Midrash Tanchuma Reader

(Lev. 17:3:) “If any single person from the House of Israel.” This text is related (to Ps. 51:20–21), “Make Zion prosper in Your good pleasure; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Then You shall delight in sacrifices of righteousness, burnt offerings, and whole offerings….” To what is the matter comparable?

To a rich and noble man, who has no wife. His house was not [really] a house. Why? When the tenants came, he said to them, “Go rest in another place.”

Why? Because he had neither house nor wife. He took a wife. He said to them, “Whatever you bring me, from now on bring them up to the house.”

Thus all the days before Moses erected the tent of meeting, they offered sacrifices [in] any place, as stated (in Exod. 24:5), “Then he sent youths of the Children of Israel, and they offered burnt offerings….” And so it says (in Exod. 8:23), “Let us go a distance of three days into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God.” When the tabernacle was raised, the [Holy One, blessed be He,] said to Moses, “From now on you are only permitted to offer sacrifice in the tent of meeting”; and there they offered up the [gift] to the Holy One, blessed be He.

It is so stated (in Deut. 12:13-14), “Take heed that you do not offer up your burnt offerings in any place that you see. But only in the place that the Lord will choose.” And where did the Holy One, blessed be He, choose? Jerusalem, as stated (in Ps. 132:13), “For the Lord has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His dwelling.”

Moses therefore warns Israel, saying (in Lev. 17:3-4), “If any single person from the House of Israel [slaughters an ox, a lamb, or a goat in the camp]…. And does not bring it unto the entrance of the tent of meeting to offer it as a sacrifice… [bloodguilt shall be imputed to that person].“ The Holy One, blessed be He, foresaw that the Temple was going to be destroyed; so the Holy One, blessed be He, said, “As long as the Temple exists, you shall sacrifice within it, [and] there will be atonement for you; but when the Temple does not exist, how will there be atonement for you?

Occupy yourselves with the words of Torah, because they are comparable with offerings, and they will atone for you.” Thus it is stated (ibid.), “This is the thing (literally: word).” So also the prophet says (in Hos. 14:3), “Take words with you, and return unto the Lord.” The words of Torah resemble all the offerings.

One offers wine as a libation upon the altar, as stated (in Numb. 15:5), “And a quarter hin of wine for a libation”; and Torah resembles wine, as stated (in Prov. 9:5, where wisdom says), “and drink of the wine I have mixed.” One offers bread upon the altar, as stated (in Numb. 28:2), “My offering, My bread for My fire offering; and so it says (in Exod. 25:30), “And you shall set the [show]bread upon the table before Me always”; and Torah resembles bread, as stated (in Prov. 9:5, where wisdom says), “Come and eat of my bread.”

One offers oil upon the altar, as stated (in Lev. 2:5), “fine flour mixed with oil”; and Torah resembles oil, as stated (in Eccl. 9:8), “Always let your clothes be white, and let there be no lack of oil upon your head.”

(Lev. 19:23:) “When you come into the land and plant.” This text is related (to Eccl. 2:5), “I made gardens and orchards for myself, and in them I planted every kind of fruit tree.” Do not all people plant whatever they want, whatever someone plants in the earth, be it pepper or anything [else. But] if he plants, do [the plants automatically] produce?

As no one knows the place of every plant, [i.e.] where to plant it. However, because Solomon was wise, he planted all the species of trees [in their place], as stated (ibid.), “I made gardens and orchards for myself, in which I planted every kind of fruit tree.” What is the meaning of “every kind of fruit tree?” R. Jannay said, “Solomon even planted peppers in the land.”

But how did he plant them? It is simply that Solomon was wise and knew the root of the foundation of the world. How? (Ps. 50:2), “Out of Zion God has shined forth as the perfection of beauty.” [This means that] out of Zion has all of the whole world been perfected, as it is taught: Why is it called foundation stone? Because out of it the world was founded. Now Solomon knew which vein went to Cush and planted peppers on it, and they produced immediately.

See what he says (in Eccl. 2:5), “and in them I planted every kind of fruit tree.” Another interpretation (of Eccl. 2:5), “and in them I planted every kind of fruit tree.” Just as a navel is set in the middle of a person, so the Land of Israel is the navel of the world. Thus it is stated (in Ezek. 38:12), “who dwell on the navel of the earth.”

And the foundation of the world comes out of it, as stated (Ps. 50:1), “A psalm of Asaph. God, the Lord God spoke and summoned the world from East to West.” How is this known? (Ps. 50:2), “Out of Zion God has shined forth as the perfection of beauty.” The Land of Israel sits at the center of the world; Jerusalem is in the center of the Land of Israel; the sanctuary is in the center of Jerusalem; the Temple building is in the center of the sanctuary; the ark is in the center of the Temple building; and the foundation stone, out of which the world was founded, is before the Temple building. Now Solomon, who was wise, determined the roots that went out from [that stone] into the whole world and planted all species of trees in them. He therefore said (in Eccl. 2:5), “I made gardens and orchards for myself.”

(Lev. 22:27:) “When a bull or a sheep or a goat […].” This text is related (to Micah 6:3), “My people, what have I done to you and how have I wearied you; testify against Me.” R. Aha said, “Testify against Me (i.e., prove me wrong by keeping the commandments), and receive a reward. And do not testify (against your neighbor falsely), and receive a settlement of accounts.”

R. Samuel bar Nahman said, “On three occasions the Holy One, blessed be He, came to dispute with Israel, when the nations of the world rejoiced: At that time, when He said to them (in Is. 1:18), ‘Please come and let us dispute together,’ they rejoiced and said, ‘Now He will finish them off.’ When the Holy One, blessed be He, saw that they were rejoicing, He reversed [the punishment] for the better.

He said (ibid.), ‘though your sins be as scarlet, they shall become as white as snow […].’ When the nations of the world heard this, they were astonished and said, ‘Is this an answer; is this a rebuke? He has only come to amuse Himself with His children (and not to dispute with them seriously).’ In the second [occasion], when He said to them (in Micah 6:2), ‘[Hear, O mountains, the claim of the Lord …] for the Lord has a claim with His people, and He will dispute with Israel,’ they rejoiced and said, ‘Now He will finish them off.’

When the Holy One, blessed be He, saw that, He reversed [the punishment] for the better and said (in Micah 6:5), ‘My people, please remember what King Balak of Moab plotted and what Balaam answered him….’ When the nations of the world heard this, they were astonished and said, ‘Is this an answer; is this a rebuke? He has only come to amuse Himself with His children.’

The third [occasion] when He said (in Hos. 12:3), ‘The Lord has a claim with Judah,’ they rejoiced and said, ‘Now He will finish them off.’ When the Holy One, blessed be He, saw that, He reversed [the punishment] for the better and said (in Hos. 12:4) ‘In the womb he grabbed his brother by the heel […].’” [The situation] is similar to a woman who complained to the judge about her son and brought him for trial.

Everyone came to see. They said, one to another, “See that this woman has brought her son to be killed in the case.” When the woman saw this and heard what they said, she reversed [her mind] to speak with different words. When she came before the judge, he said to her, “What has your son done to you?”

She said to him, “When he was in my womb, he kicked me.” He said to her, “Has he done anything else to you?” She said, “No.” He said to her, “There is no legal offense at all.” Everyone was astonished and said, “Is this an answer; is this a rebuke?

She only came to amuse herself with her son.” So they left with embarrassment on their faces. So too did the Holy One, blessed be He, go back and reverse His rebuke to love, and the nations of the world left confounded. (Micah 6:3:) “And how have I wearied you?” R. Berekhyah said, “[The situation] is similar to a king who sent his proclamation to a province.

What did the people of the province do? When they received it, they uncovered their heads, and read it in fear, in awe and in trembling. So did the Holy One, blessed be He, say to Israel, ‘The reading of the Shema is My proclamation. I did not burden you and I did not tell you that you were to read it either standing upon your feet or with your heads uncovered, but (according to Deut. 6:7) “when you are sitting in your house, when you are walking on the road, when you are lying down, and when you are getting up.”’”

Another interpretation (of Micah 6:3), “and how have I wearied you”: R. Judah bar Simon said, “The Holy One, blessed be He, said, ‘I have delivered ten [kinds of] beasts to you (for food). Three are in your possession, and seven are not in your possession. Now these are those which are in your possession (according to Deut. 14:4), “the bull, the sheep, and the goat.”

And these are those which are not in your possession (according to Deut. 14:5), “The deer, the gazelle, the roebuck, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope, and the mountain sheep.” I did not burden you, nor did I tell you to go up into the mountains or tire yourselves out in the fields in order to bring Me a sacrifice from those [which are not in your possession]. Rather [your sacrifices come] from those which are in your possession, which grew up at your feeding trough. This is what is stated (in Lev. 22:27), “A bull or a sheep or a goat.”’”

(Numb. 2:2:) [“The Children of Israel shall camp,] each with his standard, under the banners for their fathers' houses….” This text is related (to Ps. 20:6), “Let us shout for joy in your salvation, and in the name of our God let us set up our standards….” “Let us shout for joy in your salvation,” as is stated (in Exod. 14:30), “So the Lord saved.” (Ps. 20:6, cont.:) “And in the name of our God let us set up our standards,” for God has inserted His name] among our names and has appointed us standards, as stated (in Numb. 2:2), “each with his standard, under the banners.”

The Holy One, blessed be He, cherished Israel with great love, in that He appointed them standards like [those of] the ministering angels, so that they would be recognizable, the Children of Reuben by themselves, the Children of Simeon by themselves, [etc.]; but where is it shown that He loved them? Where it is stated (in Cant. 2:4), “He brought me unto the banquet house, and His standard over me is love.”

To what is the matter comparable? To a rich person who had a storehouse full of wine. He went in to inspect it and found it to be vinegar. [When] he went to leave the storehouse, he found there one cask of [good] wine. He said this cask is worth as much to me as the full storehouse.

Similarly the Holy One, blessed be He, has created seventy nations, but of them all He has found pleasure only in Israel, as stated (in Cant. 2:4), “He brought me unto the banquet house (literally: house of wine [yyn]). [Now] y (yod) plus y (yod), [which] equals twenty, plus n (nun), [which stands for] fifty, results in seventy; and of all those [seventy nations] He loved only Israel.

It is so stated (ibid., cont.), “and His standard over me is love.” It also says (in Cant. 6:8-9), “There are sixty queens…. One is My dove, My perfect one.” (Cant. 2:4), “He brought me unto the house of wine.” R. Judah says, “He brought me to the great wine cellar, namely Sinai; and from there He taught me Torah, which is expounded in forty-nine ways to render pure and in forty-nine ways to render impure. And the numerical count (gematria) of (ibid., cont.) “and His standard (wdglw)” is forty-nine. [Another interpretation (of Cant. 2:4),] “He brought me unto the house of wine. R Hunya said, “In the past whoever pointed his finger at a likeness of the king was put to death; but when the children go to school and point a finger at the [likenesses of] the Divine Name [in the book], the Holy One, blessed be He, says (ibid., cont.), ‘and His standard (wediglo) over me is love.’” Even though, when sitting and studying the Torah, [one skips (rt.: dlg)] from precept (halakhah) to precept and from verse to verse, the Holy One, blessed be He, says, “He is dear to Me (literally: over Me), ‘and His standard (rt.: dgl) over me is love,’ [and his skipping (rt.: dlg) over Me is love].”

Another interpretation (of Cant. 2:4), “and His standard over me is love.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said, “The nations of the world have standards, but only the standard of Jacob is dear to Me, as stated (ibid.), ‘and His standard over Me is love--.’”

Another interpretation (of Numb. 6:23-24), “Thus shall you bless the Children of Israel: The Lord bless you and keep you.” “Bless you,” with wealth; “and keep you,” so that may do good works (mitswot). (Vs. 25:) “The Lord make His face shine,” and raise up children from you to be Torah scholars. Thus it is stated (in Prov. 6:23), “For the commandment (mitzvah) is a lamp, and Torah is [a light].”

Another interpretation (of Numb. 6:25), “The Lord make His face shine (from he'ir) [upon you],” to raise up priests from you, who kindle fire (from he'ir) upon the altar. Thus it is stated (in Mal. 1:10), “you will not kindle fire (from he'ir) on My altar in vain.” (Numb. 6:25, cont.:) “And be gracious to you.”

R. Hiyya the Great taught, “May the Lord encamp with you.” Another interpretation (of Numb. 6:25), “and be gracious to you,” to raise up prophets from you. Thus it is stated (in Zech. 12:10), “And I will pour out upon the House of David and upon anyone dwelling in Jerusalem a spirit of grace and mercy.”

Another interpretation (of Numb. 6:25), “and be gracious to you.” May He set His grace upon you in whatever place you go. Thus it is stated (in Esth. 2:17), “and she won grace and favor.” (Numb. 6:26:) “The Lord lift up His face unto you.” But another text says (of the Holy One, blessed be He, in Deut. 10:17), “who does not lift up His face (i.e., show favor).”

How can this be? [If] one has repented before judgment is sealed, (Numb. 6:26:) “The Lord lift up his face (i.e., show favor).” When judgment has been sealed, (Deut. 10:17:) “who does not lift up His face.” Another interpretation (of Numb. 6:24), “The Lord bless you and keep you.” Along with the blessing there is a keeping. A king of flesh and blood has a friend in Syria, but he dwells in Rome; when the king sent for him, he arose and came to him, and [the king] gave him a hundred pounds of gold; [but when] he loaded it up and set out on the road, bandits fell upon him.

They took everything that he had given him and everything [else] that he had with him. Do you suppose that he could have kept him from the bandits? For that reason it is stated (in Numb. 6:24), “The Lord bless you and keep you.” Another interpretation (of Numb. 6:24), “The Lord bless you and keep you.”

May He bless you with money, that there not be a tax collection in the province, and that a tax collector not come to the province and say to you, “Give your gold.” Rather (as in Numb. 6:24), “The Lord bless you and keep you.” Another explanation. “Bless you” refers to sons (who can produce wealth), [while] “keep you” refers to daughters, since the females need keeping.

And so it says (in Ps. 121:5), “The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade [on your right hand].” (Numb. 6:25:) “The Lord make His face shine upon you. May He make the light of His face shine for you.” Now “make shine” (y'r) can only mean life, since it is written (in Prov. 16:15), “In the light of the king's face there is life.” It also says (in Ps. 118:27), “The Lord is God and has given light (y'r) to us.”

And similarly it says (in Ps. 67:2), “May God be gracious to us and bless us; [may He make His face shine for us].” (Numb. 6:26:) “The Lord lift up his face.” Does the Holy One, blessed be He, lift up His face for a creature? Moreover, is it not already written (in Deut. 10:17), “who does not lift up His face (i.e., show favor).” It is simply that, just as they lift up their faces (show favor) to Me, so do I lift up My face to them.

How so? I have written in the Torah (in Deut. 8:10), “Then you shall eat, be full, and bless [the Lord your God].” So when a person sits down with his children and the children of his house, and when there is not enough before them to be full, they [still] lift their faces to Me as they give the blessing. Moreover, they exercise meticulous care [to recite a blessing] for [something as small] as an olive, for [something as small] as an egg.

Therefore (in Numb. 6:26), “The Lord lift up his face unto you […].” (Numb. 6:23:) “Thus shall you bless the Children of Israel], ‘Say to them.’” “Say (amor)” is written] fully (i.e., with the o represented by the vowel letter, waw). Say to them, i.e., to the priests, “[It does] not [follow that], because I told you to bless Israel, that you will bless them [as though] in forced labor and in sudden haste.

Rather you shall bless them (fully) with religious devotion (kawwanah) of the heart, so that the blessing will be fully effective with them. It is therefore stated, “Say” fully, to say that a person should wish his fellow well with a full [heart].

(Numb. 16:1:) “And On ben Peleth.” Why was he named On (which means "sorrow")? Because he remained in sorrow all his days. (Ibid.:) “Ben Peleth (plt)?” The son of (ben) one for whom miracles (pl'wt) have been performed.

Rav said, “On ben Peleth had his wife save him; for she said to him, ‘What has this dispute to do with you? If Aaron is the high priest, you are a disciple; if Korah is high priest, you are [still] a disciple].’ He said to her, ‘I know that the whole community is holy, since it is written in Numb. 16:3), “for all the congregation are holy.”’ What did she do?

She gave him wine to drink, got him drunk, and had him lie down in her bed. Then she sat down at the entrance [of the house] and let down her hair. Everyone who came for her husband On saw her and returned. In the meanwhile they were swallowed up.” It is this which is written (in Prov. 14:1), “The wisdom of women builds its house,” this refers to the wife of On; “but folly tears it down with its own hands,” this refers to the wife of Korah. (Numb. 16:2:) “And they rose up against Moses, [together with men from the Children of Israel], two hundred and fifty princes of the congregation,” the special ones of the congregations; “chosen by the assembly (moed),” because they knew how to intercalate years and fix new moons (which determine the date of the festival (moed); “men of renown,” in that they had a name throughout the whole [world]. (Numb. 16:4:) “When Moses heard this, he fell on his face.”

What news did he hear? That they suspected him of [adultery with] a married woman. Thus it is stated (in Ps. 106:16), “And they were jealous (rt.: qn') of Moses in the camp.” Rav Samuel bar Isaac said that Rav said, “[This] teaches that each and every one suspected (rt.: qn') his wife of adultery with Moses.”

Reish Lakish says, “From here we derive that one may not perpetuate a dispute.” Rav says, “Anyone who perpetuates a dispute violates a prohibition. It is so stated (in Numb. 17:5), ‘and he will not be like Korah and his assembly.’” Rav Ashi says, “He is fit to be afflicted with leprosy.

It is written here (in Numb. 17:5, cont.), ’by the hand of Moses to him,’ and it is written there (in Exod. 4:6), ‘And the Lord said furthermore to him, “Put now your hand into your bosom.”’” Rav Ḥisda says, “Anyone who disagrees with his teacher is like one who disagrees with the Divine Presence, as it is stated [with regard to Dathan and Abiram] (in Numb. 26:9), ‘when they strove against the Lord.’”

R. Ḥama, son of R. Ḥanina, says, “Anyone who initiates a quarrel [meriva] with his teacher is like one who initiates a quarrel with the Divine Presence, as it is stated (in Numb. 20:13), “These are the waters of Meribah, where the Children of Israel quarreled with the Lord.’” R. Ḥanina bar Pappa says, “Anyone who expresses resentment against his teacher for wronging him, it is as though he is expressing resentment against the Divine Presence, as it is stated (Exod. 16:8), ‘your murmurings are not against us, but against the Lord.’”

R. Abbahu says, “Anyone who suspects his teacher of wrongdoing, it is as though he suspects the Divine Presence, as it is stated (in Numb. 21:5), ‘And the people spoke against God, and against Moses.’”

(Numb. 20:12:) “But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Because you did not trust in Me.’” Why was Aaron punished? The matter is comparable to a creditor who came to take the threshing floor of the borrower [as repayment, and] takes his and his neighbor’s. The borrower says to him, “If I am in debt, what is my poor neighbor’s sin?”

So too did Moses say to the Holy One, blessed be He, “Master of the world, “I got angry, [but] what is Aaron’s sin?” Therefore the verse lauds [Aaron] (in Deuteronomy 33:8), “And of Levi he said, ‘Let Your thummim and urim be with Your faithful one [whom you tested at Massah, with whom you contended at the waters of Meribah].’” (Numb. 20:12:) “Because you did not trust in Me.”

Did not Moses say something worse than this? As he said (in Numb. 11:22), “Are there [enough] flocks and herds to slaughter for them; [are there enough fish in the sea to gather for them]?” There also trust was lacking, and [that lack of trust] was greater than this one. So why did the Holy One, blessed be He, not decree death for him there?

The matter is comparable to a king who had a friend. Now when in private he displayed arrogance towards the king with harsh words, the king did not become angry with him. [When, however,] he arose one day and was arrogant in front of the legions, he decreed death for him. So also did the Holy One, blessed be He, say to Moses, “When you acted privately with Me, I did not become angry, but now [that you have acted] in public, it is impossible [to overlook your action].”

Thus it is stated (in Numb. 20:12), “to sanctify Me in the sight of the Children of Israel.” This text is related (to Ecclesiastes 8:14), “Here is a vanity that occurs in the world: sometimes an upright man is requited according to the conduct of the scoundrel.” You find that when the Holy One, blessed be He, cursed the serpent and said to him (in Genesis 3:14), “You are cursed,” He did not allow him to make any claim.

As the serpent could have said in front of the Holy One, blessed be He, “You said to Adam, ‘Do not eat,’ and I said to him, ‘Eat.’ Who does one listen to, the words of the master or the words of the student? [So] why do You curse me?” And he did not allow [Moses] to make any claim [either]. As [Moses] could have said, “I did not transgress Your words.

Why should I die?” (Numb. 20:12:) “Because you did not trust in Me, therefore you shall not lead this congregation.” The matter is comparable to two woman that were lashed in court. One had been corrupted (was unfaithful) and the other ate unripe fruit of the sabbatical year. The one that ate the unripe fruit of the sabbatical year said to them, “I plead with you to make known to the creatures why I am being lashed, so that they do not say, that I was also corrupted. [So] they brought the unripe fruit that was in her possession and suspended them upon her and announced and said, “This one was corrupted and was lashed, and that one ate unripe fruit from the sabbatical year and was lashed.”

So too Moses said to the Holy One, blessed be He, “Master of the world, see, You have decreed for me to die in the desert along with this wicked generation who angered You,” as stated (in Ps. 78:40), “How often did they defy Him in the desert and grieve Him in the wilderness.” “Now the [future] generations will say I was like them.

Let it be written about me why I came to be punished.” It is therefore written (in Numb. 20:12), “because you did not trust in Me to sanctify Me, therefore you will not bring.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses, “With what countenance do you want to enter the land?" The situation is comparable to a shepherd who went out to feed the king's flock, and the flock was carried off. [When] the shepherd wanted to come into the king's palace, the king said to him, “They will say that you caused the flock to be carried off.”

Here also the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses, “[Would it be] your glory that you are the one who led sixty myriads out [of bondage] and buried them in the desert and are bringing another generation into [the land]. Now they will say, ‘The generation of the wilderness has no share in the world to come.’ Rather be by their side, and come along with them [in the future].” Thus it is stated (in Deut. 33:21), “[for there is an honored lawgiver's portion,] where he came at the head of the people....” Therefore it is stated (in Numb. 20:12), “therefore you shall not lead this congregation,” that came out with you.

(Numb. 22:31:) “Then the Lord uncovered the eyes of Balaam and he saw [the angel of the Lord….].” Was he blind? [These words were] simply to inform him that even the eye is not under his control. (Ibid., cont.:) “Then he bowed down and prostrated himself on his face,” because [the angel] had spoken with him. (Numb. 22:32:) “And the angel of the Lord said unto him, ‘Why did you strike your she-ass these three times?’”

The angel come to seek satisfaction at his hand for the she-ass. He said to him, “Now if for the she-ass, which has neither its own merit nor merit from ancestors, I have been commanded to seek satisfaction from your hand, how much the more so for an entire people that you have come to uproot!“ (Numb. 22:32, cont.:) “Here I have come out as an adversary (satan), because your way is contrary (yrt).” [Yrt is interpreted as] an acronym [concerning the ass for] yare'ah (she feared), ra'atah (she saw), natetah (she turned away).

Another interpretation: [The numerical value of] yrt, in the atbash [scheme] is [equivalent to that of] shield (magen). (Numb. 22:33:) “For the she-ass saw me and turned away from me these three times. If she had not turned away [from me, surely just now I would have killed you] and let her live.” From here you have learned that he killed the ass. (Numb. 22:34:) “Then Balaam said unto the angel of the Lord, ‘I have sinned because I did not know.’” [These words are] to teach you that he was completely evil.

He knew that nothing can withstand divine punishment except for repentance; for whenever anyone sins and says, “I have sinned,” the angel has no authority to touch him. (Ibid.:) “Because I did not know.” Although that wicked man was praising himself and saying (in Numb. 24:16), “who has knowledge of the Most High,” his mouth bore witness about him and said (in Numb. 22:34), “I did not know.” (Ibid., cont.:) “And now, if it is evil in your eyes, I will return.” He said to him, “I did not go until the Holy One, blessed be He, said to me (in Numb. 22:20), “Arise and go with them”; yet you are saying that I should return! [Indeed] such is His practice!

Similarly, did he not tell Abraham to sacrifice his son? Then after that [it is stated (in Gen. 22:11-12)], ‘But the angel of the Lord called [unto him…]. And he said, “Do not raise your hand [against the lad].”’ He is used to saying something, then to have an angel come and reverse it.” [So (in vs. 34),] “if it is evil in your eyes, I will return.” (Numb. 22:35:) “The angel of the Lord said unto Balaam, ‘Go with the men’”; for your lot is [to be] with them, and your end is to be obliterated with them from the world. (Ibid., cont.:) “So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.” [These words] teach that just as they were happy to curse [Israel], so was he happy. (Numb. 22:36:) “When Balak heard that Balaam had come.” [These words] teach that he sent messengers unto [Balak] to send him tidings. (Ibid., cont.:) “He went out to meet him unto the city of Moab,” [i.e.,] unto their metropolis. What was [Balak's] reason for preceding him to the borders? He said to him, “These are borders which have been fixed from the days of Noah, so that a nation would not enter the territory of its neighbor.

These [people] are coming to uproot them.” He said to him, “Come to curse them.” Then he showed him how they had broken through and crossed the border of Sihon and Og, as though lodging a complaint against them. (Numb. 22:37:) “Then Balak said unto Balaam, ‘Did I not truly send unto you [to summon you; why did you not come unto me; am I really unable to honor you]?’” He prophesied that his end would be to go in disgrace.

Then did Balaam also answer him like the [truth of the] matter (in Numb. 22:38), “So Balaam said unto Balak, ‘See, I have come unto you now, [but am I really able to say anything at all…?]’” For I do not have authority to say what I want.

(Numb. 27:15-16:), “And Moses spoke […], ‘Let the Lord, [the God of the spirits of all flesh], appoint….’” Let our master instruct us: What blessing does one say on seeing a human being that is different? Thus have our masters taught: On seeing a black person, one with white blotches, a hunchback, a pockmarked person or one afflicted with dropsy, one says, “Blessed is the One who makes mortals different.”

On seeing an amputee, someone blind, or someone smitten with boils, one says, “Blessed is the true Judge.” When [should one recite this]?

When they who were [once] whole have become different. But if they were like that from their mother's womb, one says, “Blessed is the One who makes mortals different.” On seeing good creatures and good trees, one says, “Blessed is the One who has created such things in his world.” But if he sees crowds of human beings, he says, “Blessed is the One who is learned in mysteries.” [As] just as their faces are unlike each other, so are they unlike in temperament. Rather each and every individual has his own individual temperament; and so it says (in Job 28:25), “To fix a weight for the spirit,” [i.e.,] the [spiritual] weight of each and every individual. You yourself know that it is so, because of what Moses asked from the Holy One, blessed be He, at the time of his death, when he said to him, “Master of the world, the temperament of each and every person is revealed to You; and the temperament of one person is unlike the temperament of another.

Now that I am departing from them, would You please, if You so desire to appoint a leader over them, appoint over them a person who will bear with each and every one of them according to his temperament.” Where is it shown? From what they have read on the matter (in Numb. 27:16), “Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint [someone over the congregation]….”

(Numb. 34:2), “This is the land that shall fall to you as an inheritance.” What is the meaning of “to you?” To you it is fitting. [The matter] is comparable to a king who had male and female slaves and would have his male slaves marry female slaves from another estate and his female slaves [marry] male salves from a different estate. The king stopped and reflected. He said, “The male slaves are mine and the female slaves are mine. It would be better for me to marry my male slaves ('avadim) to my female slaves, my own to my own.” Similarly the Holy One, blessed be He, said, “The land is Mine, as stated (in Ps. 24:1), ‘The land is the Lord's and all that is in it.’

Moreover Israel is Mine, as stated (in Lev. 25:55), ‘For to Me the Children of Israel are servants ('avadim).’ [It is] better for Me to bequeath My land to my servants who belong to Me, My own to My own.” It is therefore stated (in Numb. 34:2), “this is the land that shall fall to you.” Another interpretation (of Numb. 34:2), “this is the land”: This text is related (to Ps. 111:6), “He revealed to His people His powerful works.”

The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel, “I could have created a different desirable land for you. But in order to show you My strength, I am expelling your enemies in front of you and giving you their land, to fulfill that which is stated, ‘He revealed His powerful works....’”

Two tablets of stone (Deuteronomy 10:1): Corresponding to a groom and bride; corresponding to two ushers/benefactors; corresponding to heaven and earth; corresponding to two scribes; corresponding to two Torahs, the written Torah and the oral Torah; corresponding to two worlds, this world and the world to come, as it is stated, "two tablets". Rabbi Chanina said, "It is written 'tablets,' that neither was bigger than the other, but rather both of them were equal; and the carving of both was as one (at the same time)."

Another interpretation: "Tablets (luchot) of stone," that anyone who does not make his life (lechayav) like this stone, does not merit words of Torah. Another interpretation: "Tablets of stone," because the majority of the deaths prescribed in the Torah are by stoning. Another interpretation: "Tablets of stone," in the merit of Yaakov, of whom it is stated (Genesis 49:24), "from there, the shepherd, the stone of Israel."

Another interpretation: "Tablets of stone," in the merit of the Temple, as it is stated (Isaiah 28:16), "Behold, I will found in Zion stone." And Reish Lakish says, "In the merit of Moshe who was called a stone, as it is stated (Daniel 2:34), 'as a stone was hewed out [...].'" "Like the first ones" (Deuteronomy 10:1). As the first ones were given with a voice of voices, so were the second ones.

As the first ones were given with six hundred thousand, so were the second ones. But behold, it is written (Exodus 34:3), "And no one may go up with you." But rather, the Holy Blessed One brought out six hundred thousand from Moshe our teacher at that time. As so is it written in the Book of Chronicles (I Chronicles 23:17), "The sons of Rechavya were very numerous (literally, above)."

And our rabbis expounded, "Above six hundred thousand." "And come up to Me on the mountain; and make an ark of wood" (Deuteronomy 10:1). But Moshe did not do this, but rather he made an ark of wood, and afterwards went up the mountain and took the tablets, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 10:3-4), "I made an ark of acacia wood [...] and I went up the mountain [...]. And He wrote on the tablets."

(Deut. 14:22:) “You shall surely tithe.” This text is related (to Prov. 28:22), “An evil-eyed person (i.e., a miser) moves quickly after wealth; [and he does not know that loss will come to him].” R. Hanina interpreted the verse with reference to Ephron (of Gen. 23). For R. Hanina said, “All the shekels mentioned in the Torah are sela, those in the prophets are litrai, and those in the writings are centenarii, except for the shekels of Ephron, which are not centenarii. This is what is written (in Gen. 23:9), ‘let him give it to me at the full price.’”

Because he brought the evil eye (of greed) into Abraham's wealth, the written text lacks the letter waw. This is what is written (in Gen. 23:15), “My lord, listen to me, what is a piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver between you and me?” He said to him, “If you want to give me four hundred centenarii of silver from the goods of your house, you can give it to me.” Because he brought in an evil eye (i.e., of greed) into Abraham's wealth, [his name] is lacking the letter waw, where it is stated (in Gen. 23:16), “So Abraham heeded Ephron, and Abraham weighed out the silver for Ephron.

It is the second Ephron that is written deficient. R. [Ammi] interpreted the verse (Prov. 28:22) with reference to one who borrows a cow. Since he was too miserly to rent two cows, he borrowed one and rented one. And (according to Prov. 28:22) “he does not know that loss will come to him”; that it is written (in Exod. 22:13), “[When someone borrows an animal from his neighbor and it is injured or dies,] and its owner is not with it, he shall surely pay.”

R. Isaac interpreted the verse (Prov. 28:22) with reference to the one who lends to an Israelite at interest and is too miserly to lend it without interest, and (Prov. 8:22) “he does not know that loss will come to him”; that it is written (in Prov. 28:8), “The one who augments his wealth by interest and usury amasses it for one who is generous to the poor.” Who is the one that is generous to the poor?

This is Esau the wicked. Is Esau the wicked generous to the poor? Rather does he not oppress the poor? He is like those procurators who go out to the villages and plunder tenants.

Then they go back to the capital and say, “Gather the poor, because we want to perform a good act for them.” The [Aramaic] adage says, “[She commits adultery] for apples, and distributes [them] to the sick.” R. Levi interpreted the verse (i.e., Prov. 28:22) with reference to the person who does not take out his tithes properly. To this end R. Levi told a story about someone who did take out his tithes properly: Now he had a certain field that produced a thousand measures every year.

So he took a hundred measures from it for his tithes; and from the remainder he and the children of his household sustained themselves all of his days. At the time of his death, he summoned his son. He said to him, “My son, give your attention to this field. It yields such and such [a number of] measures, and I take out such and such a tithe.

From it I have sustained myself and my household all my days.” When that son planted it the first year, it produced a thousand measures, and he took out a hundred measures from it for the tithe. For the second year, an evil eye (i.e., of greed) entered within him. So he subtracted ten [measures from the tithe], but [the field] subtracted one hundred [measures from its yield].

Similarly also [on the third, fourth, and fifth [years], until it was reduced to its tithes. When kinfolk and friends saw [what was happening], they put on white (i.e., festive) [tunics] and wrapped themselves in white [mantles]. [When] they came to him, he said to them, “Why have you come? To rejoice over the very one who has been excommunicated [by the Heavens]?” They said to him, “God forbid!

We have only come to rejoice with you. In the past you were the owner of the house, and the Holy One, blessed be He, was the priest; but now the Holy One, blessed be He, has become the owner of the house, and you are the priest.” For that reason Moses warned Israel (in Deut. 14:22), “You shall surely tithe.”

As these nations that you are, etc. (Deuteronomy 18:14): This is that which is stated in the verse (Deuteronomy 28:13), "The Lord will make you the head, not the tail; you will always be at the top and never at the bottom." That there should not be lying judges and that you all be poor in Torah. [It is as you say (Isaiah 9:14), "Prophets who give false instruction, such are the tails." "You will always (rak) be at the top," you will only (rak) be few in this world, not forever.

Another interpretation: "You will always (rak) be at the top (above),"When you come to ask something, you should not ask what is above, and not ask what is below, in the way that the [other] nations of the world [ask], as it is stated (Isaiah 29:4), "your speech shall sound like a ghost’s from the ground."As these nations that you are dispossessing, etc.," such that you should ask from it: This is that which is stated in the verse (Isaiah 8:19), "Now, should they say to you, 'Inquire of the ghosts and familiar spirits that chirp and moan,'" say to them (Isaiah 8:19, cont.), "Does a people inquire of its god, of the dead on behalf of the living?"

The needs of the dead are done by the living. Would the needs of the living be done by the dead? "That moan," as they do not do not serve the needs of their heads. "As these nations, etc. but not like this to you."

There is a story about a convert who was from Batsra. He said, "When I was a foreigner, I would ask of idolatry. Now I have become an Israelite and it is forbidden to me." What did he do?

He saddled his donkey and went to a province and he did not ask of the idolatry. He entered the province and its priest was standing at the entrance of the province. When he entered, he saw them and was immediately afraid. He descended from the donkey and the donkey fled.

The [people] that were standing there came down and he became frightened of them. [But] they stood him upright, supported him and said, "This old man fell." They [then] immediately brought him to his donkey, and [so] he entered in peace and left in peace. What caused him this? Because he held on to the Torah.

Hence, "As those nations that you are about to dispossess listen to soothsayers and augurs, but the Lord your God did not give like this to you." There is a story about Rabbi Yannai and Rabbi Yochanan who were sitting at the entrance of Teveriya. There were two astrologers there who saw two Jews going out to their work. These astrologers said, "Those two men will go out but they will not come back, [as] a snake will poison them."

Rabbi Yannai and Rabbi Yochanan heard [this]. What did they do? They sat at the entrance of the province to know if those two men would come back from their work. And they did come back and Rabbi Yochanan and Rabbi Yannai saw them.

They said to the astrologers, "Did you not say that these two men would go out but not come back, as a snake would poison them?" They said, "Yes." They said [back], "Behold, they went out in peace and came back in peace." The astrologers observed them [and then] they said to them, "Tell us, what did you do today?"

They said, "We did not do anything [unusual], but rather that which we are accustomed to do. We read the Shema and we prayed." They said to them, "You are Jews, the words of astrologers do not materialize with you, as you are Jews." Hence, "but the Lord your God did not give like this to you."

(Deut. 25:18, cont.:) And he cut off (rt.: znb) all who were lagging behind you. He smote them with a blow to the tail (rt.: znb). And this agrees with what R. Hanina bar Shilqa, said, “What did the House of Amalek do to Israel? They cut off their penes and flung them heavenward, as they said, ‘This is what You have chosen, take for Yourself what You have chosen.”

As Israel did not know what the nature of spit was, until Amalek came and taught them, as stated (with reference to Ezek. 8:17), “here they were sending the spit in their faces.” From whom did he learn it? From his grandfather Esau, as stated (in Gen. 27:36), “And he said, ‘Is he not (hky) rightly named Jacob?’” He rubbed (rt.: hkk) his throat and brought out the spit. (Deut. 25:18), “All who were lagging behind you.”

R. Judah, R. Nehemiah, and the masters [differed]. R. Judah said, “They said, ‘If He is master over all of out deeds, we will serve Him; but if not, we will revolt against Him.’” R. Nehemiah said, “They said, ‘If He furnishes us with our food like a king who is living in the province, such that the province lacks nothing at all, we will serve Him; but if not, we will revolt against Him.’” And the masters said, “They said, “’If we have a thought in our hearts and He knows what we are thinking, we will serve Him; but if not, we will revolt against Him.’”

R. Berekhyah said in the name of R. Levi, “In their heart they had a thought, and the Holy One, blessed be He, granted them their request.” And what is the evidence? (Ps. 78:18:) “They tested God in their heart by asking food for themselves.” See what [else] is written there (in vs. 29), “So they ate and were very full.” Another interpretation (of Deut. 25:18), “all who were lagging behind you”: R. Judah, R. Nehemiah and the masters [differ]. R. Judah says, “Whoever was overcome was discarded.”

R. Nehemiah says, “Whomever the cloud vomited up was discarded.” And the rabbis say, “It was the tribe of Dan that the cloud vomited up, [as] they all served idols, as stated (Deut. 25:18, cont.), ‘when you were tired and weary, and did not fear God.’” [You were] tired from thirst and weary from the road, and you did not fear God. R. Pinhas said in the name of R. Samuel bar Nahman, “It is a transmitted aggada [that] Esau will fall at the hand of the children of Rachel (Joseph and Benjamin), as stated (in Jer. 49:20), ‘Surely the youngest of the flock shall drag them away.’

Why does it call them the youngest of the flock? Because they were the youngest of the tribes.” Hence, Moses said to Joshua (Exod. 17:9), “Choose men for us.” As he was [descended from] Joseph, about whom it is written (Gen. 42:18), “I fear God.”

And about Esau, it is written (Deut. 25:18), “and did not fear God.” Youth is written with reference to the one and small is written with reference to the other (i.e., with reference to Esau). Youth is written with reference to the one (in Gen. 37:2), “since he (Joseph) was a youth with the children of Bilhah [and with the children of Zilpah].” And small is written with reference to the other (in Obad. 1:2), “I will surely make you (Edom) smallest among the nations.”

The one (Esau) grew up with two who were righteous (i.e., with Isaac and Rebekah) and did not learn from their deeds, while the other grew up with two who were wicked (i.e., Potiphar and Pharaoh) and did not learn from their deeds. The one received the birthright as a result of his good deeds, while the other lost his birthright from his evil deeds. The one supported his brothers, while the other sought to kill his brother.

The one fenced himself away from sexual immorality and from the spilling of blood, while the other sullied himself with sexual immorality and the spilling of blood. The one conceded to the revival of the dead, as stated (Gen. 50:24), “God will surely remember you”; while the other denied the revival of the dead, as stated (Gen. 25:32), “Behold, I am going to die.” The one offered his life for his mother’s honor, as stated (Gen. 33:7), “and after, Joseph and Rachel came forward and bowed”; while the other sought to kill his mother, as stated (Amos 1:11), “and he destroyed his uterus.” Therefore, the one (Esau) will fall by the hand of the other (Jospeh).

And R. Johanan said, “All of the ministering angels sought to battle with the ministering angel of Esau, but he would not fall by their hand, as he would remove each and every one with a response: To Reuben, he says, ‘You were suspected about your father’s concubine.’ To Simeon and Levi, ‘You also killed [the inhabitants of] Shekhem.’ To the other tribes, ‘You sold your brother and sought to kill him.’

To Judah, ‘You were also suspected about your daughter-in-law, Tamar.’ To Benjamin he said, ‘You were suspected about the concubine in Giveah.’ When the ministering angel of [Joseph] came and battled with him, he immediately fell in front of him, as he had no response to answer him. This is what is written (Obad 1:18), “And the House of Jacob shall be fire, and the House of Joseph flame, and the House of Esau shall be straw.”

Another interpretation (of Genesis 8:1): "Then God remembered Noah." It is written (Proverbs 12:10): "A righteous one knows the soul of his beast." The Righteous One of the world knows even the soul of His beast, even when He is angry. The attributes of the Holy One, blessed be He, are not like the attribute of flesh and blood. The attribute of flesh and blood: when a province rebels against him, he sends out his legions and destroys it, and he makes the good and the wicked equal as one, and there is no one there to say, "So-and-so is upright, leave him be" — rather they kill them all. But the Holy One, blessed be He, is not so. Rather, the whole generation provokes Him, and He is angry with them, yet there is but a single righteous one there, and He saves him. This is the meaning of "A righteous one knows the soul of his beast." And so it says (Nahum 1:7): "The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He knows those who take refuge in Him." "But the compassion of the wicked is cruel" (Proverbs 12:10) — these are the generation of the flood, who were cruel. Our Rabbis said: At the hour when the Holy One, blessed be He, brought up the deep, and they saw the fountains rising over them, what did they do? They had many children, and each and every one would take his child and set him upon the deep, and the waters kept rising. This is the meaning of "But the compassion of the wicked is cruel." [And whence that they did so?] For Job said of them (Job 24:20): "The womb forgets him, the worm feeds sweetly upon him, he is no longer remembered" — his womb, that is, his children. And what did the Holy One, blessed be He, do to them? He brought down upon them a flood from above and shattered them, as it is said (Job 24:20): "And unrighteousness is broken like a tree." Rabbi Berekhyah said: They were exceedingly hard, and they were of great stature, and had He not exacted punishment upon them from above, the waters could not have prevailed against them. For so Job said (Job 22:20): "Surely our adversaries are cut off, and their remnant the fire has consumed." What is the meaning of this? Since the Holy One, blessed be He, saw that they had not died in the depths below, He brought down upon them fire from above and burned them, as it is said, "Surely our adversaries are cut off," and so forth. And not only that, but He turned the bird and the beast and the wild animal against them, and they made them perish, as it is said (Genesis 7:21): "And all flesh perished," and so forth. When they saw themselves that they were lost, they sought to overturn the ark. What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He surrounded the ark with lions, and they devoured them, as it is said (Genesis 7:16): "And the Lord shut him in." What is the meaning of "shut in"? As in the matter of which it is said (Daniel 6:23): "My God sent His angel and shut the mouths of the lions."

There is a story about Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus, who was a child of the palace; and his father was attached to the government and to the affairs of the army commanders. In time, Rabbi Eliezer's father went to another place. When he sensed that they were coming, he said to his sons: Let us arise and flee from before them. At once he called his witnesses and his servants. He said: Bring me the cattle and the camels. They loaded the goods upon the cattle, and Hyrcanus and his sons fled. But Rabbi Eliezer did not go with his father; rather he fled to Jerusalem. And he took in his hand neither a loaf nor a coin nor anything at all, but entered Jerusalem like a poor man. And he saw Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai sitting and teaching Torah, with the students sitting before him at the lesson. When they finished the lesson, he would tell them haggadah, and afterward he would say mishnah. He entered and sat beside Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai. He spent two or three weeks before him, and he came to speak before the students, and they would smell the foul odor of his mouth, and they would conceal it and say nothing. Again he came to speak, and they would conceal it and say nothing. Again he came to speak, and they would conceal it and say nothing. Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai knew that the odor of his mouth did not speak of something bad that was within his mouth, but rather came from hunger, for he was not eating anything. Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai said to the students: By your lives, examine the matter and find out what is the affair of this student—whether he is hungry, and what he eats. And they went about all Jerusalem and asked the innkeepers: Is there a haver lodging here? They said to them: No. They came to a certain woman. They said to her: Is there a haver lodging here? She said to them: Yes. Does he have anything here? She said to them: He has one sack. They said to her: Show it to us. At once she brought it before them. They opened it and found in it dust, for he would put his head into it and suck as upon a wineskin. They went and told Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai, and he was amazed at the matter, and he saw the righteousness that was in the hand of Rabbi Eliezer, that he did not demand of any man, saying, Give me something. At that hour he set aside much money for him, so that he might eat good foods, as he had been accustomed to in his father's house, where he would eat and drink well, until the odor of his mouth was healed. He spent before Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai one, two, and three years, until Rabbi Eliezer's father returned to his place. When he came to his place and remained there a month and two months and Rabbi Eliezer his son did not come, it grieved him to say that he had abandoned him and gone off to Jerusalem. And the brothers of Rabbi Eliezer said to their father: See what Eliezer your son has done—he abandoned you and went off to Jerusalem to eat fattened delicacies, while you carried yourself away from your house and went after him. Were it a bad matter, he would not leap to take an inheritance. And how great is the difference between us and your son! We gave our lives for you and did not abandon you, but he did not come to see your distress; and now, if he hears that some matter has befallen you, he is destined to come to us and share with us. At that hour he said to them: In such-and-such a manner he shall inherit nothing from me. They said to him: When you die, you remove him. He said to them: Call me a tablet. They said to him: It will be of no use. There is in Jerusalem a certain nasi, and his name is Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai, and he supports him; and when you die, he will surely come, and he will say, Who says that his father removed him? And we shall bring out the writing, and he will say, It is a forgery—you made it, and I do not believe it—until we come to a court of law. He said to them: Since you have said this before me, even though Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai praises him, I will remove him. At that hour his sons mounted him upon a carriage, and he entered Jerusalem on the eve of the Sabbath. He said: I will not remove him except on the Sabbath in the house of study, when? At the hour when all the congregation assembles. He entered to sit in the house of study, and all Israel entered according to their custom to hear the homily that Rabbi Eliezer was expounding before the multitude upon the chair, with the hazzan standing before him. His father saw him wrapped in his prayer-shawl with tefillin upon his head. At once he saw—for he had supposed that he had gone off to evil ways. When he saw him sitting upon his chair and expounding, Hyrcanus stood upon the bench and said before the people of Jerusalem: I did not come up to Jerusalem except to excommunicate you, Eliezer my son, and also to remove you from the inheritance; now behold, I give you two portions more than your brothers. And upon what matter was Rabbi Eliezer expounding at that hour? Our Rabbis said: On this matter (Genesis 14:1), "And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel." Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus opened: This is as Scripture says (Psalms 37:15), "Their sword shall enter into their own heart"—all that matter which is at the head of the parashah.

It is written (Job 41:4): "I will not keep silent concerning his boastings, nor his mighty word, nor the grace of his array." The Holy One, blessed be He, said: Lest people say, "We too may speak with the Holy One, blessed be He, just as Abraham spoke, and He keeps silent toward us," the Holy One, blessed be He, said: No — "I will not keep silent concerning his boastings"; rather, to Abraham alone do I keep silent. Why? Because he kept silent toward Me, I too keep silent toward him. When did Abraham keep silent? When I said to him, "For in Isaac shall seed be called to you" (Genesis 21:12), and afterward I said to him, "Take now your son" (Genesis 22:2), and he kept silent toward Me, as it is said, "But I am like a deaf man, I hear not" (Psalms 38:14). I too will keep silent toward him. And even though he spoke harsh things, as it is said, "nor his mighty word" (Job 41:4), yet "the grace of his array" was sweet to Me. And what mighty things did he speak? See what is written: "And Abraham drew near and said, 'Will You indeed sweep away?'" (Genesis 18:23). Abraham said before the Holy One, blessed be He: Master of the universe, "Far be it from You," and so forth — lest those who come into the world say, "Such is His craft, that He destroys the generations with the measure of cruelty. He destroyed the generation of Enosh, and the generation of the Flood, and the generation of the Dispersion; He does not abandon His craft." [Therefore Abraham said,] "Far be it from You." The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: Thus have you said. Come and see, and I will cause to pass before you all the generations that I destroyed, and I will show you that I did not exact more than their due in punishment from them. And if it should enter your mind that I did not act fittingly, teach Me, and I will do so, as it is said, "What I see not, teach You me; if I have done iniquity, I will do so no more" (Job 34:32) — and I will do so no more. They said before Him: Master of the universe, peace to You; You do not pervert judgment upon any creature, as it is said, "Therefore, you men of understanding, hearken to me: far be it from God that He should do wickedness, and from the Almighty that He should commit iniquity" (Job 34:10); rather, "For the work of a man He repays him," and so forth (Job 34:11). Therefore he says, "Far be it from You," and so forth.

(Genesis 25:1:) "And Abraham added and took a wife." This is what Scripture says (Job 8:7): "Though your beginning was small, yet your end shall greatly increase." Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said in the name of Rabbi Eleazar ha-Kappar: From here you learn that the addition of the Holy One, blessed be He, is greater than the original. Abraham at first sired none but Isaac; when the Holy One, blessed be He, added for him, He added for him still more, as it is said (Genesis 25:2): "And she bore him." So too you find with the first man: when she bore Cain, she bore, and afterward "she added to bear" (Genesis 4:2). And so too you find with Rachel: she bore Joseph and said, "May the LORD add to me another son" (Genesis 30:24); He added for her Benjamin and his twin sister. How do we know this? "This is a son for you" is not written here, but rather "For this also is a son for you" (Genesis 35:17). And so too you find with King Hezekiah: all the days of his reign were fourteen years, and when the Holy One, blessed be He, added for him, He added for him fifteen years: "Behold, I will add to your days fifteen years" (Isaiah 38:5). And when the prophets saw that the addition of the Holy One, blessed be He, was greater than the original, they began to bless Israel with addition. Moses said, "May the LORD, the God of your fathers, add to you a thousand times as many as you are" (Deuteronomy 1:11). David said, "May the LORD add to you" (Psalms 115:14). Also in the world to come the Holy One, blessed be He, acquires His people with addition, as it is said (Isaiah 11:11): "And it shall come to pass on that day that the LORD will add His hand a second time."

"And now, please take up your implements" (Genesis 27:3). Rabbi Yitzchak Nappacha (the Smith) said: "[Your implements]" — this is the kingdom of Babylon, as it is said, "And the Lord gave into his hand Jehoiakim king of Judah, and a portion of the implements of the House of God" (Daniel 1:2). "Your quiver (telyekha)" — this is [the kingdom of] Media, as it is said, "And they hanged (talu) him and his sons upon the tree" (Esther 9:25). "And your bow" — this is the kingdom of Greece, as it is said, "For I have bent Judah for Me as a bow" (Zechariah 9:13). "[And go out to the field — this is the kingdom of Edom]," as it is said, "to the land of Seir, the field of Edom" (Genesis 32:4).

(Gen. 29:31:) "And the LORD saw that Leah was hated." This is what Scripture says (Ps. 145:14): "The LORD upholds all who fall, and raises up all who are bowed down." (It does not say "all who stand," but "all who are bowed down," and even the wicked He raises up.) R. Hiyya said: The measure of the Holy One, blessed be He, is not like the measure of flesh and blood. The measure of flesh and blood is this: a man has a wealthy friend, and he clings to him and longs for him; but once his hand has sunk and he has become poor, the friend mocks him. The Holy One, blessed be He, however, is not so. As soon as He sees a man whose hand has sunk, He gives him a hand and raises him up, as it is said, "The LORD upholds all who fall." It does not say "all who stand," but "all who fall." "And raises up all who are bowed down." You might say that He raises up even the wicked, should they come to fall — no, as it is said (Ps. 6:13 [12]): "There the workers of iniquity have fallen; they are thrust down and cannot rise." Once they have fallen, they have no standing. Why? Because it is said (Ps. 35:5): "Like chaff before the wind, and the angel of the LORD thrusting them." But the righteous — "the LORD upholds." When the Holy One, blessed be He, saw that Leah was hated, He said: How shall I make her beloved before her husband? Behold, I will raise her up and give her children first, so that she will be beloved before her husband. Therefore, "And the LORD saw that Leah was hated." And so it says (1 Chron. 2:18): "And Caleb the son of Hezron begot children of Azubah his wife, and of Jerioth; and these were her sons: Jesher, and Shobab, and Ardon." R. Berekhyah said: She was his wife. And why was she called Azubah? Because she was forsaken (azuvah) and ugly. The Holy One, blessed be He, said: Behold, I will give her children so that she will become comely through them, as it is said, "And these were her sons: Jesher, and Shobab, and Ardon." Therefore it is said, "The LORD upholds all who fall, and raises up all who are bowed down."

[(Genesis 38:1:) "And Judah went down [from his brothers, and turned aside to a certain Adullamite]."] This is what the verse says (Micah 1:15): "I will yet bring to you one who shall dispossess you, [O inhabitant of Mareshah; to Adullam shall come the glory of Israel]." R. Judah and R. Nehemiah [differed]. One said: The tribes married their sisters, as it is said (Genesis 37:35): "And all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him." And how many daughters were there? Rather, they were their twin sisters, for [the mother] would bear twins together with [each son], and he would take her [as a wife]. And thus it says regarding Benjamin (Genesis 35:17): "for this too is a son for you." "For this is a son for you" is not stated, but rather "for this too" — that his mother bore a twin sister along with him. Hence (ibid. 37:35): "And all his sons and all his daughters [arose]." From here you learn that they married their sisters. And R. Nehemiah upholds [the verse by interpreting] "his daughters" as his daughters-in-law, for a man's son-in-law is like his son and his daughter-in-law like his daughter, and a man does not refrain from calling his daughter-in-law his daughter. Our Rabbis said: Judah, who was the eldest in his father's house, took a Canaanite woman, as it is written (Genesis 38:2): "And Judah saw there [the daughter of a certain Canaanite]." And the prophet proclaims (Micah 1:15): "To Adullam shall come the (Holy One) [glory] of Israel." Hence (Genesis 38:1): "And Judah went down [from his brothers] and turned aside to a certain Adullamite."

(Gen. 42:3:) "AND JOSEPH'S TEN BROTHERS WENT DOWN." Jacob said to them: I beg of you, do not enter by a single gate, on account of the evil eye. And so they did. When they entered, they did not all enter as one, but each and every one by himself. What did Joseph do? He stationed guards at the entrance to the gates of Egypt. He said: Whoever enters, let his name and his father's name be written down by you, and you are to bring me their names. And when the sons of Jacob entered, each and every one by himself, he (the guard) would say: What is your name? And he would say to him: Reuben son of Jacob. And so each and every one of them; he would write down his name and his father's name. And they brought the written records to Joseph. He said to them: Go and bring them. They went and found them in the market of the harlots, and they brought them to Joseph. Immediately Joseph recognized them, as it is said (Gen. 42:8): "AND JOSEPH RECOGNIZED HIS BROTHERS." He began to recall the dreams, as it is said (Gen. 42:9): "AND JOSEPH REMEMBERED THE DREAMS THAT HE HAD DREAMED ABOUT THEM." (Gen. 42:7:) "AND HE MADE HIMSELF A STRANGER TO THEM AND SPOKE HARSHLY WITH THEM." He began to be harsh with them and said to them: From where have you come? When they said: From the land of Canaan, he said to Simeon and to Levi: Are you accustomed to plundering people, just as you did in Shechem? This is the meaning of "AND HE SPOKE HARSHLY WITH THEM."

(Genesis 27:4–5:) "And make me delicacies," etc.; "And Rebekah was listening," etc.; [And Esau went to the field]. Since he would catch and bind them, and the angel would go and release them and drive them off, again he would catch them, and the angel would release them. And why so? Only in order to roll along the hours until Jacob should go, so that he might go and prepare and come in to his father and eat and receive the blessings. Therefore (Genesis 27:5): "And Esau went to the field to hunt game to bring."

"You will decree a thing, and it will be fulfilled for you" (Job 22:28). The Holy One, blessed be He, spoke to the righteous one: If you have done My will, I too will do your will more than My own. "You will decree a thing, and it will be fulfilled for you," etc. Rabbi Berekhyah the Priest said: What is the meaning of "and it will be fulfilled for you"? The Holy One, blessed be He, said to the righteous one: I say a thing and you say a thing; as it were, I annul Mine and uphold yours. This is "and it will be fulfilled for you." When did this come about? When they did that deed (the golden calf). What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He said to Moses, "Go, descend, for your people have acted corruptly" (Exodus 32:7). What is written? "And now, let Me be" (Exodus 32:10). Immediately Moses stood in prayer and supplication, as it is said, "And Moses entreated," etc. (Exodus 32:11): "O LORD God, do not destroy Your people and Your inheritance," etc. (Deuteronomy 9:26), "for they are Your people and Your inheritance," etc. (Deuteronomy 9:29). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: I cannot. He said to Him: Just as You have borne with them from Egypt until now, so bear with them: "Pardon, I pray, the iniquity of this people" (Numbers 14:19). "And the LORD said, I have pardoned according to your word" (Numbers 14:20). Immediately, "And the LORD relented of the evil" (Exodus 32:14). "You will decree a thing, and it will be fulfilled for you." Jacob too vowed words before the Holy One, blessed be He. Where? As it is said, "And Jacob vowed a vow, saying," etc. (Genesis 28:20), "and I return in peace to my father's house" (Genesis 28:21). He said to Him: My father Isaac sought to go abroad, and You did not permit him, because he was a burnt offering; You revealed Yourself to him and said to him, "Do not go down to Egypt" (Genesis 26:2). But I am not going out for my own benefit, but rather from before my brother, lest he kill me. I have taken permission from You and from my father; do not forsake me. "And Jacob vowed a vow," etc. (Genesis 28:20).

“So Joseph recognized his brothers” (Genesis 42:8)—when they fell into his hand; “but they did not recognize him”—when he had fallen into their hand. David said, “Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, who leads Joseph like a flock” (Psalms 80:2). Thus did Rabbi Tanchuma expound: “Go down (redu) there”—for he saw that they would go down and be enslaved in Egypt two hundred and ten (RD"U) years. Another interpretation: “Go down (redu)”—to teach you that whoever buys produce from the marketplace, it is a going down for him. “And Joseph’s ten brothers went down”: it is not written here “the children of Israel,” but rather “Joseph’s brothers,” because at first they did not act toward him with brotherhood, in that they sold him; and in the end they regretted it, and said, “When shall we go down to Egypt and return Joseph to our father?” And when their father told them to go down to Egypt, they all went of one mind to bring him back. Therefore it is written, “And Joseph’s brothers went down.” And why ten? Because it was within their power to bring the punishment to an end and to annul the decree. Thus you find with Sodom that Abraham went down from fifty to ten; and once he did not find ten, Abraham the Righteous fell silent. And because there were not ten in the generation of the Flood, they were not saved, for there was no one there except Noah and his three sons and their wives—that is, eight.

"And Rebekah spoke unto Jacob" etc., "And now, my son, heed my voice as to that which" etc., "Go now to the flock" etc. (Genesis 27:6, 8, 9). When he had gone and brought it, he went to his father, as it is said, "And he came unto his father" etc., "And Jacob said unto his father" etc. (Genesis 27:18, 19), and he blessed him. And even though you say that Jacob lied, he did not lie. Balaam said, "He has not beheld iniquity in Jacob" (Numbers 23:21). Rather [he said], "I am Jacob; Esau [is] your firstborn" etc. "Arise now, sit" etc. "And Isaac said unto his son" etc. (Genesis 27:21). He said to him, "Because the LORD your God caused it to happen before me" (Genesis 27:20). And further he said to him: When you were bound upon the altar and the angel said, "Do not stretch out your hand against the lad" (Genesis 22:12), was there perhaps anything there? The Holy One, blessed be He, only made it sprout forth for your sake, as it is said, "And Abraham lifted up his eyes" etc. (Genesis 22:13). And so too he said, "Because the LORD your God caused it to happen before me." And when Isaac heard that he said, "Because the LORD your God caused it to happen before me," he said: This is not Esau; Esau does not mention "the LORD your God." He said to him, "Come near now, that I may feel you, my son" etc. "And Jacob came near unto Isaac his father" etc. (Genesis 27:21, 22). He said to him: You are acting with your voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau. Rabbi Judah bar Ilai said: In the earlier generations one would expound: What is "the voice is the voice of Jacob"? The voice of Hadrian Caesar, [who] killed eighty thousand myriads in Betar. Rabbi Yohanan said: The voice of Jacob cries out over what the hands of Esau did to him in Betar.

The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: You have testified concerning Me that I was with you, as it is said, "But the God of my father has been with me" (Gen. 31:5). "And will keep me" (Gen. 28:20) — and I kept you from Laban. "And will give me bread to eat" (ibid.) — "And God took away your father's cattle and gave them to me" (Gen. 31:9). "And a garment to wear" (Gen. 28:20) — "And on that day he removed the he-goats, etc." (Gen. 30:35). "And I will return in peace, etc." (Gen. 28:21) — "And Jacob came in peace, etc." (Gen. 33:18).

(Genesis 27:23) "And he did not recognize him, because his hands were [hairy like the hands of Esau his brother], etc." He (Isaac) foresaw that wicked ones were destined to arise from him, and he did not wish to bless him. (Once he foresaw Yakum: when Jerusalem was conquered, the nations were afraid to enter the Temple. What did he do? He entered and brought out the menorah. When he saw him, he did not wish to bless Jacob on his account, and "he did not recognize him.") And once he foresaw that he would repent, immediately (Genesis 27:27) "and he smelled the scent of his garments and blessed him, etc." When Jacob entered, the Garden of Eden entered with him, as it is said, "like the scent of a field which the LORD has blessed." When Esau entered, Gehinnom entered with him, as it is said (Genesis 27:33), "And he said, Who, then (eifo)?" And "eifo" is nothing other than Gehinnom, as it is said (Isaiah 22:16), "For you have hewn here (poh) a grave for yourself, etc."

Thus, "You will decree a thing, and it will be fulfilled for you, and upon your ways light will shine" (Job 22:28). Twice, for the Holy One, blessed be He, made the sun set out of its time when he wished to go forth and when He wished to speak with him. "And Jacob went out from Beersheba" (Genesis 28:10). What is written there? "And behold, the Lord stood over him" etc. (Genesis 28:13). And when he came, He made the sun rise for him out of its time, "And the sun rose for him" (Genesis 32:32). And over all the world the sun does not rise, but only over Jacob alone, but it was in order to heal him, as it is said, "And there shall rise for you who fear My name a sun of righteousness" etc. (Malachi 3:20). Rabbi Berekhyah the Priest said: What is "And the sun rose for him"? That He made the sun rise for him out of its time [three hours], just as it had set for him out of its time. Jacob said: Five things did the Holy One, blessed be He, stipulate with me, and He performed them; and I, shall I not perform what I spoke and vowed? Immediately, "And he set up there an altar, and called it El, God of Israel" (Genesis 33:20). When Israel arose, the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: Moses, the five things that I did with Jacob, I have done for his children,

This is "like the scent of a field" (Genesis 27:27): he foresaw that he was destined to stand and build Zion and to offer sacrifices in its midst, and so he blessed him. And "a field" can mean nothing other than Zion, as it is stated, "Zion shall be plowed as a field" (Micah 3:12). "Which the LORD has blessed" (Genesis 27:27) — that is the one of which it is written, "like the dew of Hermon" and so forth (Psalms 133:3).

(Gen. 28:20:) IF GOD WILL BE WITH ME — (this corresponds to Exod. 13:21:) AND THE LORD WENT BEFORE THEM BY DAY. (Gen. 28:20:) AND WILL GUARD ME — for I guarded them from Pharaoh and his companions, and I shook off Pharaoh and all his army; and likewise Amalek, (as it is said, Exod. 17:13:) AND JOSHUA WEAKENED AMALEK AND HIS PEOPLE. (Gen. 28:20:) AND WILL GIVE ME BREAD TO EAT — (this corresponds to Exod. 16:4:) BEHOLD, I AM RAINING DOWN FOR YOU BREAD FROM THE HEAVENS. (Gen. 28:20:) AND CLOTHING TO WEAR — (this corresponds to Deut. 8:4:) YOUR GARMENT DID NOT WEAR OUT UPON YOU. (Gen. 28:21:) AND I WILL RETURN IN PEACE — (this corresponds to Exod. 18:23:) AND ALSO ALL THIS PEOPLE WILL COME TO ITS PLACE IN PEACE.

And afterward he [Jacob] took His [God's] kingship upon himself, as it is said (Genesis 33:20): "And he set up there an altar, etc." And they [Israel] too took His kingship upon themselves, as it is said (Exodus 20:2): "I am the LORD your God." What did they say? They all answered with one mouth and said (Exodus 24:7): "All that the LORD has spoken we will do and we will obey." This is the meaning of (Job 22:28): "You shall decree a thing, and it shall be established for you."

And the Lord said unto him: “Therefore, whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” and the Lord set a sign for Cain (Gen. 4:15). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: Four families were destined to descend from Abel, but since you have eliminated them from the face of the earth, the earth will open up and devour four families that will descend from you: these are Enoch, Irad, Mehujael, and Methushael.

How was Cain slain? For one hundred and thirty years, Cain became an angel of death, wandering and roaming about, accursed. Lamech, his descendant in the seventh generation, who was blind, would go hunting led about by his young son. At the sight of game, the lad would apprise his father of its whereabouts. One time the lad said to his father: “I see some kind of beast in the distance.” Lamech sent his arrow in that direction, and Cain was slain. As they approached the corpse, the lad saw a horn protruding from the forehead of the slain creature, and he said to his father: “The corpse resembles a man, but a horn protrudes from its forehead.” Thereupon, Lamech cried out: “Woe is me, it is my grandfather.” In his grief, he clasped his hands together, and accidentally struck the child’s head, killing him. As it is said: I can slay a man by a wound of mine and a child by a strike of mine (Gen. 4:23).

The three remained where they were: Cain dead, the child slain, and Lamech blind. At nightfall his wives went out to search for them and found their grandfather dead, their son Tubal-cain slain, and Lamech. It was then that the earth swallowed up the four families: Enoch, Irad, Mehujael, and Methushael. Thereafter, Lamech served as the Angel of Death in fulfillment of the verse: Cain was avenged sevenfold, and Lamech seventy and seven (Gen. 4:24).

Upon returning home, Lamech said to his wives: “Let us go to bed.” They replied: “You have slain our ancestor and our son Tubal-cain; we shall no longer go to bed with you.” He retorted: “Cain received his punishment only after seven generations, surely mine should be postponed for seventy and seven generations.” “We shall not listen to you,” they insisted. “Why should we give birth to one who will be dishonored?” Thereupon, he said: “Let us go to the court for a decision.” They went to Adam, and Adah and Zillah cried out: “Oh, lord Lamech, our husband, has slain our grandfather.” Whereupon Lamech declared: “Did our grandfather kill unwittingly?” Adam replied: “Wives of Lamech, hearken to my words! Lamech says: Have I have slain a man intentionally? (Gen. 4:23). Therefore I say to you: Go and obey your husband.” They retorted: “O physician, heal your own lameness. You have not had sexual intercourse with your wife for one hundred and thirty years, yet you command us to do so.” Hence it is written in Scripture following this incident: And Adam lived a hundred and thirty years and begot his son in his own likeness (Gen. 5:3).

Lamech lived a hundred and eighty-two years and begot his son (Gen. 5:28), through whom the world was to be reestablished. He called him Noah (lit. “comfort, ease”), saying: This one will comfort us in our work and in the toil of our hand (Gen. 5:29). How did he know that this one would comfort us in our work? Was Lamech a prophet? R. Simeon the son of Yehozadak said: There was a tradition that when the Holy One, blessed be He, told Adam: Cursed be the ground for thy sake; in toil shalt thou eat of it (Gen. 3:17), Adam inquired: “Master of the Universe, how long will the ground be cursed?” He replied: “Until a man-child already circumcised shall be born.” When Noah was born circumcised, Lamech understood immediately that this was the one concerning whom the Holy One, blessed be He, had said: This one will comfort us in our work (ibid. 5:29).

What do the words in our work and in the toil of our hands (ibid.) imply? Prior to Noah’s birth, men did not reap what they sowed. They would sow wheat and reap thorns and thistles, but when Noah was born, the world reverted to normal: Wheat was sown and wheat was reaped; barley was sown and barley was reaped. Furthermore, prior to Noah’s birth, men performed all their labor by hand, as it is written: And in the toil of our hands, but after Noah was born, plows, scythes, axes, and other implements were introduced.

Another explanation of go forth from the ark. David said: Bring my soul out of prison (Ps. 142:8). Noah, while in the ark, prayed continually: Bring my soul out of prison, and it is said elsewhere: For this let everyone that is godly pray unto Thee in a time when Thou mayest be found; surely, when the great waters overflow, they will not reach unto him (ibid. 32:6).

The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: Noah, I have decreed that you are not to depart from this ark until twelve months have elapsed. And thus Isaiah declared: Thus said the Lord: In an acceptable time have I answered thee; and in a day of salvation have I helped thee … saying to the prisoners: “Go forth”; to them that are in darkness, “Show yourselves” (Isa. 49:8–9).

To say to the prisoners go forth implies that they were enjoined from sexual intercourse. Why was that? When the world is overwhelmed by suffering and destruction, men are forbidden to (fulfill the command to) increase and multiply (Gen. 6:28) Surely, while the Holy One, blessed be He, is engaged in destroying the world, men should not strive to populate it. Joseph behaved accordingly. He indulged in intercourse with his wife only prior to the years of hardship, as it is said: And unto Joseph were born two sons (Gen. 41:50). When were they born? In the years preceding the famine.

That is why Job declared: They are lonely in want and famine (Job 30:3). That is, when want and famine come into the world, be lonely; abstain from sexual intercourse. Noah acted accordingly. When he entered the ark, it is said: And Noah and his sons came, and after that is written: His wife and his sons’ wives (Gen. 7:7). However, when he was about to depart from the ark, the Holy One, blessed be he, told him: Go forth from the ark, you and your wife and your sons and your sons’ wives (Gen. 8:16). Thus we learn that Noah and his sons were forbidden to indulge in sexual intercourse while in the ark.

Scripture states in reference to Noah, that thou mayest say to the prisoners “Go forth,” and to them that are in darkness, “Show yourselves” (Isa. 49:9). Say to the prisoners; that is, say to those who are forbidden to have sexual intercourse, Go forth from the ark. To them that are in darkness, show yourselves. Show yourselves refers to the beasts, the animals, and the birds. Thereupon, He told them: And you, be ye fruitful and multiply; swarm in the earth, and multiply therein (Gen. 9:7).

Forthwith, Noah said: Master of the universe, will you retract the promise you made, and bring another flood? He replied: I promise that I shall not bring another flood. As it is said: And the Lord smelled the sweet savor, and the Lord said in his heart: “I will not again curse the ground,” etc. (Gen. 8:21); and it says elsewhere: For this is as the waters of Noah unto me; for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah shall no more go forth over the earth, so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee (Isa. 54:9).

You find that from that time until Solomon erected the Temple, it rained continuously for forty days each year as a reminder of the waters of the flood that lasted forty days. After Solomon completed the Temple, he pleaded for mercy in behalf of them (Israel), and the continuous rains ceased, as it says: And in the eleventh year, in the month of Bul (I Kings 6:38). What is the meaning of the words In the month of Bul? It refers to the month when the cattle are given mixed fodder which was stored inside the house (because of the rains).

Another comment upon In the month of Bul. It was named Bul because He selected it as the month for the forty days of the flood (mabul).

We find that the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Noah: Neither shall there anymore be a flood (Gen. 8:11). Isaiah later explained that this was an oath, as it is said: For as I have sworn that the waters of Noah shall no more go over the earth (Isa. 54:9), and that this promise will be fulfilled everlastingly. How much more so, then, will He keep the three oaths that He explicitly swore to Israel. The first oath was: So have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee nor rebuke thee (ibid.); the second was: The Lord God has sworn by His holiness (Amos 4:2); and the third was: The Lord God has sworn by His right hand, and by the arm of His strength: Surely I will no more give thy corn to be food for thine enemies (Isa. 62:8).

The Lord has sworn by His right hand and by the arm of His strength (Isa. 62:8). By his right hand refers to the Torah, as it is said: His right hand was a fiery law unto them (Deut. 33:2). And by the strength of His arms alludes to the tefillin (phylacteries), as it is said: The Lord will give strength unto His people (Ps. 29:11). Surely I will no more give thy corn to be food for thine enemies … in the courts of My sanctuary (Isa. 68:8–9) refers to Jerusalem. What oath did He proclaim in reference to Jerusalem? He vowed that He Himself would build it, as it is said: The Lord doth build up Jerusalem; He gathered together the dispersed of Israel (Ps. 147:2).

R. Samuel the son of Nahmani stated: There is an aggadic tradition which states that Jerusalem will not be rebuilt until the dispersed of Israel are gathered together. However, if one should tell you: The exiles are already gathered together and Jerusalem still hath not been rebuilt, believe him not, for it is written: The Lord doth build up Jerusalem, and after that Scripture says: He gathered together the dispersed of Israel (ibid. 147:2).

Israel said to the Holy One, blessed be He: Master of the universe, has not Jerusalem already been rebuilt and destroyed? And He replied: It was destroyed and you were exiled from it, because of your sins, but in the future I will rebuild it and it will never be destroyed again, as it is said: When the Lord hath built up Zion … He hath appeared in His glory (Ps. 102:17).

"After these things the word of the LORD came." This is what Scripture says: "He stores up sound wisdom for the upright, a shield for those who walk in integrity" (Proverbs 2:7). What is the meaning of "He stores up sound wisdom for the upright"? Before the world was created, the Holy One, blessed be He, stored away the Torah, until Abraham came and fulfilled it, as it is said: "Because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws" (Genesis 26:5). Rabbi Levi in the name of Rabbi Shmuel bar Nahman said: Nine hundred and eighty generations the Holy One, blessed be He, folded back in order to give circumcision to Abraham, as it is said: "He has remembered His covenant forever, the word which He commanded for a thousand generations" (Psalms 105:8). Yet it was given only after twenty generations: from Adam to Noah, ten; from Noah to Abraham, ten; behold, twenty, and it was given to Abraham. And Rabbi Yohanan in the name of Rabbi Yose the Galilean says: Nine hundred and seventy-four generations the Holy One, blessed be He, folded back in order to give the Torah to the generation of the wilderness, because they were upright, as it is said: "He stores up sound wisdom for the upright." Rabbi Shmuel bar Nahmani said: Abraham even observed the combining of cooked dishes, as it is said: "Because Abraham obeyed My voice." The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: You have occupied yourself with My Torah; by your life, I am a shield for you. Just as the shield holds the sword, and even if they throw arrows and stones at it, the shield receives them, so too I am a shield for you. And not for you alone, but even for your children: if they occupy themselves with My Torah just as you have occupied yourself, so too I will become for them like a shield, as it is said: "The word of the LORD is refined; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him" (2 Samuel 22:31). Therefore it is said: "a shield for those who walk in integrity."

And the two angels came to Sodom … and he said: “Behold now, my lords, turn aside, I pray you, into your servant’s house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet” (Gen. 19:1–2). There is a proverb which says: Associate with a greasy man and you too will become greasy. Because Lot associated with Abraham he learned to welcome travelers. And they said: “Nay” (ibid.): From this episode our sages taught that one may refuse the request of one’s inferior but not of one’s superior.

It is written concerning Abraham that he said: And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and stay ye your heart … and they said: “So do as thou hast said” (ibid. 18:5), but in reference to Lot it is written: And he urged them greatly; and they turned into his house … and they ate (ibid. 19:3). Surely, ministering angels do not partake of food. This was done only in order to teach us that proper behavior requires that no man should deviate from the custom of the land. You learn this lesson from Moses as well. It is written that after he ascended the mountain: And he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights, and he did neither eat bread nor drink water (Exod. 34:28).

If it was customary to eat and drink there, he would have done so. Therefore concerning the angels who came to visit Abraham, to destroy Sodom and to rescue Lot, it is written: He made them a feast and baked them unleavened bread, and they ate (Gen. 19:3).

And Isaac trembled very exceedingly (Gen. 27:33). What is written before this? Jacob was yet scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac, his father (ibid., v. 30). This indicates that as one withdrew, the other entered. How could this happen? A person standing in a lighted area is unable to see a person standing in a dark place, while a person standing in a dark place can see one standing in a lighted area. Thus Esau, who came from the marketplace, was unable to see Jacob, who was inside the house, but Jacob could see him as he hid behind the door. As soon as Esau entered the room, Jacob slipped out, as it is said: And Jacob was yet scarce gone out … that Esau, his brother, came in from his hunting (ibid.).

How did Jacob know when to go in to his father so that Esau would not precede him and receive the blessing? As soon as Esau went out to hunt, the Holy One, blessed be He, sent Satan after him to keep him from catching anything until Jacob had received the blessing, as it is said concerning Esau: Set thou a wicked man over him, and let an adversary stand at his right hand (Ps. 109:6).

How did he do that? When Esau caught a deer, he would tether it and then set out to catch another deer. In the meantime Satan would release the deer that had been caught and permit it to escape. When Esau returned, he was unable to find the deer. He repeated this a second and a third time. And thus it says: A slothful man shall not catch his prey (Prov. 12:27). He was forced to roam about for hours while Jacob received the blessings. Hence, Scripture states: And Jacob was yet scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac, his father, that Esau, his brother, came in from his hunting. When the wicked Esau entered, he called out to his father impudently: Let my father arise, and eat of his son’s venison (Gen. 27:31). It is of him that Scripture states: When the wicked cometh, there cometh also contempt (Prov. 18:3). The words Let my father arise sound as though he were issuing a decree. Jacob did not speak like that. He spoke gently, saying: Arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison (Gen. 27:19).

Three words in this one verse are expressions of pleading, humility, and meekness. The wicked one, however, said merely: Let my father arise, and eat. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Jacob: Inasmuch as you said Arise, I pray thee, your descendant Moses will say to Me: Rise up, O Lord, and let thine enemies be scattered (Num. 10:35). Inasmuch as you said sit (shevah), your descendants will say: Return (shuvah), O Lord, unto the tens of thousands (ibid., v. 36). However, because Esau said Let my father arise, I will exact retribution from him through that very expression, as it is said: Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered (Ps. 68:2). Let my father arise. At that moment Isaac recognized his voice and began to tremble. Who art thou? (Gen. 27:32), he asked. When Jacob entered the room, a fragrance from the Garden of Eden accompanied him; a fragrance so pleasant that the righteous one’s mind was set at ease, as is said: See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the Lord hath blessed (ibid., v. 27). However, when Esau entered, Gehenna was revealed to him. Hence, it says: Isaac trembled very exceedingly (ibid., v. 33). Isaac was astonished and cried out: I see Gehenna and Esau is causing the flames to rise.

Who, then, is he that hath trapped venison? (ibid.). Why is the word trapped repeated in the text? Isaac said to Esau: “You went out to trap, and you were trapped.” “Why are you upset?” Esau asked. He replied: I have eaten of all (ibid.); that is, everything that the Holy One, blessed be He, created during the six days of creation was contained in the food I ate before you entered, and I blessed him. Isaac desired to withdraw the blessing he had conferred upon Jacob and to declare instead: “Cursed shall ye be,” but the Holy One, blessed be He, rebuked him, saying: What are you doing? You are, in fact, cursing yourself, for you said to him: Cursed be everyone that curseth thee, and blessed be everyone that blesseth thee (ibid., v. 29). He changed his mind and confirmed the blessings, saying: Yea, and he shall be blessed (ibid., v. 33).

Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred (Gen. 31:3). What is written above concerning this? Lift up now thine eyes, and see, all the he-goats which leap upon the flock are streaked (ibid., v. 12), and it is also written there: And Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field unto his flock, and said unto them: “I see your father’s countenance,” etc. (ibid., vv. 4–5). This teaches us that he was not slothful, but that he labored with all his strength.

And your father hast mocked me, and changed my wages ten times (ibid., v. 7). What is meant by ten times (aseret monim), and why is the (usual) word pe’amin not used instead of monim? R. Abba said: Ten monim actually indicates one hundred times, that is, ten times ten. R. Hiyya stated: It was actually a thousand times, ten times a hundred.

He would change his wages in the following manner. If he said thus: The speckled shall be thy wages; then all the flock bore speckled; and if he said thus: The streaked shall be thy wages; then bore all the flock streaked (ibid., v. 8). When Laban saw that they changed from streaked to speckled, and from speckled to streaked, he cried out: “Is there a God or not?” That is to say, Laban asked: “Did God do this or not?”

What did Laban do when the sheep conceived? He would tell Jacob: “This kind shall be yours,” and whatever kind he mentioned would be born, for the Holy One, blessed be He, changed the streaked to speckled and the speckled to streaked, as it is said: And he changed my wages ten times. Laban reversed his decision so that none would belong to Jacob. And so, after Laban had made his final decision, the Holy One, blessed be He, would tell the angel: Let them be born in accordance with his last decision. Thus Scripture says: But God suffered him not to hurt me (ibid., v. 7).

What did they respond after Jacob told them this? Rachel and Leah answered and said unto him: “Is there yet any portion or inheritance for us in our father’s house? Are we not accounted by him strangers? For he hath sold us” (Gen. 31:14–15).

And Jacob outwitted Laban (ibid., v. 20), so that Laban would not become incensed with him: Then Jacob arose, and set his sons and his wives upon camels … and carried away all his cattle…. And it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob had fled. And he took his brethren with him, and pursued after him (Gen. 31:17–18, 23). The Holy One, blessed be He, immediately appeared before him and slit his ear.

And he sent Judah before him (Gen. 46:28). Jacob sent Judah before him to establish an academy wherein he might teach the Torah as he had previously done for the tribes. You know that he taught his sons earlier from the fact that Jacob remembered the chapter of the Torah that Joseph was studying with him at the time of his disappearance. When Joseph’s brothers returned and told him: “Joseph is yet alive” … his heart fainted, for he believed them not (Gen. 45:26). Jacob recalled the chapter of the Torah that Joseph was studying at the time of his departure, and he said to himself: “I know that he was studying the portion devoted to the beheaded heifer.” Whereupon he turned to them and said: “If he gave you something to indicate the chapter he was studying when he departed from here, I will believe you.” Joseph had also remembered the chapter he was studying when he was separated from his father. What did Joseph do? He gave them wagons (ibid., v. 21). When Jacob saw the wagons (‘agalot), the spirit of their father revived forthwith. This teaches us that wherever Joseph went, he devoted himself to the law, as his ancestors had done before him, even though the Torah itself had not yet been given. And thus it is written: Because that Abraham hearkened to My voice and kept My laws (Gen. 26:5).

From what source did Abraham learn the law? R. Simeon the son of Yohai declared: His two kidneys (kelayot) became like two pitchers filled with water, from which the law flowed forth, as it is said: In the night season my kidneys instruct me (Ps. 16:7). R. Levi maintained: He studied the law by himself, as it is said: The dissembler from his heart shall have his fill from his own ways; and a good man shall be satisfied from himself (Prov. 14:14). He taught the law to his sons, as it is said: For I have known him, to the end that he may command his children (Gen. 18:19).

The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Him: You have taught your sons the law in this world, but in the world-to-come I shall teach them the law, as Scripture states: And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord, and great shall be the peace of thy children (Isa. 54:13).

Zebulun shall dwell at the shore of the sea (Gen. 49:13). Zebulun was mentioned before Issachar even though Issachar was the elder. Why? Zebulun was engaged in commercial activity, while Issachar devoted himself to the study of the Torah, and they had agreed that Zebulun’s earnings would be shared by Issachar. That is why Moses blessed them: Rejoice, Zebulun, in thy going out, and Issachar in thy tents (Deut. 33:18). Rejoice, Zebulun, in going about to do business, for Issachar is in your tents studying the Torah. Why should he rejoice? Because the Torah is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her, and happy is everyone that holdeth her fast (Prov. 3:8). Therefore Zebulun preceded Issachar. If it had not been for Zebulun, Issachar could not have studied the Torah. Since Issachar engaged exclusively in the study of the Torah, and was not concerned with business nor did any kind of work, it is written about him: And the children of Issachar, men that had understanding of the times (I Chron. 12:33).

Issachar is a large-boned ass (Gen. 49:14). That is, he bears the yoke of the Torah like an ass that bears its load, while Zebulun brings his wares in ships. Crouching down between the sheepfolds (ibid.). This refers to his disciples, who spread the knowledge of the Torah before the wise throughout the land, as it is said: When ye lie among the sheepfolds, the wings of the dove are covered with silver (Ps. 68:14). For he saw a resting place that it was good (Gen. 49:15). This refers to the Torah, as it is said: I am weary with my groaning, and I find no rest (Jer. 45:3). That it was good alludes to the Torah, since it is said: For I give you good doctrine (Prov. 4:2). And he bowed his shoulders to bear (Gen. 49:15) the yoke of the Torah. And he became a servant under task-work (ibid.). Task-work refers to the law. Whenever the people erred in the law, they would seek a decision from him, as is said: And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah; as was Issachar, so was Barak; into the depth they rushed forth at his feet (Judg. 5:15); for he would search deeply into the law.