The pattern repeats. Israel suffers, God rescues, and Israel sings. Then the singing stops, and the same behavior that caused the original suffering returns. The Holy One watches this cycle with something the midrash describes as patient exasperation: "When Israel finds itself in troubles and I deliver them, at that moment they shall sing a song" (Exodus 15:1). Moses and the children of Israel sang at the sea. David sang from his cave. But the singing that follows rescue must be followed by obedience — or it is only music.
Deuteronomy gave Israel a warning in advance: "And it shall be, when you find yourself in great distress and tribulation, this song shall bear witness against you" (Deuteronomy 31:21). The song is not just praise — it is evidence. It testifies to the rescue, to the gratitude, to the commitment. And when the commitment is broken, the song stands in the record as proof that Israel knew better. They had stood at the sea. They had sung. They had seen.
The rabbis were not cynical about this cycle. They were realistic. They taught that the instinct to return to old patterns is precisely what the yetzer hara, the evil inclination, exploits — the moment after rescue is the moment of maximum vulnerability, when the danger is past and the discipline required by crisis relaxes. Israel's history is the story of being repeatedly rescued from the consequences of this lapse. The Psalms of Ascent are, among other things, the songs of people who remember the pattern and are trying, this time, to break it.
Chapter (58) 59: Prophets [1] The vision of Obadiah. "Thus says the Lord God concerning Edom (Jeremiah 49:7): We have heard a report from the Lord, and a messenger has been sent among the nations: 'Rise up! Let us rise against her for battle!'" (Jeremiah 49:14). When Jacob, our father, saw the leaders of Esau, he became afraid and began to say, "Who can stand up against all of them, so many kings and leaders, and I am but one person? How can I stand up against all of them?" Then the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, "Do not be afraid. Look at what is behind you." "These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph" (Genesis 37:2). "Who can stand up against all of them?" "The smallest one among your children." "And the House of Jacob shall be fire and the House of Joseph a flame" (Obadiah 1:18). It is compared to a goldsmith who was sitting and doing his work, and his disciple was with him. The disciple raised his eyes and saw many camels loaded with straw. He began to wonder and said to his teacher, "Who can stand up against all of them?" His teacher replied, "One spark from the furnace can burn them all." So the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Jacob, "Are you afraid of them? One spark from you can burn them all," as it is stated, "Behold, they shall be as stubble, the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame" (Isaiah 47:14). This refers to Joseph, as it is stated, "And the House of Joseph shall be a flame" (Obadiah 1:18). Therefore, "and he (Jacob) descended" (Genesis 36:1), the descent (interpreted as) the worst (possible scenario) that Jacob loses them all, and the descent of your children is combined against Esau. Even Obadiah, the lowest of all the prophets, takes revenge against Edom, as it is stated, "The vision of Obadiah. "Why has Yaakov descended?" (Obadiah 1:18) [2] Another interpretation: Vision of Obadiah. It says, "God rebukes the wild beasts and so on" (Psalms 68:31). Rabbi Pinchas said about this, "David said to God, 'Master of the universe, You rebuke the wild beasts that come from the cane, and their king writes with a cane, seals and takes golden coins, as well as Ephah measures, governors, and scribes who take much gold from the people every day, the testimony of the mighty ones in the carts of the peoples, who eat the fat of the peoples and come with the strength of the mighty ones, the strength of Abraham and Isaac. They say of themselves, 'Esau the son of Isaac, and Isaac the son of Abraham, crouches in the dust for silver.' Even though they are angry with someone who sins, they accept his bribe and take money from him. Moreover, they scatter Israel from their Torah study and bring them into the evil inclination's desire, as it says, 'Foreign nations will crave your closeness' (Psalms 68:32). God said, 'I will uproot them from the world. But I and you and the Messiah will stand against them,' as it says, 'You will trample the poor, you will walk on their backs' (Isaiah 26:6). God's foot, as it were, is Edom, as it says, 'I will cast my shoe over Edom' (Psalms 60:9). The foot of the poor is the Messiah, as it says, 'He is poor and rides on a donkey' (Zechariah 9:9). The feet of the poor are Israel, as it says, 'How beautiful are your steps' (Song of Songs 7:2). Therefore, Obadiah was commanded to stand against all the kingdoms on behalf of Israel because they are difficult to overcome, as it says, 'The vision, rise up and let us wage war against her' (Obadiah 1:1)." [3] Another interpretation: Vision of Obadiah: What did Obadiah see that he prophesied against Edom? Rather, the Holy One, blessed be He, said: Obadiah was raised among two wicked people, Ahab and Jezebel, but he did not learn their ways. Rather, Obadiah was extremely God-fearing. Esau, on the other hand, was raised among two righteous people, Isaac and Rebecca, but he did not learn their ways. Therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, said: Obadiah, who was raised among two wicked people and did not learn their ways, will come and take revenge against Esau, who was raised among two righteous people and did not learn their ways. Hence it is said: "The vision of Obadiah." [4] Another interpretation: Vision of Obadiah: What did Obadiah see as a reason to punish Edom? Rather, the Holy One, blessed be He, said, "Abraham used to feed fetuses and wayfarers, and Esau came and killed them, and he used to fill the caves with corpses, and Jezebel used to kill the prophets. Obadiah hid them in caves and sustained them, as it says, 'And it was when Jezebel was cutting off the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them in fifty caves and sustained them with bread and water' (1 Kings 18:4). The Holy One, blessed be He, said, 'Let Obadiah come, who fed the prophets in caves, and punish Esau, who killed people in caves.' Therefore it is said, 'The vision of Obadiah.' Another commentary: Esau circumcised his fathers, but he despised the circumcision and chose to remain uncircumcised. Obadiah, on the other hand, was uncircumcised and despised it, but he chose to be circumcised. The Holy One, blessed be He, said, 'Let Obadiah come, who despised circumcision and circumcised himself, and punish Esau, who circumcised his fathers and made himself uncircumcised.' Therefore it is said, "The vision of Obadiah." Another commentary: Esau sought to fulfill the wishes of his father, as it says, 'And Esau said in his heart, "Let the days of mourning for my father draw near"' (Genesis 27:41), but Obadiah honored one who was not his father, as it says, 'And behold, Obadiah was on the way, and Elijah met him, and he recognized him and fell on his face...' (1 Kings 18:7). The Holy One, blessed be He, said, 'Let Obadiah come, who honored one who was not his father, and punish Esau, who sought the death of his father.' [Obadiah 1:21] Therefore it is said, 'The vision of Obadiah, but for Israel, I have known his thoughts...' (Jeremiah 29:11).
