Do Not Exult for Even the Righteous Found No Joy in My World

Rabbi Levi opened: "I said to the boastful, Do not boast" (Psalms 75:5). "I said to the boastful [holelim], Do not boast" -- to the confused ones, those whose hearts are full of evil tremblings upon tremblings. Rabbi Levi would read them as "woe to them," those who bring woes (allei) into the world. "And to the wicked, Do not lift up the horn" (Psalms 75:5) -- the Holy One, blessed be He, said to the wicked: The righteous did not rejoice in My world, and you seek to rejoice in My world? Adam did not rejoice in My world, and you seek to rejoice in My world? Rabbi Levi in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Menasya said: The apple of Adam's heel dimmed the orb of the sun. And do not be astonished: it is the way of the world that a man makes himself two platters, one for himself and one for a member of his household; for whom does he make the finer one? Surely his own. So too Adam was created for the service of the Holy One, blessed be He, and the orb of the sun was created for the service of creatures; how much more so should the apple of Adam's heel have dimmed the orb of the sun, and the radiance of his face all the more so. Rabbi Levi in the name of Rabbi Chama son of Rabbi Chanina said: Thirteen canopies the Holy One, blessed be He, bound for him in the Garden of Eden. And after all this praise, "for dust you are, and to dust you shall return" (Genesis 3:19). Abraham did not rejoice in My world, and you seek to rejoice in My world? Abraham had a son born to him at a hundred years, and in the end the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, "Take now your son" (Genesis 22:2). And our father Abraham made a journey of three days, as it is written, "On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar" (Genesis 22:4). What did he see? He saw a cloud bound upon the mountain. He said to his son: My son, do you see what I see? He said to him: Yes. He said to him: And what do you see? He said to him: I see a cloud bound upon the mountain. He said to his lads: Do you see what we see? They said: No. He said to them: Since you see nothing, and the donkey sees nothing, "stay here with the donkey" (Genesis 22:5) -- the people who are like a donkey. What did he do? He took his son Isaac and went up to the top of the mountain, and built the altar, and arranged the wood, and bound him upon the altar, and took the knife in his hand to slaughter him. Had the Holy One, blessed be He, not said to him, "Do not stretch out your hand against the lad" (Genesis 22:12), he would already have been slaughtered. And when he came to his mother, she said to him: My son, what did your father do to you? He said to her: My father took me and led me up mountains and brought me down hills and led me up to the top of one mountain, and built an altar and arranged the wood and laid out the wood and bound me upon the altar and took the knife in his hand to slaughter me. Had the Holy One, blessed be He, not said to him, "Do not stretch out your hand against the lad," I would already have been slaughtered. She said to him: Woe to you, son of an afflicted woman! Had the Holy One, blessed be He, not said, "Do not stretch out your hand against the lad," you would already have been slaughtered. She had not finished the matter before her soul departed, as it is written, "And Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her" (Genesis 23:2). From where did he come? From Mount Moriah. As it were, the Holy One, blessed be He, did not rejoice in His world, and you seek to rejoice in His world? It is not written, "The LORD rejoiced in His works," but rather "may He rejoice" (Psalms 104:31) -- in the future the Holy One, blessed be He, is destined to rejoice in the deeds of the righteous in the time to come. Israel did not rejoice in My world, and you seek to rejoice in My world? It is not written here, "Israel rejoiced," but rather "let Israel rejoice" (Psalms 149:2) -- for Israel is destined to rejoice in the works of the Holy One, blessed be He, in the time to come. Elisheva daughter of Amminadab did not rejoice, and you seek to rejoice in My world? Elisheva daughter of Amminadab saw four joys in one day: her husband a High Priest, her brother-in-law a king, her brother a prince, and her two sons deputy priests; and once they entered they came out burned, and her joy was turned to mourning, as it is written, "after the death of the two sons of Aaron" (Leviticus 16:1).