The Wise Face That Shines From Adam to the Sages

"Who is like the wise, and who knows the meaning of a matter? A man's wisdom lights up his face" and so on (Ecclesiastes 8:1). "Who is like the wise," this is the Holy One, blessed be He, of whom it is written, "The LORD by wisdom founded the earth, He established the heavens with understanding" (Proverbs 3:19). "And who knows the meaning of a matter," who explained the Torah to Israel. "A man's wisdom lights up his face" (Ecclesiastes 8:1): Rabbi Yudan said: Great is the power of the prophets, who liken the form of the Mighty One above to the form of a man, "And I heard the voice of a man between the banks of the Ulai" (Daniel 8:16). Rabbi Judah son of Rabbi Simon said: There is another verse clearer than this one, "And upon the likeness of the throne was a likeness like the appearance of a man" (Ezekiel 1:26). "And the strength of his face is changed" (Ecclesiastes 8:1): that He changes from the measure of justice to the measure of mercy upon Israel. Another interpretation: "Who is like the wise" (Ecclesiastes 8:1), this is the first Adam, of whom it is written, "You seal up the measure, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty" (Ezekiel 28:12). "And who knows the meaning of a matter" (Ecclesiastes 8:1), who set out names for everything, "And the human gave names" and so on (Genesis 2:20). "A man's wisdom lights up his face" (Ecclesiastes 8:1): Rabbi Levi in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Menasya: the heel of the first Adam dimmed the orb of the sun. And do not wonder: in the way of the world, 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? Is it not his own? So the first Adam was created for the service of the Holy One, blessed be He, while the orb of the sun was created for the service of the creatures; all the more so that the heel of the first Adam should dim the orb of the sun. And if the heel of the first Adam dimmed the orb of the sun, his very countenance how much more so. Rabbi Levi in the name of Rabbi Hama son of Rabbi Hanina: thirteen canopies the Holy One, blessed be He, bound for him in the Garden of Eden, as it is written, "In Eden, the garden of God, you were; every precious stone was your covering" and so on (Ezekiel 28:13). Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: eleven; and the rabbis said: ten. And they do not disagree: the one who counts thirteen takes "every precious stone was your covering" as three, and the one who counts eleven takes it as one, and the one who counts ten does not take one of them. And after all this praise, "for dust you are, and to dust you shall return" (Genesis 3:19). "And the strength of his face is changed" (Ecclesiastes 8:1): when he said, "The woman whom You gave to be with me" and so on (Genesis 3:12), the Holy One too changed his face and drove him from the Garden of Eden, as it is written, "He changes his face and sends him away" (Job 14:20), "And the LORD God sent him out of the Garden of Eden" and so on (Genesis 3:23). Another interpretation: "Who is like the wise" (Ecclesiastes 8:1), these are Israel, of whom it is written, "Surely a wise and understanding people is this great nation" (Deuteronomy 4:6). "And who knows the meaning of a matter" (Ecclesiastes 8:1), who know how to expound the Torah in forty-nine faces of impurity and forty-nine faces of purity. "A man's wisdom lights up his face" (Ecclesiastes 8:1): Rabbi Zakkai of Shav in the name of Rabbi Samuel bar Nahman: You find that when Israel stood at Mount Sinai and said, "All that the LORD has spoken we will do and we will hear" (Exodus 24:7), He gave them of the radiance of the Divine Presence above, as it is written, "And your renown went forth among the nations for your beauty" and so on (Ezekiel 16:14). And once they said of that deed, "These are your gods, O Israel" (Exodus 32:4), they became hated by the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is written, "And the strength of his face is changed" (Ecclesiastes 8:1): the Holy One too changed the matter upon them, "Indeed like a human you shall die, and like one of the princes you shall fall" (Psalms 82:7). Another interpretation: "Who is like the wise" (Ecclesiastes 8:1), this is a Torah scholar. "And who knows the meaning of a matter" (Ecclesiastes 8:1), at the time he knows how to explain his teaching. "A man's wisdom lights up his face" (Ecclesiastes 8:1), at the time he is asked and answers. "And the strength of his face is changed" (Ecclesiastes 8:1), at the time he is asked and does not answer. Rabbi [Judah the Prince] was sitting and teaching: from where do we know that one may not exchange a firstborn? The face of Bar Pedaiah turned pale. He said: This one knows what I sit and teach. A certain Gentile saw Rabbi Judah son of Rabbi Ilai; he saw that his face was shining. He said: This man is one of three things: either he lends at interest, or he raises pigs, or he drinks wine. Rabbi Judah son of Rabbi Ilai heard his voice and said to him: May that man's spirit expire, for I am none of the three: I do not lend at interest, as it is written, "You shall not lend on interest to your brother, interest of money" and so on (Deuteronomy 23:20); nor do I raise pigs, for it is forbidden for an Israelite to raise pigs, as we learned, "An Israelite may not raise pigs anywhere"; nor do I drink wine, for the four cups that I drink on the night of Passover bind my head from Passover to Shavuot. Rabbi Mana's head ached from Passover to Sukkot. He said to him: Then why is your face shining? He said to him: It is my Torah that makes it shine, as it is written, "A man's wisdom lights up his face" (Ecclesiastes 8:1). Rabbi Abbahu went to Caesarea and came back from there with his face shining. His students saw it, went up, and said to Rabbi Yohanan: Behold, Rabbi Abbahu has found a treasure. He said to them: Why? They said to him: Because his face is shining. He said to them: Perhaps he heard a new teaching of Torah. He went up to him, said to him: What new teaching of Torah did you hear? He said to him: I expounded an ancient Tosefta, and he read concerning him, "A man's wisdom lights up his face." Another interpretation: "Who is like the wise" (Ecclesiastes 8:1), this is Moses, of whom it is written, "A wise man scales the city of the mighty" (Proverbs 21:22). "And who knows the meaning of a matter" (Ecclesiastes 8:1), who explained the Torah to Israel. "A man's wisdom lights up his face" (Ecclesiastes 8:1): Rabbi Mani of Shav, Rabbi Joshua of Sikhnin in the name of Rabbi Levi: upon every single matter that the Holy One, blessed be He, would say to Moses, He would tell him its impurity and its purity. When He reached the portion "Speak to the priests" and so on (Leviticus 21:1), he said before Him: Master of the worlds, and if he becomes impure, how is he purified? And He did not answer him. At that moment the face of our master Moses turned pale, as it is written, "And the strength of his face is changed" (Ecclesiastes 8:1). When He reached the portion of the heifer, the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: Moses, that saying that I said to you, "Speak to the priests" and so on (Leviticus 21:1), and you said before Me, Master of the worlds, and if he becomes impure how is he purified, and I did not answer you, this is his purification, "And they shall take for the impure one from the dust" and so on (Numbers 19:17). Which is it? "This is the statute of the Torah" (Numbers 19:2).