When the Days Grew Long for Isaac in Gerar

Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 111:10

Curated by Arthur·Told by Maggid·

"And it came to pass, when the days had grown long for him there" (Genesis 26:8). Rabbi Yochanan said: a hard dream and a hard prophecy and foolish mourning length of days nullifies them. A hard prophecy, as it is written, "the days are prolonged and every vision fails" (Ezekiel 12:22); foolish mourning [is likewise undone by time]; [and a hard dream] from Isaac, "when the days had grown long for him there." "And he looked, and behold, Isaac was sporting [with Rebekah his wife]" (Genesis 26:8). Was he doing this thing because the days had grown long? Did not Rabbi Yochanan say: one who has marital relations by day is disgraceful, for Rabbi Yochanan said marital union is only at night, as it is said, "in the evening she comes and in the morning she returns" (Esther 2:14)? Job cursed the day of his birth and the night of his conception, as it is written, "let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night that said, a man-child is conceived" (Job 3:3). Job said: would that my mother had been menstruant when my father came to be intimate with her, so that she would have said to him, "a man-child is conceived" [i.e., warned him off]. Jeremiah cursed the day of his birth and the day of his conception, "cursed be the day wherein I was born" (Jeremiah 20:14) this is the day of conception; "the day that my mother bore me" this is the day of birth. Is it possible that Hilkiah, a righteous man, would do such a thing [as have relations by day]? Rather, because Jezebel was killing the prophets, he had relations by day and fled.

Themes

Sexual PurityProphecyDreams

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