When the righteous multiply in the world, good things multiply with them. This is Aggadat Bereshit's reading of "When the righteous are many, the people rejoice" (Proverbs 29:2). Not "when the powerful rule wisely" or "when the laws are just" — when the righteous are numerous. The midrash traces this through Moses's directive to Israel: "So that it may go well with you and your children after you forever, when you do what is good and right in the sight of the Lord your God" (Deuteronomy 12:28).
The earth itself responds. "The earth is filled with the abundance of God's waters" (Psalm 65:10) — rain, the rabbis said, falls in proportion to Israel's righteousness. Not as mechanical reward, but as the natural consequence of a world properly aligned. When the people keep covenant, the covenant's blessings flow. When they don't, the blessings withdraw. Famine is not random. Neither is abundance.
The rabbis were careful not to make this into a simple formula. The righteous sometimes suffer; the wicked sometimes prosper. But in the aggregate, over generations, the pattern holds: a world with more righteous people in it is a world where more children rejoice. This is the argument the midrash builds from Jacob's household — a family that stayed together through betrayal and loss and reunion, and on the far side of all of it, multiplied into a nation.
Chapter 41: Prophets [1] And Eli was very old. "And he heard all that his sons did" (1 Samuel 2:22). "Fortunate is the man who listens to me, etc., for whoever finds me, etc. But he who sins against me wrongs his own soul, etc." (Proverbs 8:34-36). What caused Eli to live a long life and age greatly? It was because he was engaged in Torah study, as it is written, "And Eli the priest was sitting on the seat [by the doorpost of the temple]" (1 Samuel 1:9), which is the meaning of "Fortunate is the man, etc." (Proverbs 8:34). Why did it say "whoever finds me, etc." and "but he who sins, etc." and "all who hate me love death" (Proverbs 8:36)? These are the sons of Eli, as it is written, "The sons of Eli were worthless men; they did not know the Lord" (1 Samuel 2:12). Therefore, a righteous person may be called wicked because of his children, as it is written, "sons of worthlessness" (1 Samuel 2:12), as if to say "the sons of a worthless person." In all of the Torah, he is wicked, and all of Israel hated him because of his sons, as it is written, "The judgment of the priests, etc." (1 Samuel 2:17), "even before the fat was burned, etc., the sin of the young men was great and they had no regard for the Lord" (1 Samuel 2:13-17). And Israel saw them and said to each other, "See how the priests of the Lord use these offerings," but a heavenly voice answered them, "They do it for themselves," as it is written, "But he who sins against me wrongs his own soul, all who hate me love death" (Proverbs 8:36). And it is written, "On that day both of Eli's sons shall die" (1 Samuel 2:34), because they hated life and loved death, and because of this distress, an old woman leaped upon Eli. And Eli was very old. [2] Another interpretation: "And Eli was very old. You will find in everyone who is written as old, there is no "very" except here, and Eli was very old, and he was ninety-eight years old. As it says, "who shows no partiality to princes" (Job 34:19). It is likened to a peasant (explained by Peretz) who took a stone and threw it into the king's pantry. The king said, "Hang him by the neck!" Similarly, the sons of Eli did more than enough to anger God, as it is said, "And their sin was very great before the Lord" (1 Samuel 2:17). God said, "Even though Eli is very old," as it is said, "And Eli was very old" (1 Samuel 2:22)." [3] Another interpretation: Eli was very old. In his hand were three crowns: High Priest, King, and Head of the Sanhedrin. He was a High Priest, as it says "and Eli the priest" (1 Samuel 1:9), and he sat on the throne (1 Samuel 4:13). He was also a King, as it says "on the doorposts of the house of the Lord" (2 Chronicles 23:4). He was the Head of the Sanhedrin. However, because of the sins of his sons, he was demoted from all three positions, as it says "and Eli lay down" (1 Samuel 3:3), which indicates that he was not a High Priest at that time. Instead, he was replaced by someone else (1 Samuel 1:9). He was also not a King. His eyes began to grow dim (1 Samuel 3:2), indicating that he was not the Head of the Sanhedrin either, as it says "your eyes are pools in Heshbon" (Song of Solomon 7:4). Eli suffered because of the actions of his sons, and he was very old. [4] Another explanation: Eli, he was very old. Three elders hastened their death because of their sons' wrongdoing. Isaac was first due to his troubles with his son Esau, who was bowing down to idols and offering incense to them, causing smoke to rise, which caused Isaac's eyes to become dim. Therefore it is written, "And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim" (Genesis 27:1). Likewise, Eli was old due to the troubles of his sons, as it is written, "And Eli was very old, and he heard all that his sons did" (1 Samuel 2:22). Even Samuel was old due to the troubles of his sons, as it is written, "And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment" (1 Samuel 8:1-3). Although all his days he was a prophet and judge, old age overtook him because of his sons' troubles, as it is written, "And his sons did not walk in his ways" (ibid.). Rabbi Simon said, "The sons of Eli were exonerated from this matter, as it is written, 'And they lay with the women who assembled at the door of the tent of meeting' (1 Samuel 2:22). Rather, this is what they did: they did not offer sacrifices at the appointed time, and the daughters of Israel brought them flour or doves for their purification, as it is written, 'And when the days of her purification are fulfilled' (Leviticus 12:6). And there it is written, 'The doors of the temple were open at the beginning of the tent of meeting' (1 Samuel 2:22)." And they were taking and passing the hours, and they were not offering sacrifices at their appointed time, and the daughters of Israel thought they were pure and went and served in their homes, as it is said, "This is what they do when they lay with women." It does not say "the people," but "the women." They were allowing women, who were impure due to relations with their husbands, to lie with them. Who caused them to do this? They were neglecting the sacrifices and not offering them at their appointed time, as it says, "Passing [over the offering] with the Lord" (1 Samuel 2:24). The word "sinning" is not written here, but "passing [over]." They were passing over the hours. God began to say to them, "Say to My children" (Jeremiah 2:2). God said to them, "You are spoiling your children by calling them 'My children.'" Solomon cried out, "Do not withhold discipline from a youth" (Proverbs 23:13). "You are a tribe," he said (Proverbs 5:14). They answered and said to him, "If so, Israel, if this is the case, then woe to your people in your tribe" (Micah 7:14).
