"Many peoples have afflicted me from my youth" (Psalm 129:1). The Assembly of Israel — the collective voice of the nation — says this as a Song of Ascents, sung while ascending to the Temple. The affliction began in Egypt. It continued through every subsequent empire. And the rabbis added a layer: the inclination within Israel itself was part of the affliction, the yetzer hara that made Israel its own enemy as often as the nations were.
Song of Songs provides the counter-image: the beloved resting between two things (Song of Songs 1:13). The rabbis read those two things as Moses and Aaron — the two sons of Amram who flanked Israel through the wilderness. When the nations pressed from outside and the evil inclination pressed from within, Moses and Aaron were the twin pillars of protection. Prophecy and priesthood, word and rite, the voice that descended from Sinai and the incense that rose toward heaven.
And at the sea — when Israel was most pressed, Egypt behind them and the water in front — they were still protected. "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty" (Psalm 91:1). The nations could afflict. The evil inclination could rebel. But neither could touch Israel while the everlasting arms were beneath them. The song of affliction is also the song of survival. Both are true. The Psalm holds both in the same breath.
Chapter (61) [62]: Prophets [1] "Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel?" (Isaiah 40:27). This can be explained as follows: "Why should a living man complain about his sins?" (Lamentations 3:39). Rabbi Shmuel said: "If a person should not complain about the sins of his lifetime, all the more so should he not complain about the sins of the world to come. Rather, he should look at the sins of his hands, those he could have controlled." And Rabbi Shimon said: "Why should a person complain? Is it not enough that he is alive and sees this sun? As King Solomon said, 'What profit does man have in all his toil which he toils under the sun?' (Ecclesiastes 1:3). Is it not enough that he sees the sun?" Therefore, God said to Jacob, "Why do you contend and argue, O Jacob?" [2] Another interpretation: "Why do you say, O Jacob?" (Isaiah 40:27). Rabbi Shmuel says, "How can a person mourn over sins of the world? Let him examine his own sins that he has overcome." And Rabbi Shimon says, "How can a person mourn when he is alive and sees this sun? And similarly, Solomon says, 'What advantage does a man have in all his labor under the sun?' (Ecclesiastes 1:3). If it were not enough that he sees the sun, therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Jacob, 'Why do you call out, O Jacob? Why do you say, O Israel?'" As for Rabbi's comment, "The foolishness of man perverts his way" (Proverbs 19:3). Rabbi says there were thirteen types of fragrant plants in the Garden of Eden and ten chambers, as it is said, "In Eden, the garden of God" (Ezekiel 28:13). And God said, "It is not good for man" (Genesis 2:18), he did not need to praise me, but rather he began to complain and say, "The woman You gave me" (Genesis 3:12). And so Abraham went to war and made him king over sixteen kings and I returned their captivity, and he thought it was his reward, so I said to him, "Your reward is very great" (Genesis 15:1). He did not need to thank me, but rather say, "The Lord God, what will You give me?" (Genesis 15:2). And so Jacob said, "With my staff I crossed this Jordan" (Genesis 32:11) and I did all that good for him, and he said to Pharaoh, "Few and evil have been the days of my life" (Genesis 47:9), "I have caused you evil, Jacob, that you speak so." And similarly, the generation of the wilderness, how many good things I did for them, as it is said, "In the wilderness, where you saw" (Deuteronomy 1:31), and they said, "Our souls loathe this light bread" (Numbers 21:5). Thus it is your blasphemy and your complaint. So why do you say, O Jacob? [3] [ד"א למה תאמר יעקב. זש"ה] - Why do you say "Jacob"? (an expression in Hebrew meaning "why are you bothering with something that is insignificant or irrelevant") For a man whose path is hidden, and God shields him (Job 3:23). God said to him before he was born, "Your path will be hidden, but it will follow the heel of your brother" (Hosea 12:4). [4] Another interpretation: Why does it say "Yaakov said"? Rav said: Don't read it as "Why does Yaakov say?", but rather "What should Yaakov say?" This can be compared to a man who marries off his daughter and starts to accept his son-in-law. He says, "I won't provide her with food." The son-in-law replies, "Not what you say, but what the third between us says." In the same way, let the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, be blessed. Yaakov's daughter is the congregation of Israel, as it says, "Thus you shall say to the house of Yaakov" (Exodus 19:3). And the Holy One, blessed be He, is the son-in-law, as it says, "And Moses said to the people, 'Do not be afraid, for God has come to test you'" (Exodus 20:17). Yaakov began to accept the son-in-law, and God said to him, "Not what you say, but the heavens will testify that I have fed your children with manna, as it says, 'Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you' (Exodus 16:4), and the earth will testify that I have provided them with water, as it says, 'The well that the princes dug' (Numbers 21:18). And all of this is because of the love that I have for you, as it says, 'I have loved Jacob' (Malachi 1:2). Similarly, 'When Israel was a child, then I loved him' (Hosea 11:1). Can a king praise a person if he has not seen him? But I have praised you even before you were created, as it says, 'Blessed be the Lord, God of Israel, from eternity to eternity' (Psalms 41:14). I have done all this good for you, and you complain. Why does it say "Yaakov said"? God said to him, "Return to your staff." Just as you returned to your staff when you blessed the tribes, so should you say now, "For your salvation I wait, O Lord" (Genesis 49:18). Return to yourself now. From where do we learn this? From the end of the portion, where it says, "Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength" (Isaiah 40:31).
