To the LORD Belongs Righteousness and the Mercy of One Tenth

[8] "To You, O Lord, belongs righteousness, and to us shame of face, as on this day" (Daniel 9:7). Rabbi Yudah son of Rabbi Lai said: idolatry crossed the sea with Israel. And what is the reason? "And he shall pass through the sea of distress [tzarah]" (Zechariah 10:11), and this expression "tzarah" means nothing other than idolatry, as it is written, "the molten image is too narrow [tzarah] when one gathers oneself up" (Isaiah 28:20). Rabbi Yudan said: it is written, "And the house of Joseph also went up, they too, to Bethel, and the LORD was with them" (Judges 1:22). They were going to serve idolatry, and yet you say, "and the LORD was with them." Is there a greater righteousness than this? Therefore, "To You, O Lord, belongs righteousness, and to us shame of face" (Daniel 9:7). Rabbi Yudah son of Rabbi Simon said: it is written, "And they took what Micah had made, and the priest who belonged to him" and so forth (Judges 18:27). "They took what Micah had made": the idol. "And the priest who belonged to him": the idolatrous priest. "And they came to Laish" (ibid.): a peaceful place. "To a people quiet and secure" (ibid.): they worshiped idolatry, and it prospered in their hands, and you say "to a people quiet and secure" (ibid.). Is there a greater righteousness than this? Therefore, "To You, O Lord, belongs righteousness, and to us shame of face" (Daniel 9:7). Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachman said: you find that on the day the manna came down for Israel, on that very day Israel served idolatry; and not only that, but they took from it and offered it to their idolatry. This is what is written, "and My bread which I gave you, fine flour and oil and honey I fed you, you set it before them" (Ezekiel 16:19). And even so, you did not withhold the manna from them. Is there a greater righteousness than this? Therefore, "To You, O Lord, belongs righteousness" (Daniel 9:7). Rabbi Eleazar said: when Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah came out of the fiery furnace, they recited this verse. You find that when they came up from the furnace, all the kings of the nations of the world gathered against them, and the nations were spitting in their faces until they made of them a clod of spittle, and Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah lifted their faces upward and said, "To You, O Lord, belongs righteousness, and to us shame of face" (Daniel 9:7). It was taught in the name of Rabbi Nechemiah: in the way of the world, a man has a field and gives it out for a half, a third, or a quarter share; but the Holy One, blessed be He, is not so. The Holy One makes the winds blow and raises the clouds and brings down the rains and makes the dews come forth and grows the plants and fattens the fruits, and He told us to set aside only one in ten. Therefore Moses warns Israel and says to them, "You shall surely tithe" (Deuteronomy 14:22).