Otzar Midrashim (Eisenstein) Reader

"Midrash Chazit": It is also called "Aggadat Chazit", and it is a comprehensive midrash on the Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes. These midrashim begin with the verse "Do you see a person skilled in his work?" (Proverbs 22:29). It was first printed in Pisa in the year 5379 (Hebrew calendar). In "Shibbolei HaLeket HaShalem" (Laws of Passover, section 218), it is written: According to what is expounded in "Aggadat Chazit", when the Israelites left Egypt, they inherited like this woman who takes a tenth of the assets.

Similarly, Israel inherited the seven nations, which are a tenth of the seventy nations. Therefore, they sang in the feminine language, "Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song...", but in the future, when they will inherit as males, they will sing in the masculine language, as it is said, "A psalm, sing a new song to the Lord..." This is from "Song of Songs Rabbah" on the verse "I am black and beautiful".

Similarly, there (in the laws of Lulav, section 372) it is written: As we found in "Aggadat Chazit", "And he came to Jerusalem and stood before the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, and he went up and made burnt offerings and made peace offerings and made a feast for all his servants." Rabbi Elazar said: From here we learn that a feast is made for the completion of the Torah. This is from "Song of Songs Rabbah" chapter 1 and "Ecclesiastes Rabbah" chapter 1 (Rav Pe'alim 62). See also: Ecclesiastes; Song of Songs.

Midrash Chacham HaRazim" (The Sage of Secrets): A Midrash regarding angels and gematria (Jewish numerology). According to Stein Schneider, this is the secret teachings of Raziel to Rabbi Eliezer of Worms, the author of "Rokeach". It begins with "Blessed is the Wise of Secrets", and it's also his "Sod Razia" (Raziel's Secret), whose foundation is the "Merkava" (Divine Chariot) and other secrets according to the Hebrew alphabet order.

Up to the middle of the letter "nun", it was printed in the book "Raziel". It might also be called "Sod Raziel" due to another version, "Sod Razia gematria Elazar", which can be found in manuscripts in Offenbach and Minkhen, among others. The book "Chacham HaRazim" is mentioned in "Yalkut Shimoni" on the portion "Chayei Sarah". It says: Sometimes a man seeks a wife and she refuses because an angel persuades her to refuse.

But here, "He will send His angel before you, and you will take a wife", meaning the angel will persuade them to say "take and go" and Rebecca will say "I will go", even if against their will. In the portion "Bo", it says: "For I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants", meaning an angel was given to him and controlled him according to his thoughts. There it says, "I will strike every firstborn in the land of Egypt, etc. I and not an angel", because of the sorcerers and magicians who wanted to destroy the destroyer from their houses.

Therefore, it was necessary to say "I and not an angel" as they cannot override my decrees. There it says: "And he called for Moses and Aaron at night", Pharaoh screamed "Get up! Leave!" and his voice was heard throughout Egypt because an angel entered his throat and screamed. In the portion "Yitro", it says: "Who makes His angels winds; His ministers a flaming fire" with gematria (numerology) equating to Moses.

This is because the angels said, "What is man that you are mindful of him?" When Moses ascended to the heavens, God brought down the Throne of Glory, and Moses held onto the Throne of Glory, as it is written, "And on Earth, he showed you his great fire". In the portion "Terumah", it says When God said to Israel, "Make Me a sanctuary, and I will dwell among them," all the chief angels gathered and said, "Master of the Universe, why do You wish to dwell below in a place of impurity?

It is better for You to dwell with us, for we are pure and in a pure place. Do not dwell among them." God replied, "I have a man below who is equivalent to all of you. You sing before me with 248 wings, as it is written, 'Praise, O heavens, for He has done it; shout, O depths of the earth.'

'Praise, O heavens' refers to the angels, and 'shout, O depths of the earth' refers to Israel who sing below." Moreover, they sing before you, as it's written, "When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy." And furthermore, he is more esteemed to me than you, for your strength is only "Ranu" (248), while his name is "Aharon" (which is complete). "Ronu" is for Jacob's joy, as written, "And he saw and rejoiced in his heart."

Jacob's visage is engraved on the Throne, and Jacob said, "I am the God of Bethel" which has the gematria (numerology) of "Kise" (Throne). Thus, Jacob receives the letter "He" when the prayer ascends above. In the portion "Beshalach", it's written: "Who is like You among the gods, O Lord?" This means, "Who is like You, even Michael, the great prince?"

In the tractate "Menachot", it is taught: Those who stand in the House of the Lord at night, meaning the altar is built, and Michael, the great prince, stands and offers a sacrifice upon it. Tosafot comments: There are differing Midrashim; some say the souls of the righteous, others say lambs of fire. This is referred to in the Amidah prayer, "And the offerings of Israel." See the Tur on Orach Chaim.

I saw in "Chacham HaRazim" that before the Temple was destroyed, Michael, as the high priest, offered sacrifices in the form of Israel's offerings before the Holy One, blessed be He. After the destruction, God said to him: "Do not offer me the form of an ox, sheep, or goat, for I will not bring [them] into the Heavenly Temple until I build for My name a temple below," but rather the souls of the righteous and the infants who have not sinned, and they ascend as a pleasing aroma. (Rav Pe'alim 128).

...And in Jonah it is written, "I would rather die than live." Jonah was the son of the woman of Zarfat. He had already died once, and knew that he would have rest, and Elijah did not die. And so he said, "am I not better than my ancestors?"

The deeds of Rabbi Yehoshua Ben Levi [from the Sefer Ma'asiot of Rabbi Nissim Ga'on; Beit Midrash] Rabbi Joshua ben Levi discovered something so overwhelming and frightening [which would continue to do so] unless he could manage to uncover the true mystery and the straightforward meaning of the matter. And he learned of his doubt, and he clarified the matter. And this is what occured: He fasted for many days and sat in his fasting and prayed to his Creator (may His Name be Blessed) for Elijah [the Prophet] to appear to him.

And behold, Elijah approached and appeared to him. And [Elijah] said to him: If you have a matter you desire from me, I will fulfill it for you. And Rabbi Joshua ben Levi said to him: I want to travel with you, and to witness the events in the world which are improved by your actions, and I will be able to learn much wisdom from you. And Elijah said to him: You will not be able to bear (tolerate) the things that you will see me do and it will be very bothersome for me to explain to you the purpose of my deeds and actions.

And Rabbi Joshua ben Levi said to him: My Master, I will not ask [anything of you] or bother you with any questions, for all I want is to see is what you do and what you say and nothing more. And Elijah made a condition with him that if Rabbi Joshua asked him to know the reasoning of his actions, signs, wonders and the like, that if he asked him any question he would not travel with him anymore. Then they both went together until they came to the house of an utterly poor and destitute man who had nothing [of value] but one cow which was standing with him in the yard.

And the man and his wife were sitting at the gate. And [the couple] saw [Elijah and Joshua ben Levi] coming toward them, and they went to greet them and they asked of them of their welfare and were rejoiced to meet them. And they brought them of the best of their home and they brought out before them whatever food or drink they had. And they all ate and drank.

And they slept there [overnight]. And the morning came, and they rose to go about on their way. And Elijah prayed for the cow to die, and it died immediately. And they both went [on their way].

And Rabbi Joshua ben Levi saw and wondered about the matter and was overwhelmed and thought to himself "Was there was no reward for this poor man for the honor he showed to us but to kill his cow? And he has no other one!" And he said to Elijah: "My master, why did you kill the cow of this man, who honored us so much?" And Elijah answered: "Remember the condition for our travels: you have to be quiet, and not ask, unless you want to separate from me."

And so Joshua Ben Levi stopped talking, and did not ask again. And the two walked together all day long. At night, they arrived to the house of a very rich man, who did not give them any food or drink, and just let them sleep there. And the house of the man had a wall that was about to fall, but in the morning Elijah prayed, and the wall was miraculously restored.

And the two walked from there. And this added to R. Joshua Ben Levi's grief and surprise, but he controlled himself and did not ask any questions regarding the deeds of Elijah. And they walked all they long, and at night they arrived at a huge synagogue, in which all the chairs were made from silver, and there was gold everywhere, and every person was sitting there according to how rich and powerful they were.

And one of them [looked at Elijah and R. Joshua ben Levi and] said: "Who will feed these poor tonight?" And another answered: "Oh, they should be all right with the water, the bread and the salt they themselves brought here!" And so they refused to honor them even minimally. They slept there until morning, and as they were up and leaving Elijah said to them: "May God make you all strong leaders!"

And they walked all the next day, and this compounded R. Joshua ben Levi's suffering, but he was careful not to ask. And as the sun was setting, they arrived in a town, and the leaders of the town saw them coming, and they went to meet them, with happiness and good heartedness, and received them with smiles and comraderie, and gave them the best that was in their houses, and they ate and drank and slept there in great honor.

And come morning, Elijah prays: "May the Holy One of Blessing give you all only one leader." And as Rabbi Joshua Ben Levi hears this, he can't hold himself back anymore. He can't be quiet and not ask regarding the deeds of Elijah. And so: "Now, please, tell me your secret!"

And Elijah said: "Now, that you really want to leave me, I will explain to you all of it, and let you know the secret of my deeds. Now you will know that regarding the man whose cow I killed there was a decree that his wife should die, and I prayed to God that his cow would die in her place, moreover, I saw that through that woman a great goodness would come to his house, and all would be well afterwards.

And the rich man whose wall I fixed, there was a great treasure of silver and gold hidden under that wall, and should he fix it by himself he would have discovered it. And I know that the wall will collapse gain, and that the treasure will remain hidden, and that house will not be rebuilt. And the people I prayed that they would all become great leaders, this is because it will be bad for them, as they will not be able to reach any agreement on their thoughts and deeds, since any place that has too many bossy leaders eventually gets destroyed and vandalized.

And the people I prayed that they should have only one leader it is because such a community will have agreement and all will work together towards their goals, and there will be no disputes among them, all will be well. And this is why the makers of sayings say: "Too many captains sink the ship, but one mayor makes a city prosper." And Elijah told R. Joshua Ben Levi: "I am leaving you, but here is what I will leave you with: if you see an evil person who is prospering, do not let yourself despair, because it will be that evil person's downfall.

And if you see a righteous person suffering, whether for lack of food, clothing or because of sickness or other sufferings, don't get angry, and don't let your impulse to doubt take you over, and strengthen your mind and heart, because the Holy One is just, and righteous, and God is paying attention to all the ways in which people walk. A person cannot know every thing, and who can ask God for an accounting of God's deeds?" And with that the two said 'Shalom' to each other, and went their separate ways.

Legend from "Midrash Eicha Rabati" [From "Beit Akeid Haggadot" Part 1, 37] God said to Jeremiah, "Go to Anathoth," for as long as Jeremiah was in the city, no enemies would enter it. Therefore, God sent him to Anathoth, and he departed. As soon as he left, the enemies entered the city, set it on fire, and burned the Holy Temple. When Jeremiah returned and approached Jerusalem, he reached the midpoint of his journey and ascended a hill about three miles from Jerusalem.

There, he saw smoke, etc. Immediately, Jeremiah tore his garments, placed ashes on his head, and hastened to the city, crying and shouting, etc. He hurried because many days had passed since Jeremiah, as a young man, walked with Nebuchadnezzar. On that day, Nebuchadnezzar was not a king but a poor and despised man. He would say, "If only I were the king of the entire world, I would come to Jerusalem, burn the Holy Temple and the city, kill everyone, and take the rest as captives."

Jeremiah, with his prophetic vision, saw that Nebuchadnezzar's time was approaching and that everything he said would come true. Jeremiah asked him, "Give me Jerusalem." Nebuchadnezzar replied, "I won't." Jeremiah again said, "Give me the Holy Temple."

The response was, "I won't." He continued, "Give me the Sanhedrin." The answer was, "I won't." He then asked, "Give me the young students of the rabbi."

Again, the answer was, "I won't." Jeremiah asked, "What will you give me?" Nebuchadnezzar replied, "Whatever you can save and remove from the city from midday till evening." That's why Jeremiah hurried to Jerusalem.

However, he didn't arrive until the evening and couldn't save anyone. This is reflected in the verse, "Woe unto us! For the day declines, for the shadows of the evening are stretched out" (Jeremiah 6:4).

Midrash Yitbarach (May He Be Blessed) Blessed be the name of the King of kings, the Holy One blessed be He, who lives and endures forever and ever. As it says "But as I live" (Numbers 14:21) and "The Lord God is truth" (Jeremiah 10:10). He sees births and knows what will happen in the future, as it says "Declaring the end from the beginning" (Isaiah 46:10). And no one can oppose Him, as it says "There is no one who can stay His hand" (Daniel 4:32).

And it says "Where the word of a king rules" (Ecclesiastes 8:4) - God is unsearchable... He hides and conceals Himself from the sight of all living, as it says "Surely You are a God who hides Himself" (Isaiah 45:15) and it says "He sits enthroned out of sight" (Isaiah 6:1). Yet everything is revealed before Him, as it says "He reveals deep and hidden things" (Daniel 2:22). He is sublime, transcendent, majestic, praiseworthy, laudable, and abundantly purposeful in His deeds, as it says "Great in counsel and mighty in deeds" (Jeremiah 32:19).

And it says "With Him are strength and sound wisdom" (Job 12:16). He is powerful in strength, His arm and might are with Him, as it says "Your arm endued with power" (Psalms 89:14) and it says "Who cuts through mountains with His power, girded with might" (Psalms 65:7). He is revered in the council of the holy, honored by the lowly, exalted by the lofty, elevated in the heights...glorious in His kingdom, His dominion is forever, His victory endures through all generations, His strength is everlasting, His remembrance is from generation to generation, forever and ever.

His splendor is in holiness, His counsel immovable - who can relate it? His awesomeness, who can attain? His greatness, who can recount? His deeds, who can understand?

His strength, who can tell? His might, who can speak? His thoughts, who can fathom? His achievements, who can dissuade?

Who can approach His council and stand the fullness of His miracles and wonders and the multitude of creatures He created in His world? He walked on the sea yet the sea did not see Him. He left a path in the waters yet His footsteps were unknown. He came in fire yet His face was not seen, for no eye ever ruled over Him, to make known to all that He alone is God and there is none aside from Him.

When the righteous do His will, they increase His strength and might, as it says "Now may the power of the Lord be increased" (Numbers 14:17). What does "be increased" mean? That His strength simply increases. And it says "Proclaim God's mighty acts" (Psalms 66:3), saying before Him: How goodly are Your works, O Lord...

How awesome are Your deeds! Who can save himself on the Day of Great Judgment? As it says "Who can say 'I have kept my heart pure'" (Proverbs 20:9). And it says "Where can I go from Your spirit" (Psalms 139:7) and it says "In whose hand is the soul of every living thing" (Job 12:10).

The Holy One blessed be He created His world only for the sake of Israel, so they would fear Him, as it says "In order that you fear the Lord your God" (Deuteronomy 14:23) and it says "And God made them fear before Him" (Ecclesiastes 3:14). When the righteous do His will, they increase His strength and might... But if not, as it were, "The Rock who bore you, you neglected" (Deuteronomy 32:18) and it says "You have wearied the Lord with your words" (Malachi 2:17) and it says "Yet you have not called upon Me, O Jacob" (Isaiah 43:22).

When Israel does the will of the Omnipresent, they make the left into the right, as it says "Your right hand, O Lord, is adorned with strength." And when Israel does not do His will, they make the right into the left, as it says "He has drawn back His right hand from before the enemy" (Lamentations 2:3). When Israel does His will, there is no rage before Him, as it says "I have no [divine] rage" (Isaiah 27:4).

But when Israel does not do His will, as it were there is rage before Him, as it says "The Lord's wrath flared up." When Israel does His will, He does not sleep before Him, as it says "Behold, He neither slumbers nor sleeps." But when Israel does not do His will, as it were "He awoke as one who had slept" (Psalms 78:65). When Israel does His will, He fights for them, as it says "The Lord will fight for you."

But when they do not do His will, He fights against them, as it says "He turned to become their enemy, He fought against them" (Isaiah 63:10). When Israel does His will, the Holy One blessed be He sees any righteous person among the nations and brings him to cling to Israel. So you find Jethro converted through Moses, Rahab through Joshua, and it is written of David "the Gittites, six hundred men" (2 Samuel 15:18).

So too you find with Solomon that many converts came through him, as it says "King Solomon numbered all the proselytes" (2 Chronicles 2:16). And so you find in the days of Mordecai and Esther, many converted, as it says "And many from the peoples of the land became Jews" (Esther 8:17). But when Israel does not do His will, He sees any righteous person among Israel and takes him away, as it says "For the righteous is taken away from before the evil" (Isaiah 57:1).

When Israel does His will, He sees their distress, as it says "In all their troubles He was troubled" (Isaiah 63:9). The Holy One blessed be He is not exacting with any nation or tongue but only with Israel, as it says "You only have I known from all the families of the earth" (Amos 3:2). Even if, heaven forbid, Israel wants to cast off His yoke from themselves, the Holy One blessed be He does not let them but forcibly imposes His kingship upon them, as it says "That which comes up into your mind shall never happen" (Ezekiel 20:32) and it says "As I live, says the Lord God, surely with a strong hand and an outstretched arm" (Ezekiel 20:33).

The Holy One blessed be He never abandons Israel, but has mercy on them like a father, as it says "For I have been like a father to Israel...Ephraim is My firstborn" (Jeremiah 31:9) and it says "As a father has mercy on his children, so the Omnipresent has mercy on us and all of Israel." And say Amen.

Masechet Kallah is one of the minor tractates in the Talmud, in the Order of Damages. It consists of external beraitot and mishnayot that were compiled at the end of the Talmud by the Savoraic sages. In the earliest authorities, there was only one chapter in Masechet Kallah. However, Rabbi Nachman Koronel found a manuscript of mishnayot or beraitot of Masechet Kallah with the Gemara's commentary on it in ten chapters.

It was printed in his book Beit Natan which contains five booklets, and it was also printed in the Vilna edition of the Talmud. Wertheimer found a manuscript of Mishnat Masechet Kallah which was missing its beginning and end, and printed it in his book Batei Midrashot vol. 3. Masechet Kallah mostly contains other matters not related to groom and bride. It appears that the meaning of "Kallah" here is a discourse or matters of homiletics that they would customarily say in the months of Adar and Elul before the holidays.

This was the time of havruta study for students in the yeshivot, who were called "Bnei Kallah", to review their studies they had learned from their teacher during the zman (semester). They said one who sees in a dream that he entered a pool of water will become a Rosh Yeshiva, and if a forest, will become a Rosh for Bnei Kallah (Berachot 57a). Rashi explains: A yeshiva is where the great and small gather for a large gathering to hear the lecture from the Rav. Kallah is where the students gather to review the teachings they heard from the Rav after he got up and left, and they have a scholar as head who understands them and explains the Rav's words that they did not fully comprehend.

The term "Kallah" comes from "kelulah" meaning crown, named for the circular arrangement of the rows of students. Already in the times of the Geonim there is mention of the title Rosh Kallah (Aggadat Rasag) and in the prayer Yaaleh VeYavo "for the Roshei Kallah". Masechet Kallah includes laws of wedding blessings, since a bride without a blessing is forbidden to her husband like a niddah. This is also mentioned in the Talmud.

In the Yerushalmi they said a bride is forbidden to her husband for seven days, and one may not take a blessing cup from her - the words of Rabbi Eliezer (Berachot 2:6). In Masechet Kallah 1:4 it says one who sends a blessing cup to a woman without her husband's knowledge is liable for death. Why? Because his intention (to be with her) overcomes hers.

Rabbi says: because the evil inclination overpowers him. Similarly Bnei Chaburah (members of a fellowship) who send a blessing cup to a woman without her husband's knowledge are liable for death. Why? Because their intention overcomes hers.

Rabbi says: because the evil inclination overpowers both of them. And there are many other things regarding ethics and morals. And since Masechet Kallah is the smallest tractate and not commonly studied, the Talmud says what is a Torah scholar who is appointed as communal leader? One who they ask halacha from in any place and he answers, even in Masechet Kallah (Shabbat 114a, Taanit 10a, Kidushin 49a).

Rashi explains: Even in Masechet Kallah which people don't usually study, and this one set his mind to and learned it. Rabbeinu Chananel (Taanit ibid) and Rabbi Yitzchak Alfasi (Kidushin ibid) explain "Kallah" as a discourse, like "stress of Kallah" meaning a pressing time, and the idea of Kallah according to them is that every Torah scholar who wants to review it engages in it like a Kallah of Adar (see Maharsha Shabbat ibid).

Midrash Levanat HaSapir is a midrash on the Torah in the style of kabbalah, in Aramaic like the Zohar. It is not extant before us today. The Yuhasin mentions it before the Zohar, saying "In the book Levanat HaSapir and in the Zohar called Holy (authored by Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai) who his father sanctified through circumcision etc." The Hizkuni in his book Shtei Yadot on Parshat Chayei Sarah wrote: "It says in the book Levanat HaSapir: In Kiryat Arba, in the calling of the four, because she said 'Shall I indeed bear a child, though I have become old?' therefore 'Sarah died in Kiryat Arba' - these four words, because she mentioned there the four-letter name Yud-Hei-Vav-Hei, do not read 'Kiryat Arba' but 'Kriyat Arba' (Calling of Four)."

And on page 14 he wrote: "And regarding this we will explain a wondrous statement from an obscure midrash in the book Levanat HaSapir. On the portion Bereshit: 'The earth was chaos and confusion' - the generation of the Flood were chaos in the feminine language. God brought the waters upon them in the form of a woman. 'Confusion' was the generation of the Tower.

'Darkness' was the people of Sodom. 'The spirit of God hovered' - this is the holy spirit, the spirit of kindness, which is Aaron the High Priest. 'God said let there be light' - this is King David. 'God separated between the light and darkness' - this was Korach and his congregation, as it says 'Separate yourselves from the congregation.'"

This is also brought in the book Shoresh Yishai authored by Rabbi Shlomo Alkabetz on the verse "And also Ruth the Moabite." And it is brought in the book Beit Neman authored by Rabbi Yitzchak Bigau page 50a: "And so I saw in the book Levanat HaSapir: 'After delaying the conception of Jacob in the house of Laban, corresponding to the exile in Egypt, with the intention to complete the populace who would be fit to receive the End, and in the manner here when he came on the way, Esau came upon him, a sign that when they would be on the way, Amalek would come upon them, who cooled you off on the way.'

And similarly the man who was with him, Esau's strength weakened. So too there, 'and Yehoshua became weakened and did not kill them.'" And so Rabbi Shlomo Luria brought in Parshat Toldot (130b): "And you already know what is written in Levanat HaSapir on the verse 'Remember what Amalek plotted' etc. from poison to poison." And in the book Manot HaLevi (105b): "And I again found according to my words in the book Levanat HaSapir: 'And it was at the end of seven days' - these were the seven days of Methuselah's mourning that Haman waited for, and from here Haman learned to decree upon Israel on the 13th of Adar, thinking perhaps the days of Moses' mourning would protect them."

And in the book Avodat HaKodesh of Ben Gavai it says: "And I saw in the book Levanat HaSapir: A person should arouse himself in Torah and prayer to rest the holy spirit upon him. 'And it was at the end of seven days' - these were the seven days of Methuselah's mourning that he waited for them etc. And from here Haman learned to decree upon Israel on the 13th of Adar, thinking perhaps the days of Moses' mourning would protect them."

The Book of the Wellspring of Wisdom When Moses ascended on high, a cloud came up against him, and Moses our teacher did not know if one rides it or holds it. Immediately, the cloud opened its mouth and Moses entered it, and he walked into the firmament like a man walking on land, as it is written in the Torah: "And Moses entered within the cloud" [Exodus 24:18].He encountered Kemu'el, the guardian angel in charge of the twelve thousand angels of destruction who were standing at the gates of the firmament.

He rebuked Moses, saying to him: "What do you have, son of Amram, that you should come into the place of the Fiery Angels?" Moses said to him: "I did not come merely by myself, but only with the permission of the Holy One, Blessed be He, to receive the Torah and bring it down to Israel. Since he would not let him pass, Moses hit him with one hit, and he made him lost from the world. And Moses continued walking in the firmament until he confronted the angel Hadraniel.

They said about the angel Hadraniel that he is taller than his kinsman -- six-hundred thousand parasangs [tall] -- and with each and every word that comes out of his mouth, twelve thousand bolts of fire come out of his mouth (all at once). And when he saw Moses he rebuked him, saying, "What do you have, son of Amram, in the place of the highest holiness?" When Moses heard his voice, Moses became afraid before him.

And his eyes were dripping tears and he wanted to be let down from the cloud. Immediately, the Holy One, Blessed be He's mercy was aroused, and He said to Hadraniel, "From the day I created you (all), you (all) have been an opponent of theirs [the humans]. In the beginning, when I wanted to created Adam the First, you (all) made their prosecution before me, and you (all) said to me, 'What is man that You are mindful of him?' [Psalms 8:5] And I was upset with you (all), and I burnt from you (all) many bunches with my little finger.

And now you (all) are quarreling with my loyal servant, whom I brought up here to receive the Torah and to bring down to my chosen child? If it were not for the Torah that Israel is receiving, you (all) would not have a living space in the firmament!" When Hadraniel heard this, immediately he hastened himself before the Holy One, Blessed be He, and said before him, "Master of the Universe, it is revealed and known before you, but I did not know that he [Moses] came with your permission.

Now I shall be his emissary and go before him as a student before his teacher." At once, Hadraniel ran and lowered himself before Moses as a student before his teacher, until they arrived at Sandalphon's fire. Hadraniel said to Moses, "You must return, for I am not able to protect myself before Sandalphon's fire that it should not burn me." When Moses saw Sandalphon, he was immediately startled and hastened to go down from the cloud, and his eyes were dripping tears, and he asked for mercy before the Holy One, Blessed be He.

And He answered him. Out of his great fondness for Israel, the Holy One, Blessed be He, Himself descended from His Throne of Glory and stood before Moses until he passed from Sandalphon's fire. About that time it was written in the Torah: "And YHWH passed before him" [Exodus 34:6]. They said about Sandalphon that he was taller than his kinsman, the distance of five-hundred years, and about him it is written: "One of the Ophanim on the ground, next to the Chayot" [Ezekiel 1:15] -- this is Sandalphon, who stands behind the Chariot and ties crowns for its owner.Does it cross your mind that the ministering angels know where the Holy One, Blessed be He, dwells, for is it not written, "Blessed is YHWH's glory from His place [mimkomo]" [Ezekiel 3:12]?

However, it does not say "in His place" [bimkomo] but rather "from His place" [mekomo], which teaches that the place of the Holy One, Blessed be He, is not known. But Sandalphon completes the crown that crowns the place of the Holy One, Blessed be He, with sanctity. And the crown rises from its own accord and sits on the head of its master. Immediately, all the legions on high are afraid and trembling, and the chayot are silent, and the holy seraphim roar like lions, and the seraphim call out, "Holy, holy, holy, YHWH of legions, the whole earth is filled with His glory" [Isaiah 6:3].

And this is its interpretation: holy in the upper [world]; holy in the lower [world]; holy, the eternal YHWH, who is sanctified in the foundations of the legions of Israel. And at the time when the crown reaches the Throne of Glory, immediately the wheels of the chariot start rolling, and the Lord shakes his footstool and all the heavens are shaken. And at the time when the crown passes over the Throne of Glory to sit in its place, all the legions on high open their mouths and they say, "Blessed is YHWH's glory from His place" [Ezekiel 3:12].

Come and see the praise of the Holy One, Blessed be He: that when the crown arrives at His head, YHWH holds His head to receive the crown from His servants. And all the chayot and seraphim and the wheels of the chariot and the Throne of Glory and the legions of the heavens and the chashmalim and the cherubim, elevate themselves and unite and give majesty and splendor, and they proclaim, and they say in one voice: "YHWH is king, YHWH was king, YHWH will be king forever and ever."

And this is its interpretation: YHWH, the King before the creation of the world; YHWH, the King from the creation of the world; YHWH will reign forever and until the world to come. And the Holy One, Blessed be He, Blessed be His name, consents, and says: "YHWH shall reign forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations, hallelujah" [Psalm 146:10]. And when Moses passed by Sandalphon, he encountered Regyon, which is the river of fire.

And in its burnings the ministering angels are immersing and renewing themselves every morning, as it says: "They are renewed every morning—great is Your faithfulness" [Lamentations 3:23], and so it is interpreted through Daniel [7:10]: "A river of fire streamed forth before Him; a thousand thousands served Him; myriads upon myriads attended Him; the court sat and the books were opened." And this is its interpretation: "river of fire" -- this is called Regyon, which flows with burning embers, and it goes out before the the Throne of Glory of the Holy One, Blessed be He.

And it is made with the sweat of the four chayot beneath the Throne of Glory. And they sweat fire in awe of the Holy One, Blessed be He, and from the fiery sweat, that river is made. And the Holy One, Blessed be He, sits on the Throne of Judgement and judges even the ministering angels, as it says: "If He cannot trust His own servants, and casts reproach on His angels" [Job 4:18]. And it is written: "He puts no trust in His holy ones; the heavens are not guiltless in His sight" [Job 15:15].

And when the ministering angels are brought to judgment, they renew themselves in that river of fire. Therefore, if the ministering angels were immersing in the river of fire, would not humans also be doing so? Immediately, the Holy One, Blessed be He, sent it [the river of fire] away, and he [Moses] came upon Galizur, called Raziel, about whom it is said, "Is it not at the word of the Most High, that evil and good emanate?" [Lamentations 3:39] And why is his name Galizur?

Because he reveals [gala] the taste of rock [tzur]. And why is his name Raziel? Because he is one who hears behind the curtain [ragod] what is decreed [gazer] to be, and he proclaims it in the world. And Elijah, who should be recalled for good, stands on Mount Horeb, and he hears the voice of the proclamation from His mouth, and he makes heard the voice in the world.

As it is written: "For a bird of the air may carry the utterance" [Ecclesiastes 10:20] -- this is Raziel; "and a winged creature may report the word" [Ecclesiastes 10:20] -- this is Elijah.It is said about Galizur [Raziel] that he stands in front of the throne with his wings spread to receive the noxious breath from the mouth of the chayot, otherwise, all the ministering angels would be burned from the noxious breath of the chayot.

And another vocation is said about Galizur: that he takes like an iron pan, which is made of fire, burning embers in the river Regyon, and he stands opposite the kings and ministers, leaders of the world, so that there luster should prevail and their awe befall the world. When Moses saw him, he trembled. Immediately, the Holy One, Blessed be He, took him and removed him from there. He [Moses] encountered a regiment of Angels of Terror, who surround the Throne of Glory, those who are mighty of all the angels.

And they wanted to burn him with the noxious breath of their mouths. Immediately, the Holy One, Blessed be He, spread the luster of his glory and said to Moses: "Give them an answer." Moses our teacher said to them: "It is written in the Torah, 'I am the Lord your God Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, the house of bondage' [Exodus 20:2]; perhaps you were enslaved in Egypt and went forth as free people, that you are in need of the Torah?

It is written: 'You shall have no other Gods' [Exodus 20:3]; perhaps there is idol worship amongst you and you are in need the Torah? It is written: 'You shall not swear' [Exodus 20:7]; perhaps there are dealings amongst you that you are in need of the Torah regarding oaths? It is written: 'Remember the Sabbath day and sanctify it' [Exodus 20:8]; perhaps there is activity amongst you that you are in need of the Torah?

It is written: 'Honor your father and mother' [Exodus 20:12]; perhaps you have a father and mother that you are in need of the Torah? It is written: 'You shall not murder' [Exodus 20:13]; perhaps there is bloodshed amongst you that you are in need of the Torah? It is written: 'You shall not commit adultery' [Exodus 20:13]; perhaps there are women amongst you that you need the Torah? It is written: 'You shall not steal' [Exodus 20:13]; perhaps there are finances in the firmament that you are in need of the Torah?

It is written, "You shall not bear [false witness]' [Exodus 20:13]; perhaps there are false testimonies amongst you that you are in need of the Torah? It is written: 'You shall not covet' [Exodus 20:14]; perhaps there are houses and fields and vineyards amongst you that you are in need of the Torah?" Immediately, all the ministering angels retracted [their desire to burn Moses] and they admitted to his words to the Holy One, Blessed be He.

And they said: "YHWH, our Master, 'How majestic is Your name throughout the earth, you who have covered the heavens with Your splendor!'" [Psalm 8:2] And He, the Holy One, Blessed be He, taught him [Moses] the whole Torah in forty days. And when he [Moses] came to descend [from the firmament] and saw the awesomeness of the angels, and the legions of awesome angels -- trembling [zia] angels, and shuddering [chalchala] angels, and quaking [ratat] angels -- immediately, shuddering [chalchala] took hold of him and he forgot it [the Torah] all at one moment.

Immediately, the Holy One, Blessed be He, called to Yefefiah, Minister of Torah, who gave over to him [Moses] the Torah, fully prepared and preserved. And all the ministering angels became his [Moses's] admirer. And each one of them gave him something of healing and the hidden meaning of names that comes out of each and every section of Torah [parsha] and all their uses, as it says, "You went up to the heights, having taken captives, having received tribute of men" [Psalm 68:19].

And even the Angel of Death gave him something, as it is written: "He places the incense and made expiation for the people" [Numbers 17:12]. And this is the honorable use of that which was taught to him by Yefefiah, the Minister of Torah, and by Metatron, Minister of the Faces. And Moses gave it over to Elazar, and Elazar to his son Pinchas, who is Elijah the great and precious priest, he should be remembered for good. Amen.

"It happened with King Jehoiachin, of whom it is written: 'Thus says the Lord, Write this man childless.' When he fell into the hands of the wicked Nebuchadnezzar, he was imprisoned, and all of Israel was distressed, saying, 'This is what remains of the House of David. Now he will die childless.' They were so distressed that they approached an old woman and gave her a litra of gold to persuade the king's wife on Jehoiachin's behalf.

When Nebuchadnezzar desired his wife, she told him, 'Be patient for a moment and know that the King of Israel is imprisoned. Go and see how much he endures, and how he might die without offspring.' Immediately, the king was appeased and ordered a maiden to be brought to Jehoiachin. However, when Jehoiachin approached her, she told him she was menstruating.

He immediately refrained from being with her, being cautious about the laws of Niddah (menstruation). God saw this and annulled the decree against him, as it is said, 'As I live, says the Lord, even though Jehoiachin, the son of Jehoiakim, were the signet ring on My right hand.' After the maiden had immersed herself in a mikveh (ritual bath), he was with her, and she bore him a child, as it says, 'And the sons of Jehoiachin, the son of Jehoiakim, were Assir and Shealtiel.'

Assir, for he was imprisoned. And it says, 'Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel.' Wasn't his name Nehemiah? Rather, he was conceived in Babylon, and God preserved the seed of David through Jehoiachin because he was cautious about the laws of Niddah.

He merited greatness, as it is said, 'In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin.' (See Pesiḳta of Rav Kahana 163a, Buber edition, Leviticus Rabbah Chapters 10 and 19, and the Complete Talmudic Dictionary, page 930)."

"The Secret of the Intercalation: On the adjustment of festivals and leap years. In the Talmud: Abba, the father of Rabbi Shmuel, said to Shmuel, 'Does the master know this matter that is taught concerning the secret of the leap, etc.' (Rosh Hashanah 20:), and Rashi explained 'the secret of the leap' in the second braita as hints. It seems from this that the 'secret of the leap' is not the braita of Shmuel, although most authors also refer to the braita of Shmuel by the name 'secret of the leap.'

Wertheimer in his book 'Leket Midrashim' (Jerusalem, 1903) printed two sections from an old manuscript from Egypt, which are remnants and survivors of the braita discussing the 'secret of the leap.' Its style is like the language of the braita brought in the Machzor Vitry manuscript from London, and it says: 'The month of the sun is 30 days, 10 hours, and 793 parts. Twelve times it comes to 365 days and 7 hours, i.e., a quarter of a day.

The solar year exceeds the lunar year by 10 days, 21 hours, and 204 parts. Therefore, we need to add one month sometimes at the end of three [years] and sometimes at the end of two [years], in order to align the lunar years with the solar years as much as possible (completion to Machzor Vitry page 7). Since only a few words were found in the two sections there, several lines are missing from them and they do not have the correct order, so I did not copy them here. See the 'Braita of Shmuel' in the entry 'Shmuel' below."

In conclusion: Rabbi Yehoshua Leib Diskin (Riv"l) in his book 'Yehoshafat' (page 59) says in the name of Rigevo that the Yalkut brings teachings on the verse 'All my bones shall say' in the name of 'Midrash Sof Davar' (End of Matter). He wrote about this: 'I have never heard of a Midrash called "Sof Davar".' Indeed, this teaching is brought in the name of 'Midrash Sof Davar' in the writings of the Radbaz in his responsa (Part 3, Siman 571) and it says: 'Furthermore, we read in Midrash Sof Davar on the verse 'All my bones,' David said: I praise You with all my limbs and fulfill commandments with them.

With my head, I bow and kneel in my prayer. With the hair of my head, I fulfill [the commandment of] 'Do not round off' etc.' End of quote. Without a doubt, this teaching is called this way because of its beginning in the Yalkut Tehillim with the words "Sof Davar" (End of Matter), but it is not a special Midrash (Hamelitz, year 1894, issue 218)

"The Book of Delicacies - Rabbi Aaron the Elder cited it in his book 'Kranim', discourse 13, and he said: 'This is what was written in the Book of Delicacies, "Flies consumed Job."' Rabbi Shimshon of Ostropoli wrote in his commentary on 'Dan Yadin' and said: 'Behold, the Book of Delicacies was composed by Rabbi Shimon the Great [one of the great ones from Lutir], and it was said in tradition that its origin came from the Men of the Great Assembly from Ezra the Scribe. It is entirely 'holy of holies', wondrous wonders. We have a part of it with us, but not all of it, because I heard that the Gentiles stole it.' End of quote. And see there a wondrous matter regarding the fly (Rav Pe'alim 92)."

"Midrash Ezra": Mentioned in the introduction of Rabbi Tam ben Yehiya to the Book of Josippon, and he states there: "Indeed, Joseph [ben Gurion] the priest, who is the main subject to which we refer, his matter and perfection is already known according to our sages in the Midrash Ezra and in the Midrash of Chronicles, etc. In the 'Book of Passover' and in the list of books by the Rad"a, he brings a section about the signs that the Holy One, blessed be He, showed to Ezra the priest. Perhaps he is referring to the Midrash Aziri manuscript which Dinehardt listed in the list of books by Judge Zolzberger under the name 'Or Meir'."

"The Book of Ayun (Insight)": Secrets in Kabbalah regarding the matters of God's existence. The author of "Siftei Yeshenim" attributed it to Rabbi Chamai Gaon, and Rabbi Shem Tov in "The Book of Beliefs" (Gate 4, Chapter 7) wrote: "And in 'The Book of Ayun' by Rabbi Chamai, the head of the matters, the great Kabbalist from the sages of the Mishnah and the Talmud, etc." Brecanti, in his commentary on Genesis, on the verse "And Enoch walked [with God]", wrote: "In this language, Rabbi Chamai wrote in his book called 'The Book of Ayun', 'Do not be tempted to focus your heart on it during prayer', end quote.

It can be found in the manuscript of the Rad"a, its beginning was printed in the book 'Lekutim' from Rav Hai Gaon, section 5, and its end is there under the name 'Shaar HaShamayim' by Rabbi Yitzhak Giktillia (Warsaw, 1898)."

Tav) (Esther 9:29) "And Esther wrote (tikhtav)" - the first tav is big, because she said, "Write me for [all] the generations." (See Megillah 7a; Otzar Yisrael, Large and Small Letters.)

These are the ten exiles which the precious Children of Zion have been exiled: Israel was exiled by Sennacherib in three expulsions; they were exiled afterward by Nebuchadnezzar with four expulsions; afterward, they were exiled by Vespasian once; afterward, they were exiled by Hadrian. Behold, that is nine exiles. Then they were exiled a tenth exile by the evil Titus, may his name be erased forever. And that is the most recent exile under Edom.

“And of Benjamin he said, The Lord's beloved…” (Devarim 33:12) One verse says “As for the Jebusites the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the children of Judah could not drive them out…” (Yehoshua 15:63) and another verse says “And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem…” (Shoftim 1:21) If it was Benyamin then why does it mention Yehudah, and if it was Yehudah then why does it mention Benyamin?

Rather, inside Jerusalem were two cities – the upper and the lower. The upper one fell out within the allotment of Yehudah and the lower one within the allotment of Benyamin, as it says “And Zelah, Eleph, and the Jebusite, which is Jerusalem…” (Yehoshua 18:28) After the death of Yehoshua, the children of Yehudah went and took their portion, putting the city to fire and leaving it desolate. But the lower city of Jerusalem was in the portion of Benyamin, and they were not willing to drive out the inhabitants.

Therefore it stood until the time of David, as it is written ‘And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites.’ This refers to the lower city, as it says in the book of Shoftim “But the man did not want to lodge, and he arose and departed, and came over against Jebus, which was Jerusalem… And his master said to him, "We will not turn aside into (this) city of heathens…” (Shoftim 19:10-12) Furthermore, this is the city which David fought against in the eight year of his reign, as it says “And the king and his men went to Jerusalem to the Jebusites…” (Shmuel II 5:6) When David captured it he began to build the upper city of Jerusalem and he built a wall which surrounded the upper and lower portions and made them into one city called Jerusalem, as it says “And he built the city from around…” (Divre HaYamim I 11:8) There he placed the tent for the Ark of the Covenant, and in that Jerusalem David built the altar on the threshing floor of Aravna the Jebusite by command of Gd in order to stop the plague, as it says “And the angel of the Lord said to Gad…” (Divre HaYamim I 21:18) In the lower Jerusalem, which was in the portion of Benyamin, the Holy Temple was built in the days of Shlomo in order to fulfill that which it says “And of Benjamin he said, The Lord's beloved…” (Devarim 33:12) Mount Moriah is Jerusalem, as it says “And Solomon commenced to build the House of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah…” (Divre HaYamim II 3:1) May it desirable before my Gd and the Gd of my fathers that the Holy Temple be rebuilt speedily in our days, and make our portion in your Torah. Amen, selah!

Rabbi Yehuda said, "Three books are opened on Rosh Hashanah before the Holy One, Blessed be He: One of wholly righteous people; and they are immediately written and sealed for life. One of middling people; and they are left with their judgment suspended from Rosh Hashanah until Yom Kippur. If they merit, they are written for life; if they do not merit, they are written for death." Rabbi Avin said, "What is the verse [that alludes to this]?

'Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, but not be written with the righteous' (Psalms 69:29)." "One of wholly wicked people; they are immediately written and sealed for death." Lest you say, "Behold we see that [some] wicked people live long lives and [some] righteous people do not live long!" [Hence] Rabbi Yochanan says, "[This is talking about] wholly righteous people and wholly wicked people."

Or perhaps it is speaking about the judgement of the Garden of Eden and Geihinnom after their death. It was learned [about the latter]: Beit Shammai says, "Three groups will pass by on the Day of Judgment: One of wholly righteous people, one of wholly wicked people, and one of middling people. Wholly righteous people will immediately be written for the Garden of Eden; wholly wicked people immediately for Geihinnom.

Middling people will descend to Geihinnom and they will cry out and ascend, as it is stated (Zechariah 13:9), "And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried." And about them, Channah said (I Samuel 2:6), "The Lord kills, and gives life; he brings down to the grave, and brings up." Beit Hillel says, "'And abundant in kindness' (Exodus 34:6) tilts the scales in favor of kindness [for the middling people].

And about them, David said (Psalms 116:1), 'I love the Lord, Who hears my voice and my supplications.'" Rava said, "That which is written, 'I love the Lord, Who hears my voice" - the Congregation of Israel said before the Holy One, Blessed be He, 'When am I beloved in front of You? When You hear the voice of my supplications. Although 'I am poor' in mitzvot, nevertheless it is fitting to 'save me.'"

A matron asked Rabban Gamliel, "In your Torah, it is written (Deuteronomy 10:17), '[God...] Who shows no favor nor takes graft'; yet it written (Numbers 6:26), 'The Lord shall show favor to you and give you peace!'" Rabbi Yose the Priest joined in and said, "It is not difficult. Here it is about sins between a person and his fellow; but there it is about sins between a person and his Maker." [That was] until Rabbi Akiva came and taught, "Here it is before the sentence is issued; there it is after the sentence has been issued" (see Bamidbar Rabbah 11).

Rav Shmuel bar Oniya said in the name of Rav, "From where [do we know] that the sentence of a community is never sealed?" But isn’t it written (Jeremiah 2:22), "the stain of your iniquity [is before Me]" (implying that the sentence of a community can be sealed). Rather, "[From where do we know that] although it is sealed, it can still be torn up?" As it is stated (Deuteronomy 4:7), "As is the Lord our God whenever we call out to Him."

But behold, it is written (Isaiah 55:6), "Seek the Lord while He may be found!" There it is about an individual. And when is He close? During the Ten Days of Repentance, which are between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

Midrash Read-but-not-Written I) But [the children of] Benjamin would not yield (Judges 20:13). The word the children of is missing, for they did an abomination, disgrace, and lewd act in Israel, and they deserve to have their descent from the righteous Benjamin retracted, and to separate them from his generations and inclusions, and they did not call them children of Benjamin for they did not yield to listen to their brothers, and in the remainder of places where they are called children of Benjamin it gave them hope and a path of repentance that they may turn from their evil deeds and repent and be called as their brothers' names the children of Benjamin.

II) On his way to restore his monument at the River [Euphrates] (II Samuel 8:3). It is written lacking in the book of Samuel, for this verse is mentioned in two places — in Samuel and Chronicles (I Chronicles 18:3), and the verse is said in two times and regarding two occasions (matters). Firstly it says to restore his monument at the river, and secondly to set up his monument at the river Euphrates.

Though it is not the business of the first time to make known if it is the Euphrates or the Nile, it was written elsewhere, so Euphrates is read. III) Like when [a man] asks of the word (II Samuel 17:23). The word man is removed from within the verse, for a human is removed from God, and thus it says (Psalms 8:6) You have removed him slightly from God, and his word will not come about like the word of God, thus the word man is removed from within the verse and suspended on the verse from the margin.

If he had been meritorious in his deeds and done them for the sake of Heaven, his advice would be as the word of God. IV) Because [thus] the king's son is dead (II Samuel 18:20). The word thus is lacking, because of the evil of his deeds, for he sought to kill his father and cover up the matter, and came to fornicate with his father's concubines. Though Joab said because thus the king's son is dead, the word thus is suspended on the margin, because the king's son was killed for his wrongs, but thus can mean right as in rightly have the daughters of Ẓelopheḥad spoken (Numbers 27:7) or "what you are saying is right." (Genesis 44:10).

V) And Adrammelekh and Śaretser [his sons] struck him down with the sword (II Kings 19:37). What is written within, but not read on the margin: And Adrammelekh and Śaretser struck him down. But that does not let us know who had struck him down, whether their sons or others, so his sons is suspended on the margins to let all those on earth know the vengeance of God against him, and to fulfill regarding him Behold I will raise a great evil against you from your own house (II Samuel 12:11).

VI) The zeal of the LORD (II Kings 19:31) is written, but a continuation of of Hosts is suspended to it in the margin, for great vengeance the LORD did against him first, but after that by the hands of the hosts of His angels. And thus it says And an angel of God came out and struck the camp of Assyria, a hundred and eighty-five thousand (II Kings 19:35), thus it is suspended outside to make known both of the vengeances that God avenged.

VII) Behold days are [coming], declares the LORD (Jeremiah 31:38) It is written lacking: For behold days are, declares the LORD. This is an obscure matter, and we could say that this is tidings for far-off times and many days, just as we read coming from the margin, bringing near the end-times and bringing near the tidings of reading coming in the commandments of the prophet. May the Merciful One accelerate the end-times.

VIII) Let there be [for her] no escape (Jeremiah 50:29), it is written wwithin lacking, for Babylon is the seat of sovereignty and the house of royalty, and thus it says (Daniel 4:27) Is that not great Babylon, which I built to be a royal residence? And in it the kingdom of Israel sank and her kingdom was annulled, and Jeremiah told the remnant of Israel that the vengeance of Adonai would be avenged upon it in this world and in the future, so it is written Let there be no escape in this world, and continued on the margins Let there be no escape for her in the future.

IX) All that you say [to me] I will do (Ruth 3:5) From the way this is written, it can be determined that Naomi commanded Ruth two times: the first time Ruth said all that you say I will do, and on the second command she said all that you say to me I will do, so it was suspended on the margin. X) For he said [to me], Do not go empty to your mother-in-law (Ruth 3:17) From the way this is written, we can learn that Ruth told Naomi her mother-in-law this matter two times — the first time she did not say to me,, but the second time she did say to me, so it was suspended on the margin.

Written but not Read "For rather Amnon" (II Samuel 13:33) is written, because at first Jonadab son of Shim'ah said "for Amnon alone has died," for the truth of the matter that Amnon alone had died was not known to him, so when he thought it in his heart he said, "Let not milord the king put the thought in his head that all the king's sons have died, rather Amnon alone is dead," for he was heading the truth of the matter.

And the scripture is lacking a word because of the ignominity of his actions and the unnaturalness of his death, so the word "rather" is written and not read. "For rather wherever milord king will be" (II Samuel 15:21) is written, because Ittai the Gittite spoke with all his heart and all his soul and the force of his words, "For rather, wherever milord king will be, be it to death, or to life, for there your servant will be," and he was righteous in the heart of David as a foreigner.

And the verse is missing "rather," because it says "Go back and stay with the king, for you are a foreigner, and an exile to your country" (II Samuel 15:19), thus "rather" is written but not read. "May haShem please pardon your servant regarding this matter" (II Kings 5:18) — the scripture is missing a word, because Naaman spoke these words unreasonably, thus Elisha the prophet responded to his words, as he said "when my master comes to the house of Rimmon to prostrate there."

The scripture is missing "please" because of the lack of sense and his words, thus it is written and not read. "As haShem, the one who made this life for us, lives" (Jeremiah 38:16) — the scripture is missing the word "the one" because he had sworn once before and reneged, as it says, "And against the king Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God, he rebelled" (II Chronicles 36:13). And Ezekiel rebuked, "See if I don't, for My vow that he disrespected, and My covenant that he overturned" (Ezekiel 17:19), and Jeremiah said, "If 'as haShem lives' they say, then for falsehood they swear" (Jeremiah 5:2).

Thus the scripture is lacking, and the oath is lacking, for it has a word that is written and not read. To where the archer will draw, will draw his bow" (Jeremiah 51:3) is written. This teaches about the two vengeances and the two calamities that haShem will avenge for his people upon the kingdom of the Chaldeans, and it is written twice. The first "will draw" being the speedy vengeance of this world, as it says "Hey, I argue your case and avenge your vengeance" (Jeremiah 51:36).

The second "will draw" is written and not read, for it is hidden away and dependent on what is to come. "I have done as all that You have commanded me" (Ezekiel 9:11) is written. Learn from this that there is hope and mercy and kindness — but a little from a lot — and it is not a set thing, but there is hope and the possibility of repentance, and when the angel clothed in garb looked out the evil of their deeds was magnified.

And thus it says, "The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is so very very great" (Ezekiel 9:9) — he put an end to them and said and returned word "I have done all that You commanded me," for "all" is a language of finality without escape, and thus it says "Kill elder and youth and virgin and infant and women in slaughter" (Ezekiel 9:6). "And the southern corner, five five hundred and four thousand" (Ezekiel 48:16) is written.

Learn from this that five hundred additional were added in an allusive line, as the scripture said, "And these are its measurements" (Ezekiel 48:9), and gave a rule and line and measure for the Third Temple, for its fields and its suburbs and its exteriors and interiors, and set out children to repent. And thus it says, "You, mortal, tell the house of Israel of the house, and they will be ashamed with their iniquities" (Ezekiel 43:10), and "And if they are ashamed from all they did" (Ezekiel 43:11), then all this honor is due to them, and haShem can give more than this, five by five to a thousand by a thousand.

And thus it says, "A day to build up your fences, that rule is extended" (Micah 7:11), and it says, "That day, and to you he will come" (Micah 7:12). Thus "five five" is written — may the Master of Mercies say it, amen! "And now, though it is true that I maybe a redeemer" (Ruth 3:12) is written, its reason being that Bo'az, knowing there is another redeemer closer than him, therefore said "that I may be a redeemer" — "may" being the language of doubt — maybe he will redeem — good! — or maybe he will not redeem.

And he was not certain that he would redeem, for he said "If he does not desire to redeem you, then I myself will redeem you." Thus "that I may be a redeemer" is written, "that I be a redeemer" is read.

The author of Rav Pealim [Vilna Gaon] wrote about the Socher Tov of Midrash Tehillim and said: I found in the book, Ohel Yosef by Rabbi Yosef the Sefaradi on Parashat Vayikra, on the verse, on the side of the altar (Leviticus 1:11), that Ibn Ezra wrote: And likewise, the sides of the north (Psalms 48:3); for many err and say that the tower of Zion was in the midst of Jerusalem. To here are his [words].

And the aforementioned R. Yosef wrote — and these are his words: He explained on Psalms 48 (3) on the verse, Beautifully situated, the joy of the whole earth, Mount Zion, the sides of the north, and explained there that Mount Zion is to the north of Jerusalem. And he said that by way of logic. Yosef said this is not true! Rather Mount Zion is to the south of Jerusalem.

And the proof of this is from Midrash Tehillim, as they expounded from that psalm, Mount Zion, the sides of the north, "And is it in the north? Is it not that it is not, etc." And it is well known that Rabbi Yochanan composed it in the land of Israel. And since he lived there, hence his words can be relied upon. And further, since I, the one commenting, lived in Jerusalem many years and I saw that it was like the words of R. Yochanan.

And that is where I wrote this commentary. Whereas Rabbi Ibn Ezra only came to Jerusalem after he composed the commentary on the Torah and also his commentary on Psalms. And the testimony to this is that he wrote in Parashat Vayishalch on the verse, And the sun shone for him (Genesis 32:32), that he composed [the commentary on] the Torah in Luba which is in the kingdom of Lombardy, close to greater Rome.

And in the fourth approach at the beginning of his commentary, he mentioned that he composed [the commentary on] the book of Psalms before he composed the commentary on the Torah. And he left Spain to go to the land of Israel and came to Luba on his way, before he got to Jerusalem, and then he composed his commentary there. And all of this is an indicator that he only saw Jerusalem after he composed the commentary on the Torah.

So he came [to it] by way of logic; hence he erred. And one should not be surprised, as behold Rabbi Shlomo [Rashi] erred like this about the burial of Rachel. As it is within the border of the land of Israel, like a point within a circle, but he said that she is buried outside of the land. And he followed the teaching [drash], and the secret of the teaching is well known.

To here are his [words]. And I have already shown you to know that R. Yochanan's intention was to include all of the baraitot in the Yerushalmi, and all of the midrashim in Midrash Rabbah, which is the Jerusalemite Aggadah. And in Midrash Socher Tov [Midrash Tehillim], he grouped and shortened all of the midrashim that were composed before his time, as you can see in Chapter 1 of Midrash Tehillim.

So he begins with the verse, He who seeks the good [Socher tov] (Proverbs 11:27), and opened with his teaching. And afterward, Rabbi Yudan opened and said, "Do not exalt yourself in the king’s presence (Proverbs 25:6), etc." Rabbi Pinchas worked an extended passage; he opened, I understand more than my elders (Psalms 119:100), etc. Rabbi Nechemiah opened, Wisdom gives strength to the wise(Ecclesiastes 7:19), etc. And the content is as we explained, that R. Yudan, R. Pinchas, and R. Nechemiah all [composed] a midrash on Psalms, and each one opened in a different style; and Rabbi Yochanan gathered them in his study hall and shortened them and added what he had heard on his own.

And accordingly, in Chapter 4, He cites, "R. Yudan said a different approach: Flesh and blood have patrons, etc." (Rav Pealim, p. 108)

Midrash Sheni Ketuvim In the beginning God created etc. - To declare the might of the acts of creation to creatures, and to make it known to them is impossible, so Scripture is vague. From here they said one should not expound on incest before three [people], nor on the acts of creation before two, nor on the Chariot before one individual unless he is wise and understands on his own. Anyone who contemplates four matters, it would be fitting for his innards to spill out over his face, and he did not go out and did not see the world - to know what is above and what is below, what is before and what is behind, and anyone who has no shame for the honor of his Creator, it would be fitting for him not to have come into the wor Why should a person not say what is above?

A parable to one who was drinking wine at a feast, water from a jug, and it turns out the wine was suspended in the air. So the Holy One Blessed Be He created the world and suspended it in the wind, as it says "For behold, He who forms mountains and creates the wind" (Amos 4:13). Is it possible the Holy One Blessed Be He created in His world only wind? Behold, He created everything, as it says "For He who made everything, He is the Lord" (Jeremiah 10:16).

What is the meaning of "He who forms mountains and creates wind"? Rather, so said the Holy One Blessed Be He to man: My son, you wish to know how My world stands - learn from your wind and body. For as long as the wind is in the body, the wind bears it up. The wind leaves the body - others bear it, as it says "His breath departs, he returns to his dust" (Psalms 146:4).

Therefore one should not say what is above. And why should one not say what is below? A parable to a king who had a cesspit for excrement underneath, and built a palace on top of it. If a person were to say to his fellow how beautiful and exalted is this palace, except it stands on a cesspit - would he not be insulting the king's palace?

So the Holy One Blessed Be He created His world spread out on the water, as it says "He spread out the earth on the waters" (Psalms 136:6). What is below the water you do not know, and something you do not know what it is, you have no right to expound or investigate. Therefore one should not say what is below. And why should one not say what is before?

Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel said: A parable to a king who built a palace and perfected it, and the previous place of the palace had been a garbage dump and pile of stones. Now that the king built the palace and perfected it, he does not want the beginning of the palace's previous state mentioned before him. So the world was originally tohu vavohu (without form and void). Now that the Holy One Blessed Be He created the world and perfected it, He does not want the beginning of the world's creation mentioned before Him.

Therefore one should not say what is before. And why should one not say what is behind? A parable to a king who contemplates in his heart but does not want to say it with his mouth. If a person were to say to his fellow, "I know what is in the king's heart" - does this praise the king?

So the Holy One Blessed Be He created the world and put it in His heart, as it says "For the day of vengeance is in my heart" (Isaiah 63:4). And if a person were to say to his fellow "I know when He will judge, when is the end, when the Messiah comes, when the redemption comes" - his days are shortened. For others sought to know the end-time and had their souls taken away. Therefore one should not say what is behind.

The heretics asked Rabbi Shmelai: They said to him, "How many gods created the world?" He said to them, "I and you will be asked for the first days", as it says "For ask now regarding the early days" (Deuteronomy 4:32) etc. One verse says "The Torah of Hashem is perfect" (Psalms 19:8) and it is written "Remember the Torah of Moses My servant" (Malachi 3:22). You find in every... advantage. Moses gave his soul for three matters which were called by his name: For the Torah, for the laws, and for Israel.

He gave his soul for the laws and they were called by his name, as it says "Judges and officers shall you place for yourself" (Deuteronomy 16:18). It does not say "shall you place" but "for yourself", and behold they belong only to the Omnipresent, as it says "For judgment is God's" (Deuteronomy 1:17). But Moses gave his soul for them and they were called by his name. He gave his soul for Israel and they were called by his name, as it says "If this is how You treat me, then kill me now" (Numbers 11:15).

The Omnipresent said to him, "By your life, you gave your soul for them - I will call them by your name", as it says "Go down, for your people whom you brought up from Egypt have corrupted themselves" (Exodus 32:7). Behold they belong only to the Omnipresent, as it says "But they are Your people" (Deuteronomy 9:12). But Moses gave his soul for them and they were called by his name. He gave his soul for the Torah, as it says "And he was there with Hashem forty days" (Exodus 34:28).

The Omnipresent said, "By your life, I will not call it except by your name", as it says "Remember the Torah of Moses My servant" (Malachi 3:22). Behold the Torah belongs to the Omnipresent, as it says "The Torah of Hashem is perfect." But Moses gave his soul for it and it was called by his name... One Torah... (Exodus 12:49).

And it is written "You shall not eat any carcass; you shall give it to the stranger in your gates and he shall eat it" (Deuteronomy 14:21). You find the Holy One Blessed Be He shows affection for converts and commands about them everywhere. And here He says to give the carcass to the stranger? Rabbi Bunai said in the name of Rabbi Nehorai: In forty-eight places the Holy One Blessed Be He warned about converts, and commanded them [correspondingly] in forty-eight places about idolatry...

Rabbi Antonikius said in the name of Yehuda ben Simon: The Holy One Blessed Be He said: I take vengeance upon... the idolater, and this one separated from it and came to convert. Therefore I warn about him [to Israel] corresponding to idolatry. Until now... wise Haman "The stranger" (that is Abraham, see below) (Psalms 88), and similarly "I called an eagle from the east" (Isaiah 46:11). "You shall not eat any carcass; you shall give it to the stranger in your gates and he shall eat it" - the verse does not speak about a convert who converted, but about a stranger who is outside...

You find that one who is doubtful about converting... Therefore it says "to the stranger in your gates" - one who comes and goes through your gates. You find four types of converts: One corresponds to the Levite, "And you shall give to the Levite, to the stranger, to the orphan, and to the widow" (Deuteronomy 26:12). One corresponds to the poor, as it says "And you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger" (Leviticus 19:10).

And one corresponds to an animal, as it says "Both your animals and the stranger in your gates" (Exodus 20:10). And one corresponds to the maidservant, as it says "so that your manservant and stranger may rest" (Exodus 23:12). Why? For these four converts convert for the sake of something different each.

And therefore He compares each one to that thing he converted for the sake of. The Holy One Blessed Be He said: There is nothing beloved before Me like one who converts for the sake of My holy name. Just as among all the tribes there is nothing as beloved to Me as the tribe of Levi, so among all converts there is nothing as beloved before Me as you. Therefore He compares him to Abraham, as it says "The stranger shall be like the native" (Leviticus 24:22).

"Seraphim were standing above Him; each one had six wings" (Isaiah 6:2) and it is written "And each one had four faces and four wings" (Ezekiel 1:6). You find Isaiah saw when the Temple stood and Israel was inside it, and saw them with six wings. But Ezekiel, after it was destroyed and Israel exiled from it, he saw them with four. And why did Isaiah see six for each seraph?

With two he covers his face so as not to gaze upon the Divine Presence, as it says "For man cannot see Me [and live]" (Exodus 33:20) - even the angels about whom it says "and the likeness of their faces was human faces" (Ezekiel 1:10), with two he covers his legs - these are their feet which are like a calf's hoof, so they will not mention the sins of your fathers [with the calf], and with two he flies, for with these they praise the Omnipresent - behold six.

But after the Temple was destroyed, they came to praise before the Holy One Blessed Be He. He takes hold of them and says "My house lies in ruins, My children are exiled - and you seek to praise before me?" Therefore Ezekiel saw four, and Isaiah saw six. "He commanded it as a testimony for a thousand generations" (Psalms 105:8), and it is written "And He performs kindness for two thousand [generations]" (Exodus 20:6).

You find that one who performs Torah and mitzvot out of self-motivated love, "performs kindness for two thousand" - for those who love Him do so out of love. But one who performs out of fear - [it endures only] "for a thousand generations." Therefore it says "And for those who keep My commandments for a thousand generations" (Deuteronomy 7:9). "I said in my haste 'All men are deceitful'" (Psalms 116:11), and it is written "My eyes are on the faithful of the earth" (Psalms 101:6). If there are faithful people on earth, how are all people deceitful? You find the faithful... the rest is missing.

These are the ten questions that Rabbi Eliezer asked regarding the resurrection of the dead: The first one is - will God resurrect some of Israel or all of them? The answer is that anyone who repented before their Creator before their death, even if they transgressed all the positive and negative commandments, incurred the death penalty of the court and desecrated God’s name - death atones for all of them together with repentance, as it says "Behold I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, My people" (Ezekiel 37:12).

This shows that the resurrection of the dead is for all of Israel. The second is - after resurrecting everyone, will they die again? The answer is they will never return to their dust, as it says "Trouble shall not rise up twice" (Nahum 1:9). Rather, God will bring them to the life of the World to Come.

The third is - after everyone is resurrected, how will the Land of Israel contain them? The answer is that from when Israel went out to the world, there were 425 years and 15 years from the days of Joseph the Righteous when they started reproducing until the Destruction of the Second Temple, which was about 32 generations. Each generation was around 120,000 men and women, and even though they were all righteous repentants, 2000 x 400 cubits plus half a cubit by 2000 x 400 cubits plus half a cubit comes out per couple.

And they will have even more, because the Land of Israel is destined to expand and lengthen in settlement, which is a 366 year 8 month walk for an average person, 10 parsas per day. Who would desire more than this amount for a house, field and vineyard? And according to the one who taught that the entire world will expand, each one will have three times as much. The fourth is - will each person recognize their relatives?

The answer is that seven shepherds and eight anointed men will each return to their families, as it says "The boundary with which you shall divide the land for an inheritance for the twelve tribes of Israel" (Ezekiel 47:13). The fifth is - one who died blind or afflicted with boils, what will become of them? The answer is that they will arise in their defects and afterwards be healed, as it says "I kill and I bring life, I have wounded and I heal" (Deut. 32:39), mentioning resurrection before healing.

And it says "Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened" (Isaiah 35:5) and it says "Then the lame shall leap like a hart" (Isaiah 35:6). The sixth is - will they eat and drink and marry women? The answer is that just as we find by the son of the Shunamite revived by Elijah and the son of the Zarephite revived by Elisha, that they ate and drank and married, so will it be. The seventh is - after the days of Mashiach, how will they have eternal life of the World to Come without eating, drinking or procreating?

The answer is that we find by Moses our teacher that he did not eat for 40 days he was on Mount Sinai yet he lived enjoying the radiance of the Divine Presence, so they too will live thus. The eighth is - the dead who will be resurrected and their children born to them - will they all be righteous or will some be wicked? The answer is that it is revealed and known before the Omnipresent before their resurrection that none of them will be wicked, rather they will all be righteous, as it says "Your people, they are all righteous, they shall inherit the land forever" (Isaiah 60:21).

The ninth is - regarding those righteous deeds they perform in the Messianic era, will they have reward for their actions? The answer is that just as in this world one who performed charity, their reward is hidden for the Messianic era, so too one who performs charity or a mitzvah in the Messianic era, their reward is hidden and preserved for the World to Come. The tenth is - when salvation comes, those living in those days - what will happen with them?

The answer is they will not die, as death will be eliminated forever, as it says "He has swallowed up death forever" (Isaiah 25:8). Some say God will kill them and afterwards resurrect them to make them equal to those resurrected in that time. Some say they will live many long years, as long as Adam originally and longer, and afterwards they will die until He brings them to the life of the World to Come, as it says "For the days of My people will be like the days of a tree" (Isaiah 65:22), and "tree" refers to man, as it says "For man is the tree of the field" (Deuteronomy 20:19).

Chapter 1. Rabbi Yishmael says: How great is the strength of Job, who said this verse: "Oh that I had one to hear me! Here is my signature! Let the Almighty answer me!" (Job 31:35) But what can I do, for "Behold my desire is the decree of the Almighty should answer me" (Job ibid.).

Job said: What does it matter to me if I die and my spirit is taken away? The Holy One Blessed Be He said: Behold, it is written in the Book of the Dead. "Behold my desire is the decree of the Almighty should answer me" - and this is what it says "and you shall place a mark on the foreheads of the people" (Ezekiel 9:4). "And a book was written: 'Each man's grievance'" (Job ibid) - this is the Book of the Generations of Adam, sealed with all the generations of man.

"One fate comes to the righteous and the wicked" (Ecclesiastes 9:2). All the generations of man go just as words go from the mouth, and just as Adam went - what are the generations of Adam the Second, missing the vav, and the First is full - so the generations do not go to die whole until their body loses the kings (four elements) that are in their body. With His great power, the Omnipresent created the entire world in pairs, pairs.

This corresponding to this, and this opposite that, in order to contemplate His wisdom, and to make known to them that everything has a partner and everything has a substitute. Without this, that would not be; why are life called "life" and death called "death"? Without death, life would not be called "life" and it would not be known that it is life. And so too death - without life, death would not exist and death would not be known, and how is this death?

Rabbi Yishmael said: In this body there are kings - blood, white phlegm, red bile and black bile. And when a person grows up, his strength weakens, and his blood changes, and his face turns pale, and one of the kings overpowers or weakens. "You hide Your face, they vanish" (Psalms 104:29) - to what is this comparable? To an inflated waterskin.

When the waterskin is whole, the air remains inside it. When it is punctured or torn, the air departs. So too the body - when the kings remain empowered, the spirit remains inside it like the air in the waterskin. And why is the body compared to a king who has armies and four officers over them, and in his kingdom four states, and the lords of the states are evil.

If an officer averts his eyes from them, from his territory or his place, they revolt against him and his entire kingdom becomes confused. So too the body is the king, and the sinews are the armies, and the bones are the states, and the four officers are the four elements of the body, and they are: blood, white phlegm, red bile and black bile. And when one of the officers averts his eyes a little, immediately the body becomes confused and the person becomes ill, and if one of the officers is lacking, the spirit departs and the body expires.

Rabbi Akiva said to him: How is it that some people die young, some die old, and some die elderly? He said to him: That's how it is - when one of the elements is lacking, the body dies. And so it corresponds to the four elements in the body - the four kingdoms corresponding to the four directions of the world. White corresponds to the east, where light comes from, and easterners are white.

Blood corresponds to the north, and just as the north is open, so too the body is open to the blood, as wherever you make an incision in the body, blood comes out, unlike the other three which don't come out wherever you make an incision. And northerners are all red. Red bile corresponds to the west, as the sun reddens at the western edge, and the faces of the west redden at its setting. Black bile corresponds to the south, which is born from coolness, like shadows.

And corresponding to them, the four elements of the world: Black bile corresponds to earth, which is born from coolness and dryness, like the earth. Red bile corresponds to fire, its nature being hot and dry. White corresponds to water, its nature being cold and wet like water. Blood corresponds to air.

Chapter 2. Rabbi Akiva opened and said: "Man is like grass, his days are like a flower of the field" (Psalms 103:15). It happened with Rabbi Yishmael and Rabbi Akiva who were walking in the streets of Jerusalem, and there was another man with them. A sick man met them and said to them: "My teachers, tell me how I can be healed."

They said to him: "Do this and this until you are healed." He said to them: "Who struck me?" They said: "God." He said: "And you involve yourselves in something that is not yours!

He struck me and you heal me - don't you transgress His will?!" They said: "What is your occupation?" He said: "I am a farmer, here is my sickle in my hand." They said: "Who created the vineyard?"

He said: "God." They said: "And you involve yourself in something that is not yours! He created it and you cut its fruits from it." He said: "Don't you see the sickle is in my hand?

If I did not go out and plow it, fertilize it, weed it - nothing would grow!" They said: "You foolish man, from your work you have not heard what is written: 'Man is like grass, his days are like a flower' (Psalms 103:15). Just as a tree will not grow if it is not weeded, fertilized, and plowed, and even if it grew but did not drink water and was not fertilized, it would not live but die - so too the body: the fertilizer is the medicine and the varieties of healing, and the man of the earth is the doctor."

He said to them: "Please do not punish me. This body's generations are dependent on each other. Without this, that would not be. And when they separate from each other, the body tends towards death.

Just as a house has four sides - if one detaches, the house falls. And everything He created, He created as pairs. Without death there would be no life, and without life there would be no death. Without peace there would be no evil, and without evil there would be no peace.

If a person entered a city which was half peace and half evil, he would go in the evil part and recognize the peace. And if there was another city which was all peaceful, if there was no evil there, the peace would not be recognizable. If all people were fools, they would not be recognizable as fools. And if all people were wise, they would not be recognizable as wise.

Rather, "He made one opposite the other" (Ecclesiastes 7:14). And if all people were rich, they would not be recognizable as rich. And if all were poor, they would not be recognizable as poor. Rather, He created poor and rich so they would be distinguishable from each other.

And he created wise and foolish to distinguish one from the other. And He created dead and living to distinguish between fertile and desolate. He created beauty and ugliness, males and females, fire and water, iron and wood, light and darkness, heat and cold, eating and hunger, drinking and thirst, walking and limping, seeing and blindness, hearing and deafness, sea and land, speech and muteness, action and idleness, worry and calm, laughter and crying, healing and illness - with all the opposites that Solomon mentioned in Ecclesiastes: "A time to give birth and a time to die", etc. And all this is to make known the might of God, that everything He created He created in pairs, as partners.

Could the Omnipresent not have brought forth children without incest and revealing nakedness? Rather, everything is with a partner and opposite. Without male and female joining there is no offspring. A male cannot give birth without a female, nor can a female give birth without a male.

And a house is not built by itself, nor does a house build another house, rather it needs a builder to build it. There is no woodchopper without an axe, and without a woodchopper, what is an axe for? Without an axe there is no woodchopper. Without purity there is no impurity, and without impurity there is no purity."

The pigs and all kinds of impure animals said to the pure animals: "You want to be grateful to us - if not for us impure ones, you would not be known to be pure!" The wicked person says to the righteous person: "You want to be grateful to me - if not for me being wicked, how would you be recognized? If all people were righteous, you would have no advantage." So we have said that everything has an opposite except for one thing - to make known to all who come into the world, subtly, that He (God) is One and has no second.

And so too the wind, which has no opposite or partner. You cannot grasp it, strike it, burn it or throw it. And if you say you can grasp the wind in a waterskin - no, because if the waterskin is opened and a person comes and says "What is in it?" and you say "Wind" - he will say "What is it, black or red, white or green? How is it sold in the marketplace?"

You cannot answer him. And if you open the waterskin's mouth, the wind departs and you cannot see if it is black or red, white or green. Not only that, but it carries people and carries the heavens and earth. How do you know?

From what your eyes see: A person enters a house, deeper into the house, or a cave, deeper into the cave, and waves his garment, and the wind comes out, and you do not know from where it came and where it goes. From this you learn that wind fills the world. And so it was that the Queen asked Rabbi Akiva, "On what does the world stand?" He said, "On the wind."

She said, "Show me!" He said, "Bring me camels laden with salt." They walked them around the house. He said, "What do you see?"

They said, "Camels laden with salt." He said, "Bring me a rope." They brought him a rope and wrapped it around their necks. He gave the rope to two men and said, "This one should pull from here and this one should pull from here" until they strangled them.

After they strangled them, he said, "Stand them up." She said, "You are the wise Jew - after you strangled them you say stand them up?!" He said, "What is missing from them except the wind? From this you learn that the world stands on nothing but the wind, which is supreme and exalted."

"And it was from the beginning, as it says 'and the wind of God hovered over the surface of the waters' (Genesis 1:2). There are two things that we do not find created - the wind and the water - and they preexisted, as it says 'and the wind of God hovered over the surface of the waters.' The entire world and all within it we find created in the six days of creation, except for the water, the wind and the darkness, as it says 'and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the wind of God hovered over the surface of the waters' (Genesis 1:2), until Isaiah came and said 'He forms light and creates darkness' (Isaiah 45:7)."...

GERMAN: Einst gingen Rabbi Akiva und Rabbi Ischmael auf den Straßen von Jerusalem. Ein Kranker begegnete ihnen und fragte sie: „Meine Herren, wie kann ich geheilt werden?“. Sie antworteten ihm: „Tue dies und das bis du gesund wirst“. Er fragte: „Wer machte mich krank?“.

Sie sagten: „Gott“. Er sagte: „Und ihr mischt euch ein, in eine Sache, die nicht euch gehört? Er machte mich krank und ihr wollt heilen? Handelt ihr nicht gegen seinen Willen?“.

Sie fragen: „Was ist dein Beruf?“. Er sagte: „Ich bin ein Landarbeiter“. Sie fragten: „Wer hat den Weinberg erschaffen?“. Er sagte: „Gott“.

Sie fragten: „Du mischst dich in eine Sache ein, die nicht dir gehört? Gott erschuf ihn und du schneidest seine Früchte ab?“. Er sagte: „Würde ich den Weinberg nicht pflügen, nicht, jäten, nicht düngen, käme doch keine Frucht von ihm.“ Sie sagten: „Du Dummkopf, hast du nicht den Vers gehört `Des Menschen Tage sind wie Gras, er blüht wie eine Blume des Feldes´(Ps. 103:15). Genau wie das Gewächs, wenn es nicht gejätet und gedüngt wird, wächst nichts und wenn es wächst und nichts trinkt, dann stirbt es.

Genauso ist der Körper des Menschen, sein Dünger ist das Medikament und die Arten der Heilung und der Landarbeiter, der sich darum kümmert, ist der Arzt.“ Rabbi Yishmael says, the One has no opposite or second corresponding to Him. This is the way of counting, one after one, so too the Holy One Blessed Be He has no second, one that has no second. But the Holy One Blessed Be He is One that has no second, and man does not know where His place is.

The living creatures do not know where His place is, nor do the angels who praise His Name know where His place is, as it says "Blessed be the glory of God from His place", and neither the heavens nor the earth praise from the place where He is there. For the men of the Chamber of Hewn Stone call Him "the place of the world" and not the world His place. But we do not find that the wind is dependent except on the Holy One Blessed Be He, as it says "and the wind of God hovered", "The spirit of God has made me" (Job 33:4), "By the breath of God they perish" (Job 37:10), "And now the Lord God has sent me and His spirit" (Isaiah 48:16), "The spirit of God spoke in me" (2 Samuel 23:2), "You send forth Your spirit, they are created" (Psalms 104:30).

"Give to the wise, and he will become wiser" (Proverbs 9:9). Every mention of "gathering" in the Torah is an expression of gathering, except for two: "You hide Your face, they vanish" (Psalms 104:29) - if it was an expression of gathering, why does it say "they vanish"? Rather, it is an expression of dispersal - He dispersed them and afterwards "they vanish and return to dust." "I will surely gather all of you" (Zephaniah 1:3) - and how do we know this is an expression of destruction?

From what Solomon said, "A time to give birth and a time to die." Solomon enumerated 28 opposites corresponding to the 28 verses of the Great Hallel, with 2 opposites remaining corresponding to the 2 Tablets of the Covenant....Chapter 3) Opposition 1) A time to give birth - corresponding to Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, for when a person is born, his father and mother give great thanks to the Holy One Blessed Be He, that he emerged from the sinews and bones and all the limbs, and enters and goes through the vertebrae until arriving at the spine, and from the spine to the male organ and from the male organ to his mother's womb, and he is formed there for forty days and stays there for nine months, and afterwards emerges with trembling and sweat and the distress and pangs of childbirth, and comes out in peace.

Therefore it is fitting to give thanks to God as it says "Give thanks to the Lord etc." He brought him into His kindness and created him in His kindness; in His kindness He brought him out, in His kindness He sustained him, and were it not for His kindness the world would not have been built, as it says "For I said, the world is built with kindness" (Psalms 89:3). Opposition 2) And a time to die - corresponding to Give thanks to the God of gods, for He puts to death and gives life, and He is the God of gods, and not like the nations who say there are two authorities in the world - one who puts to death and one who gives life - rather He is the God of gods, who puts to death and gives life, as it says "I put to death and I bring life" (Deut. 32:39).

And with His kindness He returns the soul to the body, for His kindness endures forever. Opposition 3) A time to plant - corresponding to Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for if a person plants a sapling or orchard, he should not say "my orchard" or "my sapling", for if the Holy One Blessed Be He does not rain down to water the sapling and orchard, where is his sapling? Rather the Holy One Blessed Be He is Master of all, as it says "The ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth passes over" (Joshua 3:11), here the Omnipresent is called "Lord" of the ark.

Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for with His kindness He raises and waters the sapling, and with His kindness He produces its fruits, for His kindness endures forever. [Opposition 4 is missing here] Opposition 5) A time to kill - corresponding to To Him who made the heavens with understanding, for just as the heavens do not move but rather stand still, so too the judgment of one who is killed does not move forever until he demands justice and casts down his mazal from above him, for we find when the Holy One Blessed Be He exacts punishment from a nation, He first punishes its minister, as it says "And it shall come to pass on that day, that the Lord will punish the host of heaven on high" (Isaiah 24:21), and with His kindness He will resurrect them with justice and judge them.

Opposition 6) And a time to heal - corresponding to To Him who spread out the earth above the waters, for His kindness endures forever, just as the earth is spread out above the water, one opposite the other, the two corresponding, so too illness and cure are opposites, and with His kindness He heals all who come into the world, Who spread out the earth above the waters, for His kindness endures forever.

Opposition 7) A time to break down - corresponding to To Him who made the great luminaries, etc. Just as these luminaries burst forth and travel in the firmament but do not go from west to east, so too anyone who breaks through the boundary of the world or the fence of the Sages or the fence of the Torah has no forgiveness or pardon, and his light is extinguished like the luminaries which are extinguished in the west at the boundary of the sphere and are not seen, and with His kindness He illuminates them with His light, and He guides the world, for His kindness endures forever.

Opposition 8) And a time to build - The sun to rule by day, just as the sun goes forth with strength, as it says "It rejoices like a mighty man to run it's course" (Psalms 19:6), and so too a building is only seen by day when the sun comes out. And just as the sun - even though it knows it will rise and set and be extinguished from the world, nonetheless it goes forth and illuminates the world - so too man knows he is going to die and be covered from the world, nonetheless he does not refrain from building, and the sun likewise does not refrain from illuminating the world, for His kindness endures forever.

Opposition 9) A time to weep - corresponding to The moon and stars to rule at night, for weeping comes only from distress and anguish, so too the moon and stars rule at night, for night brings distress to creatures from its darkness and gloom, but light brings joy to the world, as it says "Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart" (Psalms 97:11). Opposition 10) And a time to laugh - corresponding to Who struck the firstborns of Egypt, for Israel laughed and rejoiced and plundered their money, while they [the Egyptians] died.

Opposition 11) A time to mourn - corresponding to And He took Israel from their midst, where they [Egyptians] were silent while these [Israel] mourned, these plundered while those were silent, and with His kindness He will redeem them again in the future, as it says "And it shall come to pass on that day, the Lord will apply His hand yet a second time [to recover the remnant of His people]" (Isaiah 11:11) - for His kindness endures forever.

Opposition 12) And a time to dance - corresponding to With a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, teaching that Israel were happy and dancing, as it says "And He led out His people with joy" (Psalms 105:43), and so too in the future they will only be redeemed with joy and gladness, as it says "And the redeemed of the Lord shall return" etc. (Isaiah 51:11), for His kindness endures forever. Opposition 13) A time to cast stones - corresponding to Who split the Sea of Reeds into parts, He made the sea like a building of stones and made 12 paths and the water stood like walls, and when Israel passed through it, He led them over them like stones and drowned the Egyptians, and they acknowledged the kindnesses of the Omnipresent - for His kindness endures forever.

Opposition 14) And a time to gather stones - corresponding to And He led Israel through its midst, and He brought them to Mount Sinai and gathered them and stationed them around Mount Sinai, as it says "And you shall set bounds for the people round about" (Exodus 19:12), and Israel are called "stones" as it says "From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel" (Genesis 49:24), "The stone despised by the builders" (Psalms 118:22), and they received the Torah which is life forever - for His kindness endures forever.

Opposition 15) A time to embrace - corresponding to And shook off Pharaoh and his host in the Sea of Reeds, like a person running to embrace his fellow, so the Egyptians ran after Israel to seize them in battle, and Israel distanced themselves from them and the Egyptians drowned in the sea, while Israel escaped - for His kindness endures forever. Opposition 16) And a time to refrain from embracing - corresponding to Who leads His people through the wilderness, for He separated Israel from the servitude of Egypt and the "embrace" of Egypt and their troubles - for His kindness endures forever.

Opposition 17) A time to seek - corresponding to Who struck great kings, for Israel sought the inheritance that the Omnipresent gave them, and the kings of those lands were killed. And do not say they were minor kings, they were not minor kings but great kings - for His kindness endures forever. Opposition 18) And a time to lose - corresponding to And He killed mighty kings, that He destroyed them before Israel and empowered Israel over them.

And who killed them? The Holy One Blessed Be He, as it says "And He killed mighty kings" (Joshua 12:24), and it doesn't say "and they killed", for if not for the help of the Holy One Blessed Be He they could not have defeated them - for His kindness endures forever. Opposition 19) A time to guard - corresponding to Sihon king of the Amorites, that He guarded Israel and they did not fall into Sihon's hands or his people's, rather He delivered them into Moses' hand with His kindness - for His kindness endures forever.

Opposition 20) And a time to cast away - corresponding to And Og king of Bashan, that the Holy One Blessed Be He cast a mountain on top of him, that [Og] had intended to cast [the mountain] on Israel and cast it on his own neck and it split him, and with His great kindness He delivered him into Moses' hands, as it says "For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of giants" - for His kindness endures forever.

Opposition 21) A time to tear - corresponding to And He gave their land as an inheritance, like a person wearing a garment, and afterwards tears it from himself and removes it from himself and takes it by force, so Israel took their land from them by force - for His kindness endures forever. Opposition 22) And a time to sew - corresponding to An inheritance for Israel His servant, for the land was sewn up and established in Israel's hand.

Just as this sewer first tears and then sews, so the land of Israel was torn into pieces in the hands of 31 kings and Israel took it from their hands and it adhered and He bequeathed it to them in His kindness - for His kindness endures forever. Opposition 23) A time to be silent - corresponding to When we were laid low, He remembered us, that we are now in a lowly state, and when we praise the name of the Holy One Blessed Be He, the nations of the world silence us and tell us "Hush, do not mention the name of the Lord" (Amos 6:10).

And there was an incident that the kingdom decreed in the days of Rabbi Akiva that you shall not be involved with Torah. What did Rabbi Akiva do? He took a Torah scroll and sat in the marketplace. They said to him: Our teacher, you are the greatest of Israel - do not obligate us to kill you!

Have you not heard that the kingdom decreed not to be involved with Torah? He said: You fools! Regarding the Torah in which it is written "For it is your life and the length of your days" (Deut. 30:20), if we are involved with it, and even so they seek to kill us, if we abandoned it all the more so we would deserve destruction! And Rabbi Akiva did not listen to them and was killed.

Even though they humiliate us, He sees our troubles and remembers the covenant for us, this is the meaning of "When we were laid low, He remembered us" - for His kindness endures forever. Opposition 24) And a time to speak - corresponding to And He redeemed us from our adversaries, and at the time when He broke the arm of the nations we seek to recite song, as it says "Sing to the Lord a new song, for He has performed wonders" (Psalms 98:1), and it is written after this "The Lord has made known His salvation, He has revealed His righteousness before the eyes of the nations.

He has remembered His kindness and faithfulness to the House of Israel" - for His kindness endures forever. Opposition 25) A time to love - corresponding to Who gives food to all flesh, when Israel loves the Holy One Blessed Be He, as it says "And the land will give its produce and the tree of the field will give its fruit" (Leviticus 26:4). Opposition 26) And a time to hate - corresponding to Give thanks to the God of Heaven, for Israel seeks to give great thanks to the Holy One Blessed Be He, for He placed hatred and competition between them and the nations of the world, for if not, they would intermix and learn from their deeds, as it says "And they mingled with the nations and learned their deeds" (Psalms 106:35), therefore Give thanks to the God of Heaven, for His kindness endures forever.

Two opposites remain: A time for war and a time for peace, corresponding to the two Tablets of the Covenant. War - as it says "Therefore it is said in the Book of the Wars of the Lord" (Numbers 21:14). If one merits and is involved with Torah he will make peace like the angels of peace, as it says "Behold, their valiant ones cry outside, the angels of peace weep bitterly" (Isaiah 33:7), and it is written "He makes peace in His heights" (Job 25:2).

You have learned that everything in the world has a corresponding concept in the higher and lower realms, first and last, east and west, north and south, and all the other opposites we have mentioned to you. And He is One and there is none besides Him, He is first and last, Almighty King, Ruler of all, Eternal Dweller, Holy is His Name, for nothing was created in His world uniquely without a second thing as its opposite, as we mentioned at the beginning of the book, to make known to all who come into the world subtly that He is One and He created His world.

And there was an incident where a heretic came and said to Rabbi Akiva, "Who created this world?" He said, "The Holy One Blessed Be He." He said, "Show me clear proof." He said, "Come back tomorrow."

The next day he came back. He said "What are you wearing?" He said, "A garment." He said, "Who made it?"

He said, "The weaver." He said, "I don't believe you, show me clear proof." He said, "What can I show you? Don't you know the weaver made it?"

He said, "And don't you know the Holy One Blessed Be He created His world?" The heretic left. His students said, "What was the clear proof?" He said, "My children, just as the house testifies about the builder, the garment about the weaver, the door about the carpenter, so the world testifies about the Holy One Blessed Be He that He created it.

May His name be praised and exalted forever and for all eternity, amen and amen eternally selah." Once an unbeliever came to Rabbi Akiva and asked him: "This world, who created it?" Rabbi Akiva said: "The Holy Blessed One." The other said: "Show me a clear indication."

Rabbi Akiva said: "Come to me again tomorrow." The unbeliever came again the next day. Rabbi Akiva said to him: "What are you wearing?" The other replied: "A garment."

Rabbi Akiva asked: "Who made it?" The other answered: "The weaver." Rabbi Akiva said: "I don't believe you. Show me a clear indication."

The other said: "What can I show you? Don't you know that a weaver makes clothes?" Rabbi Akiva said: "And don't you know that The Holy Blessed One created the world?" The unbeliever departed, and Rabbi Akiva's students asked him: "Is the indication so clear?"

He said to them: "My children, just as the house makes known its builder, and the garment makes known its weaver, and the door makes known its carpenter, so to the world makes known God as the one who created it."

Book of Eldad the Danite A Question and Answer between the People of Kairouan and Rabbi Zemach Gaon [Epstein, Eldad the Danite, Story I] Before the chariot of Israel and its horsemen, the right hand pillar, the strong hammer, the champion among shepherds, the head of the warriors, armed and sent forth in the war of Torah, girded and equipped with every instrument of splendor to discern and contemplate the Book of the War of the Lord, to detail and explain its secrets, to decode the mysteries of its wonders, to unveil and proclaim the depths of its strategies, and to expound the hidden aspects of its matters to understand its taste and to clarify its interpretations, to open eyes blind from their sockets, to release those locked within their confinements, to open hearts sealed in their closures, to set matters straight on their foundations, saying each word in its own right, and he is our master, the light of our eyes, the glory and splendor of our majesty, the crown of our head, the diadem of our splendor, our champion and victor, our master, the great Rabbi Zemach the Exilarch, son of Jacob.

May it be the will before the Lord of Lords to add days to the life of our master, to elevate and bless him, to improve his stock and to cause his offspring to flourish, to sweeten their root, to make his flower blossom, to bring his blooms to bud, to crown his presence with splendor, to enrich and to perfect him, and to make his offspring successful, to bring forth shoots like thousands and like our master, for our master is the ornament and the praise of Israel, the stretched-out arm to the congregation of Israel, the staff of Israel and their crown of beauty, and not for us alone who are scattered but for the tribes beyond the river of Ethiopia, for they eat the bread of our master and drink his waters.

Let it be known to our master that a man stayed among us, his name is Eldad the Danite, of the tribe of Dan, and he told us that there are four tribes in one place: Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher; the name of the place is ancient Havilah where the gold is. And they have a judge, his name is Obdon, and they judge with the four capital punishments of the court, and they live in tents, traveling and encamping from place to place, and they wage war with the seven kings of Ethiopia (text should read 'five'), and it takes seven months to traverse their land.

However, five hundred of those kings surround them from behind and on both sides and they wage war with them continuously, and whoever is fainthearted among them, they give over to the inheritance of the Lord (to the wise as teachers). Their entire scripture is complete, and they do not read from the Megillah of Esther because they did not experience that miracle, nor from the Megillah of Lamentations so as not to break their hearts, and all of their Talmud does not mention any sage except for "Joshua said from the mouth of Moses from the mouth of the Almighty."

And every strong man among them is given an allotment of the war, and they do not move from their work, and when they go out [to battle], they do not go out mixed. The warriors of Dan have a known three months pursuing their warfare on their horses and do not dismount from them all week, and on the eve of the Sabbath, they disembark wherever they are, and their horses stand in their armor. If enemies do not come upon them, they observe the Sabbath properly, and if enemies do come upon them, they go out with all their armor and kill many of them as the war power of God is upon them.

And there are among them some mighty ones, sons of Samson from Delilah (nowhere mentioned that Samson had children and in Sotah 10a it teaches that every man brought his wife to the prison so that she might conceive from him), and they run to meet them for war, and the smallest among them will pursue many of them, and the voice raising of each one is with a voice of answer of strength like the voice of a lion, and he will loudly call out: "To the LORD belongs salvation; upon Your people be Your blessing, Selah."

And they stand in war until they complete three months, and at the end of the three months, they come with all the spoil to King Adiel (in other sources it is written "Azriel" son of Malkiel or son of Michael) and he divides everything equally among all of Israel. And when the king receives his portion, he gives it to the wise, those who study Torah, and whoever is worthy to receive a portion, they give him a portion (meaning those who are not entitled to a portion others take their share, they distribute it to other worthy individuals).

And so it is with Gad and Asher and Naphtali until the completion of twelve months, and they return. And they do not speak any language other than the Holy Tongue alone, and this Eldad the Danite, even a single word he does not understand, neither in the language of Cush nor in the language of Ishmael but only the Holy Tongue alone. And in the Holy Tongue that he speaks, there are words that we have never heard before, such as for a dove he calls 'tinthera,' for a bird he calls 'reqot,' dialectical pilpul called 'dramosh'—like these we wrote many from his mouth, as we would show him an object and he would tell us its name in the Holy Tongue, which we do not write, and after days we asked him again on each thing, and we found him consistent with his original word.

Their Talmud in the Holy Tongue is immaculate, and it does not mention any sage, neither from the Mishnaic nor the Talmudic authorities, but rather thus it says in every legal ruling: "So we learned from the mouth of Joshua from the mouth of Moses from the mouth of the Almighty." And it seems that even in the matters of prohibited and permitted, we saw that it is one Torah, though they make some changes.

And we had to explain to our master these words that we wrote some of their Talmud, because there is a great astonishment in it, and because our master will look into it, etc. [Here the people of Kairouan bring the halakhic rulings of Eldad, see Epstein Eldad the Danite page 83 and in the Otzar Yisrael, entry for Eldad the Danite]. And he also told us, when the Temple was destroyed, Israel went up to Babylon, the Chaldeans stood over the sons of Moses and said to them, "Sing for us the songs of Zion," the sons of Moses stood and cried in tears before the Holy One, blessed be He, and they bit their fingers with their teeth to say, "The fingers that used to play in the Temple, how can we strike with them in an unclean land?"

And a cloud came and took them with their tents and their sheep and their cattle, and brought them to Havilah and dropped them there at night (see Pesikta Rabbati page 144 the edition of Ish Shalom, Jerusalem Talmud Sanhedrin chapter 1, verse 5, and Midrash Eichah Rabbati chapter 3). And they also told us, our fathers told us and our fathers from their fathers that they heard on that night a great noise and in the morning saw a large and heavy camp, and it turned for them the river that rolls stones and sand in a place where there was previously no river, and that river still rolls stones and sand without water with a great noise and a loud voice, that if it hit a mountain of iron it would shatter it.

And the river rolls the stones and sand all six days of the week without any drop of water, and on the Sabbath it rests. And at the time of the Friday twilight between the sunsets, a cloud descends upon it, and no one can approach it until after the Sabbath, and its name is Sambation and we call it Sevtinu (or Sanbation), and there are places in the river that are not wider than sixty cubits, and they stand on one side and we stand on this one, and tell each other stories.

And they are forbidden (see Jerusalem Talmud there, and Targum Yonatan to Exodus 34), since the river encircles them, and we cannot enter among them, nor can they come out from there. And among them, there are no evil beasts or unclean animals, nor detestable things or crawling creatures, only their sheep and their cattle; and they plow and sow and ask each other questions. And they tell them about the destruction of the Temple, and the sons of Dan did not know anything about it.

However, after the destruction of the Second Temple (text should read 'First Temple'), Naphtali, Gad, and Asher came to Dan, because initially, they were living with Issachar in their cities, and they were quarreling with them, as they were saying to them, "You are children of the maidservants," and they feared that these would not provoke a war among them, and they traveled and went until they reached Dan and became four tribes in one place. [And here is the response that Rabbi Zemach Gaon Jacob returned to the words of the people of Kairouan who asked about the affairs of Eldad the Danite and the changes in his Talmud:] Regarding Rabbi Eldad the Danite you sent to us and that you heard from him, our sages told us that they heard from Rabbeinu Yitzhak son of Mar and Rabbeinu Simcha that they saw this Rabbi Eldad the Danite and were astonished at his words, as some of them seemed like our own Sages' words, and some were extraordinary.

In discussing this matter, we found verses that support our Sages that when Sennacherib rose and exiled the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali in the eighth year of King Ahaz, and from the foundation of the Temple until the eighth year of Ahaz was almost 64 years. And since the sons of Dan saw that they were mighty warriors and the king of Assyria began to rule over Israel, they left the land of Israel for Cush and encamped there, it being a land of gardens and orchards, fields and vineyards, a land spacious of frontiers and filled with all good things, and they set their hearts to worship the Lord in reverence and to do all His commandments in love, and it availed them that they were crowned with two crowns, in Torah and kingdom, as related by this Rabbi Eldad the Danite.

And our Rabbis say that Israel experienced ten exiles (see Midrash on the Ten Exiles), four by Sennacherib and four by Nebuchadnezzar, and one by Vespasian and one by Hadrian, and the tribe of Dan is not mentioned in any of the exiles, because they went to Cush on their own before the destruction by about 265 years. It seems there is no flaw in this matter, perhaps Dan did not travel until the third exile (according to Epstein's view, Rabbi Zemach tries to reconcile the difference between our Sages and Eldad, who say that Dan went to Cush in the days of Assyria (Midrash Rabba 22, and Midrash Konen) and Eldad who says he left there already in the days of Jeroboam, and therefore Rabbi Zemach says I do not see any flaw in this matter, perhaps Dan did not travel until the third exile, and perhaps they forgot the time of their departure from the land of Israel).

And Rabbi Eldad says they judge with the four forms of execution: stoning, burning, slaying, and strangulation. Astutely, our Sages expounded and said every death prescribed in the Torah is really strangulation (Sanhedrin 52b). And that the sons of Moses are with them and the river Sambatyon encircles them—true he said, as thus do our Sages say in the Midrash that Nebuchadnezzar exiled the Levites, sons of Moses, totaling 600,000, and when they reached the rivers of Babylon, they and their harps experienced what Rabbi Eldad recounted to you.

And prior to our fathers' entrance to the land of Canaan, they engaged in wars and forgot the teaching they had taken from Moses' mouth (text should read 'from Joshua'), and even about Joshua of blessed memory, it was said that he encountered doubts after Moses' death (Tractate Temura 14:), and among all the tribes that were in the whole land, the tribes of Judah and Benjamin held fast to the Torah above all.

And do not wonder about the variation and change that you heard from Eldad's mouth; for the sages of Babylon and the sages of the land of Israel have differences in a single teaching with much precision, and they neither subtract nor add, and sometimes these students say one reason and those another, like two scholars sitting to understand a scripture or a Mishnah, this one sees one reason, and that one sees another.

And even regarding scripture which is fixed in the text, there is variation between Babylon and the land of Israel in the absences and additions, in the open and closed [texts], in the musical accent divisions, and in the traditions of dividing the verses. And how much more so the Mishnah which is an intricate matter, profound, profound, who can discover it. And it is plausible to say that this Eldad made a mistake and confused things because of the abundant troubles he had been through and the weariness of the journey that wears the body down.

But the Mishnah Torah is one, to it we shall not add nor from it shall we take away, and you shall not find change, neither a substantial nor a minor change, except in the Talmud. For the people of Babylon recite it in the Aramaic tongue and the children of the land of Israel in the translation tongue (Targum). And the sages who were exiled to Cush interpreted the Talmud in the Holy Tongue which they recognize.

And the reason it does not contain the name of any sage is because every Mishnah that Israel discussed in the Temple was anonymous and did not bear the name of any sage. And the Torah is one, whether in the Mishnah or Talmud, and they all drink from one source, and it is not proper to interpret every matter, for it is said: "It is the glory of God to conceal a matter" (Proverbs 25). And that Eldad said that they pray first for the sages of Babylon and then for all the exiles, rightly they do, because the principal sages and prophets were exiled to Babylon, and they established the Torah and founded a yeshiva by the Euphrates from the days of Jehoiachin king of Judah to this day.

And they were the chain of wisdom and prophecy, and from them the law for all the people emanates. And we have already informed you that they all drink from one source, and be strengthened by what the sages expound to you and the Talmud they have taught you, and do not deviate right or left from all their words, as it is written: "According to the law [Torah] which they instruct you and according to the judgment they tell you, you shall do" (Deuteronomy 17).

Story of Eldad the Danite, Narrative B In the name of the LORD God of Israel, blessed be His name, of our God the King, King of kings, Who chose Israel from among all nations and granted unto us the law of truth and planted everlasting life in our midst, statutes upright and life therein; and ye, our brethren, children of the exile, be strong and let your hearts be of good courage to keep the commandments of our God in their season, for as long as Israel doeth the will of the Omnipresent, no nation nor language doth prevail over them.

And peace be unto you, our brethren, children of the exile, and peace unto Jerusalem, our glory's city, place of our God's abode Who doeth wonders among the nations, and place set before the Holy of Holies; and peace unto all the elders of Israel and the craftsmen of the Lord's Torah and its interpreters, its priests and levites, unto all tribes of Israel and Judah, both great and small. May God strengthen your hearts in the LORD our God and in the truth's prophet, Moses our teacher, the righteous servant of the LORD. [And now we will narrate to our brothers, the tribes of Jeshurun, about the matter of Eldad the Danite who doth tell all this, of how his egress happened throughout all the lands, for he is a noble of the tribe of Dan, and the LORD wrought a great miracle with him and delivered him from several places, and many troubles were overcome by him to go out to these lands to tell all the children of Israel dispersed in exile his matters and the matter of our land, to announce comfort unto them and to speak good words unto their hearts] (This is like an introduction to the following narrative, and the enclosed text is the note of the transcribing scribe.

And Eldad wrote this narrative for the Jew of Spain who he went unto them to ask for their support). Thus was my departure beyond the rivers of Kush. A certain Jew from the tribe of Asher and I entered a small ship [to trade] with the seafarers and it happened at midnight, that the LORD sent forth a great and mighty wind and the ship was rent in sunder, and by God's providence, I caught hold of a timber plank, and when my companion saw such, he also grasped with me upon the same plank, and we went up and down upon it until the sea cast us unto a certain nation, whose name is Romranos (or Romrom in the kingdom of Kush), and they are black Kushites of stature, unclothed and unwrapped, for like the beasts are they compared, and they eat human flesh.

When we came to their land, they laid hold on us, and seeing my comrade healthy and plump and delicate, they slaughtered and did eat him, and he cried out, woe unto me that I have encountered this nation for the Kushites will eat my flesh, and they took me for I was sick upon the ship and put me in a collar until I would become fat and healthy, and they brought before me all manner of goodly forbidden foods, yet did I not eat a thing, and I did conceal my eating, and they would ask if I had eaten and I would say yea, I did eat.

And I was with them a long time until Hashem performed a miracle with me, and a great army from another place came unto them, and took them captive and spoiled them and slew them, and took me with them among the captives. And those wicked ones worshipped fire and I dwelt with them four years, and they made a great fire every morning and burnt and bowed down to it, until once they brought me unto the city of Atzitz (or Atzin, Tzin, Altzin, near the author of the Kuzari part B, chapter 19).

And there found me a certain Jew a merchant from the tribe of Issachar and bought me for thirty-two gold pieces and returned with me to his land. And they are those in the mountains of Tehom (the mountains near the sea, for Tehom in Arabic is the land near the sea), and they are underneath the land of Medes and Persians and they keep this verse: "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth" (Joshua 1:8), and they have no yoke of kingdom but the yoke of Torah, and with them are chiefs of armies but they war not with men but with Torah, and they are in solace and tranquility and there is no Satan nor evil occurrence, and they make journey of ten days upon ten days, and they have very many flocks and camels and donkeys and slaves and they raise not horses, and they have no weapon of war save slaughter knife.

And also they have no oppression nor robbery, and even if they find on the way garments or money they will not stretch forth their hand to take, and near them are wicked fire worshippers and they take their aunts and sisters to wife, but they harm them not and doth not help (aid) them. And they have a judge and I enquired of him and they told me his name is Nahshon, and they have four capital punishments of the court and they speak in the holy tongue and in Persian.

And the children of Zebulun are camped in the mountains of Paran (another version "Pariyan" and see the note from Epstein there), and they reach their [the children of Issachar's] neighborhood, and they plant tents of hair which come unto them from the land of Armenia, and they reach unto the river Euphrates and are engaged in commerce. And they have four capital punishments of court according to their fashion.

And the tribe of Reuben is opposite them behind the mountain of Paran, and there is peace between them and brotherhood and companionship. And these (the aforementioned tribes) go together to war and rob (plunder) the ways, and all their spoil together they divide and they go by the way of the kings of Medes and Persians, and they speak in the holy tongue and in Persian, and with them are Scripture and Mishna and Talmud and Aggadah, and every Sabbath they open the reasons of Torah in the holy language and the explanations in Persian.

And the tribe of Ephraim and half the tribe of Manasseh are there in the mountains opposite the land of "Makkah" an error of the Ishmaelites, and they are those of sullen soul and faint heart, owners of horses and robbers of the ways and they spare not their enemies and they have no livelihood save from the spoil, and they are those strong in war and one of them will go out against a thousand. And the tribe of Simeon and half the tribe of Manasseh are in the land of the Chaldeans (in other narratives "Kadraim" or "Kuzarim") far away six months, and they are those most numerous of all and they take tribute from twenty-five kingdoms and some of the Ishmaelites pay tribute.

And we say in our land that it is a tradition in our hands that you children of the exile, the tribe of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, under the faith of idolatry in the impure land, are scattered under Rome, who destroyed the house of our God, and the Greeks and the Ishmaelites, their sword shall enter their own heart, and their bows shall be broken. And we have a tradition from man to man that we the tribe of Dan in the beginning were dwellers of tents in the land of Israel, and there was in all the tribes of Israel no warriors of strength like us.

And when Jeroboam the son of Nebat stood up, who made Israel sin and he made two golden calves, the kingdom of the house of David was split and the tribes gathered and said, rise up and fight against Rehoboam and against Jerusalem, they said to him why should we fight with our brothers and with the son of our lord David, king of Israel and Judah, God forbid and God forbid! In that hour the elders of Israel said thou hast not in all the tribes of Israel like the tribe of Dan, warriors.

Immediately they said to the children of Dan, rise up and fight with the children of Judah. They said unto him by the life of the head of Dan our father we will not make war with our brothers and we will not spill their blood. Immediately the children of Dan took swords and spears and bows and gave themselves to die to go forth from the land of Israel, for we saw that we could not stand. Let us go now and find for us rest and place, and if we wait until the end they will lead us away.

And they set their mind and counseled to go to Egypt to destroy it and to slay all its inhabitants. Our princes said unto us, and is it not written "Ye have seen Egypt no more again forever" (Exodus 14), and how shall you prosper? They said we will go against Edom or Ammon and Moab to annihilate them and we will dwell in their place. Our princes said it is written in the Torah that the Holy One, blessed be He, prevented Israel from crossing their border.

At last they gave advice to go to Egypt and not by the road which our fathers went and also not to destroy but to pass over the river Pishon (Nile) to the land of Kush. And it happened that we came close to Egypt and all of Egypt were shaken and they sent unto us whether for war or for peace? And we said unto them peace! We will pass through your land to the river Pishon, for there shall we find a resting place.

And it happened that they believed not and all Egypt stood on their watch until we crossed their land and we reached the land of Kush, and we found it a good land and fat, and therein fields and vineyards, gardens and orchards. And the children of Dan were not prevented from dwelling with them for with force they took the land. And it happened that they wanted to kill everyone and they became tributaries under Israel and dwelt with them many years until they were fruitful and multiplied exceedingly and we had great wealth.

And thereafter Sennacherib king of Assyria came up and exiled Reuben and Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh and brought them to Halah and Habor, and the river of Gozan (1 Chronicles 5:26). And again Sennacherib came up a second time and exiled the tribe of Asher and the tribe of Naphtali and brought them to the land of Assyria (2 Kings 15:29). And after the death of Sennacherib the three tribes of Israel, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher went to the land of Kush, and they journeyed and camped in the wilderness until they came to their border and they slew of the men of Kush the journey of twenty days, and they fight to this day with the sons of the kingdoms of Kush.

And these four tribes, Dan and Naphtali, Gad, and Asher, are camped in ancient Havilah where there is gold (and they are in good places and established in the kingdom of Pharaoh, government of Hauran, and they trust in their Creator first and God with their help. And these tribes place their hand upon the neck of their enemies, and every year they make war with seven kingdoms and seven lands. And the names of these lands are Thausena and Kamtav and Kovav and Triaugi and Takul and Karmav and Kaalum (with variations in other narratives) and they are beyond the rivers of Kush.

And these four tribes, they have gold and silver and precious stones, many sheep and cattle and camels and donkeys, and they sow and reap and dwell in tents. And whenever they wish they journey and camp with their tents from border to border a journey of two days upon two days, and in the place where they encamp there is no place that a foot may enter and they encamp only in fields and vineyards).

And the name of their king is Uzziel, and the name of the great prince is Elizaphan of the sons of Ahliab of the tribe of Dan, and his flag is white written in black: Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God is one LORD. And at the time when he desires to go out to war, the trumpeter shall cry aloud with the trumpet and the army chief shall come and the troops shall go forth one hundred twenty thousand small white flags.

And every month (should read three months), one tribe goes out to war and the tribe stands outside for three months, and all that they bring from the spoil of their enemies they divide with their tribe. And they are of the sons of Samson of the tribe of Dan over all, not at all shall they flee for it is a great shame unto them, and they are as the sand of the sea now and they have no occupation but war, and when they fight they shall say, it is not good for the warrior to flee, let the young die and not flee, let his heart be strong unto the LORD, and they shall say many times and all shall cry out together, Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God is one LORD, and then they shall all be guarded.

And thus they do until the three months are complete and they return, and they bring all the spoil to king Uzziel and he divides it all with all Israel. And this is the ordinance for them from king David until this day. And king Uzziel takes his portion and the king gives to all the wise Torah scholars dwellers of tents their portion and thereafter all take their portion and the prince over the war.

And thus they do in three months Issachar goes out, in three months Naphtali goes out, and so all of them until a year is completed and they return God forbid. And yet another tribe of Moses our teacher of blessed memory, the righteous servant of the LORD, and they are called in our midst the tribe of Janus because they fled from idolatry and clung unto the fear of the LORD. And the sea surrounds them from a three months' journey upon three months' journey and they dwell in splendid houses and in elegant buildings and they prepare for themselves towers and in the time when they rejoice they ride upon the elephant, and with them there is no unclean thing, nor unclean bird nor unclean beast nor unclean cattle, nor flies nor fleas nor lice nor foxes nor scorpions nor snakes nor dogs, for all this came out of idolatry which they served in the land, except the sheep and cattle and fowl.

And their sheep give birth twice a year, and also their seed they sow twice a year, and they sow and reap, and they have gardens and orchards and olive trees and pomegranates and figs and all kinds of legumes and melons and squash and onions and garlic and barley and wheat and from each comes forth a hundred [stalks]. And they are men of faith, and their Talmud is entirely in the holy tongue, and so they study: Thus have our rabbis taught us from the mouth of Joshua the son of Nun from the mouth of our teacher Moses from the mouth of the Almighty.

And they know not of the sages for in the Second Temple they were and they did not reach them. And they know not to speak save in the holy tongue, and all of them are pure, owners of immersion, and they swear not at all, and he who remembers the Name in vain they shall cry out upon him and say that because of the iniquity of oaths your children shall die young (under the sin of vows, Shabbat 32a).

And they prolong their days and live a hundred years or a hundred and twenty years, and no son shall die in the lifetime of his father, and they reach unto three or four generations, and they sow and reap [by themselves] for they have no servants nor maidservants, and all are equal. And they lock not their houses by night for it is shame unto them, and the youth walks with the flock a ten days' journey and they are not afraid neither of robbers nor of demons.

And all of them are Levites and they have no priest nor Israelite and still [stand] in the holiness of Moses our teacher the righteous servant of the LORD. And yet they see not the sons of men and the sons of men [see] not them (them), except these four tribes who dwell beyond the rivers of Kush. And there is a place where they see one another and speak by shouting and the river Sambatyon is between them, and they say such has happened to us in war, and they informed all Israel what has befallen them.

When they desire to speak or for a great matter, they have a kind of pigeons known amongst them and they write their tales and tie them on the wings or the pigeon's leg, and they go and cross the river Sambatyon and the pigeons come to their kings and to their princes. And yet they have very many precious stones and silver and gold, and they sow flax and raise cochineal worms and make beautiful garments without end.

And they are as those who went out of Egypt five times for there is no number. And the breadth of that place the river is two hundred cubits like the drawing of a bow, and the river is full of great and small stones and the noise thereof thunders like the roar of a great wind in a storm at sea, and at night its voice is heard the journey of a day. And there are with them six springs and all gather to one lake and from them they water their land, and there breed in it clean fish.

And the river goes and the stones and sand thunder six working days, and on the seventh day it rests and is at peace until the going out of the Sabbath. And beyond the river from the side near the four aforementioned tribes there is a blazing fire on the Sabbath and no man can move [in that place] much as a mile's journey. And this is my name, Eldad son of Mahli, son of Ezekiel, son of Hezekiah, son of ALUK, son of ABNER, son of Shemaiah, son of Hatir, son of Hor, son of Elkanah, son of Hillel, son of Toviah, son of Pedah, son of Enan, son of Naaman, son of Ta'am, son of Taami, son of Unam, son of Naol, son of Shalom, son of Caleb, son of Amram, son of Domam, son of Ovadiah, son of Abraham, son of Joseph, son of Moses, son of Jacob, son of Capur, son of Ariel, son of Asher, son of Job, son of Shalem, son of Eliab, son of Ahisamak, son of Hushim, son of Dan, son of Jacob our father of blessed memory and peace unto all Israel amen. [In that year of forty and three, this Master Eldad dispatched these epistles unto the land of Spain, and indeed, this Master Eldad is replete with the Torah and the commandments, as if a man were to sit with him from dawn until eve, his tongue would not stay from the savor of Torah in the sacred tongue, and his words are sweeter than honey and the droppings of the honeycomb.

The LORD of Hosts shall grant unto him goodly reward in this world and in the world to come.] Here endeth the Book of Eldad the Danite.