is a little one" (Genesis 19:20). For its settlement was not equal to that of Sodom, since the settlement of Sodom was fifty-two years, and the settlement of Tzoar was fifty-one years, as it is said, "let me escape (na) there" (Genesis 19:20) — and "na" in gematria is fifty-one. Therefore it was called Tzoar, and it was younger [tze'irah] in its settlement and in its iniquities.

"And Lot came to Zoar (Tzo'arah)." So was Zoar lesser in the reckoning of 365, corresponding to the 365 days that make one year, for its settlement was less than Sodom's; and therefore Tzo'arah is written lacking a vav, corresponding to the six hours by which the solar year exceeds the lunar year, which is 365 and six hours, neither less nor more. "For I cannot do anything" (Genesis 19:22). Because the worshippers of the sun say to the worshippers of the moon: had it been at night, when our god rules, this would not have been done to us; and likewise the worshippers of the moon say: had it been our god, this would not have been done to us. And concerning the two of them it is said, "Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed" (Isaiah 24:23). And what did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He smote them on the sixteenth of Nisan, when the sun and the moon stand together in the firmament, and this is what is written, "The sun was risen upon the earth" (Genesis 19:23). "From the LORD." It should have said "from Me," but it means: from His court (beit din).

"And He overturned those cities" (Genesis 19:25). These cities were all sitting upon a single rock, and with one finger the angel overturned them, as it is said: "He puts forth his hand upon the flinty rock; he overturns the mountains by the roots" (Job 28:9). Do not read it "ba-challamish" ("upon the flinty rock"), but rather "ba-chamesh yad" ("with the five [fingers] of the hand").

"And in the fifth year you shall eat its fruit" (Leviticus 19:25) — for he begins to read in the Torah from here onward, [as it is written,] "that it may add for you its produce." From here our Rabbis, of blessed memory, said: a five-year-old is for Scripture, a ten-year-old is for Mishnah. For in this world a man of Israel fathers a son, and leads him to the schoolhouse, and toils with him and teaches him Torah, and on account of sins he dies, and he has no joy from him. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to them: in this world, because the evil inclination was present within you, you sin and your sons die; but in the World to Come I will remove the evil inclination from among you, [and] you will father children and rejoice in them, as it is said, "They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth for terror, etc." (Isaiah 65:23). Amen.

"And his wife looked behind him" - After the angel said, "Do not look behind you" - Her soul was stirred regarding her daughters that remained in Sodom "And she became a piller of salt" - Due to her having sinner with salt. How? In that on that night on which the angels came to Lot's house, she went to her neighbors' places with pretext to ask for salt. Her neighbors said to her, "And why do you need salt? Didn't you know that you were short on salt to got and take salt while it was still daytime?" She said to them, "We didn't need salt until guests came to us." And therefore, the people of Sodom knew about the angel that came to Lot's house.

"And God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out" (Genesis 19:29). And what remembrance was there? Because Lot knew concerning Sarah that she was Abraham's wife, and he did not reveal it; therefore he was saved through that merit, for he had done kindness with Abraham.

"On that night" (Genesis 19:33). The Holy One, blessed be He, agreed with her. When she lay with her father he did not know, and when she arose he understood. Therefore it is written, "and when she arose" (Genesis 19:33), with a dot. And he should have stood and guarded himself not to drink wine on the second night, yet he did not guard himself. But concerning the arising of the younger daughter it is not dotted, because she guarded herself so that her father would not become aware of her.

"Ben-Ammi" [son of my people] — because she concealed her father and said that he was only "from my people." And because the elder daughter exposed her father [naming her son Moab, "from the father"] while the younger one concealed him, therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses, "Distress not Moab, neither contend with them in battle" (Deuteronomy 2:9) — specifically war, no; but angaria [forced requisition] you may impose upon them. So Israel would go to the cities of Moab armed, and when the Moabites saw them armed, they would flee and leave behind everything that they had, and Israel would come and plunder them. But concerning the children of Ammon He warned them, and said, "do not contend with them in battle" at all.

"And there was no water for the congregation" (Numbers 20:2). Because three sustainers stood up for Israel when they went out of Egypt, as it is said, "And I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam" (Micah 6:4). Miriam — by her merit the well was given to them; and the manna was given to them by the merit of Moses; and the clouds of glory by the merit of Aaron. When Miriam died, the well was removed; therefore there was no water for the congregation.

"Lord, will You slay a nation, even though righteous?" (Genesis 20:4). You suppose concerning me that I am a [mere] nation, and so You say, "Behold, you are a dead man" (Genesis 20:3); but I am nothing other than righteous, and if You slay me, You would be slaying a righteous man. Another interpretation: "Will You slay a nation, even (gam) the righteous?" If You slay me, slay Abraham, for it was he who caused me to take her, as it is said, "Did he not himself say to me, 'She is my sister'?" (Genesis 20:5). And she too should be slain, for she said, "He is my brother." And what is the meaning of "even" (gam)? Even her maidservants — I asked them whether she was his sister, and they all said, "He is her brother."

"For in the simplicity of your heart you have done this" (Genesis 20:6) — that you thought she was his sister, because you asked everyone and they said, "She is his sister." But you did not act with the cleanness of your hands, for a guest who comes to a city — one questions him about matters of eating and drinking, or one questions him about matters of his wife. "And I also withheld you from sinning against Me" (Genesis 20:6). A parable: like a man riding upon a horse, with a child thrown down before it. They all began to say, "How great was the understanding in this horse, that it did not trample the child!" They all began to praise the horse. The man riding upon the horse said to them, "Do not praise the horse — were it not that I drew back the rein and did not let it go forward, it would have trampled him." And so the Holy One, blessed be He, said: Let no person praise Abimelech that he did not touch Sarah; rather, let all praise Me, who warned him. Therefore it is said, "And I also withheld" etc. Abimelech said to the Holy One, blessed be He, "And who will inform Abraham that I did not touch her?" The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, "For he is a prophet" (Genesis 20:7).

"You shall not take the name [of the LORD your God in vain]" (Exodus 20:7) — that you should not conduct yourself as though you were pious when you are not pious. And there was an incident concerning a certain man who entered a city on the eve of the Sabbath and did not know anyone, and he had a purse full of small coins. He saw a certain convert sitting in the synagogue, wrapping himself in tzitzit, with tefillin bound upon his head. That man saw him and supposed that he was a great man, because he saw these commandments, and he deposited his purse with him. After the Sabbath he asked him for it. He said to him, "There never were any such things." He began to grieve and said, "Master of the worlds, it is revealed and known before You that I did not hand over my money to him as a deposit except that I saw upon him these commandments." At night Elijah the prophet came to him in a dream and said to him, "Tomorrow go to his wife and say to her, 'Give me my purse,' and if she says to you, 'By what sign?' say to her, 'By the sign that she and her husband ate leaven on the first night of Passover, and on the night of the Day of Atonement, swine's flesh.'" In the morning this man rose early before the wife of the robber and conveyed to her these signs, and she gave him the purse. The robber came to his wife and asked her for the purse. She said to him, "The owner of the purse came and took the purse, and such-and-such signs he conveyed to me." He said to her, "Since the matter has become known, let us return to our evil deeds." And such is the punishment of those who do thus.

"And you shall speak to the rock before their eyes, and it shall give its waters" (Numbers 20:8). That it should give its waters, and it will give them, so that they may draw a kal va-chomer (an inference from minor to major) upon themselves, saying: Just as this rock, which has no punishment and no reward, performed the command of the Creator, we — how much more so!

"And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together, etc." From here we learn that the small holds the much. Come and see: the face of the rock was only small, yet the whole assembly of Israel stood upon the face of the rock.

"Hear now, you rebels (ha-morim)." For so they call a fool in the coastal cities — morah — and it is in the Greek tongue.

"Shall we bring forth water for you from this rock (ha-min ha-sela ha-zeh)?" He did not know which rock it was, because at the time when the well departed, the rock had gone and seated itself among the other rocks. Moses took the staff and touched a rock and said, "What do you suppose — shall we bring forth water for you from this rock?" And they supposed he was telling them that that rock would bring forth water for them, but he did not say it with that intent, because he did not recognize it. As soon as he laid the staff upon the rock, the rock began to drip, because of the Name that was engraved upon the staff. When Moses saw that it dripped, Moses thought that it needed a blow with the staff, as it had been at first, as it is said, "and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, etc." (Exodus 17:6). At once Moses raised his hand and struck the rock with the staff twice.

And why was it necessary to strike it twice? Because the first time it brought forth blood, and because it did not do the bidding of the Omnipresent, he struck it a second time, so that it would bring forth water; and on account of Moses' honor it brought forth water. And whence do we know that the first time it brought forth blood? As it is said, "Behold, He struck the rock, and waters gushed out (va-yazuvu), etc." (Psalms 78:20) — and "va-yazuvu" means nothing but blood, as it is said, "And if a woman has a flow (yazuv) of her blood, etc." (Leviticus 15:25). And whence do we know that the blood turned into water? As it is said, "Who turned the rock into a pool of water" (Psalms 114:8). At the first blow it brought forth blood, just as Moses our teacher, peace be upon him, struck the Nile in Egypt, and the waters too turned to blood. At the second blow the Holy One, blessed be He, turned the blood before them, and many of the Israelites who quarreled with Moses went out and were swept away, as it is said, "and streams overflowed (u-nechalim yishtofu)" (Psalms 78:20).

"Only there is no fear of God in this place" (Genesis 20:11) — and if they know that she is my wife, they will kill me on her account. And Abraham also said to him: Why do you blame me, that if I had said she is my wife and not my sister — for had you known she was my wife you would not have taken her; and even though I said to you "she is my sister," you should have considered regarding me that perhaps she is my wife — so why [did you take her]? And even were it true that she is my sister, I was able to marry her, since she is my sister on the father's side and not on the mother's side.

"And she became my wife" (Genesis 20:12). And since you did not ask me whether she is my sister, the daughter of my father or the daughter of my mother, [but rather] you yourself took her in marriage — from this you learn that she is not my wife. And as for what you said, that she is my sister, she too said so; do not place guilt upon her.

"Because you did not believe in Me, etc." (Numbers 20:12). I told you that you should speak to the rock in My name, and it would give forth its waters. And had you done so, I would have been sanctified in the eyes of the Children of Israel, and they would have feared Me, for they would have said: "If the rock carried out His word, how much more so should we!" But because you did not do so, therefore you shall not bring this congregation [into the land].

"These are the waters of Meribah" (Numbers 20:13). "These" are those whom Pharaoh's astrologers foresaw. "And He was sanctified through them" — because they did not fulfill His words, He was sanctified through them. "Therefore" — this denotes an oath of death, for "therefore" means nothing other than an oath, as it is said, "Therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli" (1 Samuel 3:14). And "and He was sanctified through them" means nothing other than killing, at the time when they transgressed His command, just as Moses said, "This is what the LORD spoke" (Leviticus 10:3). And where did He speak it? "And it shall be sanctified by My glory" (Exodus 29:43).

"Thus says your brother Israel" (Numbers 20:14). Now what need had Moses to mention the brotherhood? Rather, thus said Moses: A bond was upon us and upon you from the days of Abraham our forefather, "and they shall serve them, and they shall afflict them," etc. (Genesis 15:13), and all the brothers alike were obligated to pay the debt of their father. And you, my brother Israel, you were [a brother], and it was incumbent upon you to pay the debt just as we did. And you know that we paid the debt, and you did not pay it, for you did not wish to pay it, for so it is written concerning Esau: "And he went into a land from before" etc. (Genesis 36:7) — on account of the bond of debt that was in his hand. And the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Jacob: Whoever pays the debt from among his children, he shall inherit the land, for so it is written: "On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying" (Genesis 15:18). And we, who paid his debt — from now on the land is ours; and since you did not wish to pay the debt, but we paid it, ours is the right of inheritance. And now, let us pass through your land until we go to our place and to our land. And further, they knew that there was fulfilled "the voice is the voice of Jacob" — that at the hour when we cry out to the Holy One, blessed be He, He hears our voice; and so we did in Egypt: we cried out to the Lord our God and He heard our voice, as it is said: "And the Lord heard our voice" (Deuteronomy 26:7).