The Proud Punished by the Very Thing They Boasted In

Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 243:1

Curated by Arthur·Told by Maggid·

Another interpretation of "He is highly exalted": He exalts Himself over all the proud, for by the very thing in which the nations exalt themselves before Him, He exacts punishment from them. So He says of the generation of the Flood, "his bull breeds and does not fail; they send forth their little ones like a flock; they take up the timbrel and the lyre" (Job 21:10-12). And what is said there? "They say to God, Depart from us; what is the Almighty that we should serve Him?" They said: It is not a drop of rain that we need; rather, "a mist went up from the earth" (Genesis 2:6). The Holy One said to them: Fools of the world, with the good that I bestowed upon you, you exalt yourselves; with it I exact punishment from you, as it is said, "and the rain was upon the earth." And so you find with the men of the Tower, that by what they exalted themselves He punished them, as it is said, "come, let us build a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name, lest we be scattered" (Genesis 11:4); after it is written, "and the LORD scattered them from there." And so you find with the men of Sodom, who said: We have no need that a man should come to us, for food comes forth from our place and silver and gold and precious stones; come, let us cause the wayfarer to be forgotten from among us. The Holy One said to them: Fools, with the good I bestowed you exalt yourselves and say, let us cause the wayfarer to be forgotten; I too will cause you to be forgotten from the world. And so you find with Egypt, that by what they exalted themselves they fell, as it is said, "and he took six hundred chosen chariots" (Exodus 14:7), and after it, "the chariots of Pharaoh and his host." And so with Sisera and Samson and Absalom and Sennacherib and Nebuchadnezzar and Tyre, in each case the very thing they boasted in became the means of their downfall. Rabbi Chama bar Chanina said: At the hour Israel went out of Egypt, the prince of Egypt stood and prostrated himself before the Holy One, blessed be He, and said: Master of the universe, with the attribute of mercy You created Your world, yet You exalt Yourself in strength. At once the Holy One called all the princes of the nations and laid out before them all that had befallen, saying: Judge now between Me and this one. At first My children went down to Egypt only to sojourn, as it is said, "they said to Pharaoh, to sojourn in the land we have come" (Genesis 47:4); Pharaoh stood and subdued them as slaves, first making them shepherds, then builders, in order to diminish them from being fruitful, and then he decreed, "every son that is born," and said, "if it be a son, then you shall kill him" (Exodus 1:16). He said before Him: Master of the universe, the judgment is with You and the truth is with You; only, if it is Your will, save Israel and do not destroy Egypt. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: When Michael saw that the princes of the nations were arguing in defense of Egypt, he signaled to Gabriel, who flew to Egypt in a single flight and snatched a brick with its mortar and a single infant whom they had embedded in the building, and stood before the Holy One and said: Master of the universe, with such matters Your children were enslaved. When the attribute of justice saw this, it said: Execute judgment for Your children in Egypt, for most of them are guilty. At once Egypt was drowned, as it is said, "You trod the sea with Your horses, the churning of mighty waters" - that very mortar which Gabriel brought caused Egypt to be drowned.

Themes

Divine JusticeEgyptAngels

Continue Reading

Yalkut Shimoni on TorahThe Holy One Silences the Angels While Egyptians DrownRabbi Shmuel bar Nachmani turned the phrase "the one did not come near the other all the night" into something far larger than two armies on a beach. He read itYalkut Shimoni on TorahSamael Accuses Israel of Idolatry at the SeaAs Israel passed between the standing walls of water, an unseen prosecutor descended. Samael, the accusing angel, pressed his case before the Throne. "Master ofBook of JubileesEnoch and True KnowledgeThe Book of Jubilees, a text not included in the canonical Hebrew Bible but cherished by some, gives us glimpses into just that. It's like peeking behind the cuBook of JubileesJubilees AccountThe Book of Jubilees isn't part of the standard Jewish biblical canon, the Tanakh. But it's a hugely important ancient Jewish text, offering a unique perspectivBook of JubileesJoseph Falsely Accused and Thrown Into PrisonBook of Jubilees turns to Joseph Falsely Accused and Thrown Into Prison. Our story picks up in the Book of Jubilees, specifically chapter 39. Now, the Book of JBook of TobitAn Angel in Disguise Agrees to Guide TobiasThat’s where Tobi finds himself in the Book of Tobit. Blind, disheartened, yet still clinging to faith. It’s a powerful image, isn't it? So, Tobiyyah, Tobi’s so