Our Sages certainly did. They paid close attention to the nuances of the Hebrew language, believing that even a seemingly small word could unlock profound insights.
In Vayikra Rabbah 11, a fascinating discussion unfolds around the phrase "vayhi bi-mei" – "it was in the days of." Rabbi Tanhuma, Rabbi Ḥiyya, and Rabbi Berekhya, citing Rabbi Elazar HaModa’i, suggest that this specific construction, "it was in the days of," is a harbinger of trouble. for a second. Is it just coincidence, or is there something deeper going on?
Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman takes this idea and runs with it, identifying five instances where this phrase appears, each followed by a period of strife. Let’s unpack one: "It was in the days of Amrafel" (Genesis 14:1). What trouble arose then? War, plain and simple. (Genesis 14:2) tells us, "They waged war, etc."
The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) then offers a powerful analogy. Imagine a king's beloved friend visiting a province. The king, out of love for his friend, takes special care of that province. But then barbarians attack! Everyone fears that the king will no longer care for the province as he once did.
So too, with Abraham, our patriarch. He was so beloved by the Holy One, blessed be He, that God watched over the entire world for his sake. As (Genesis 12:3) states, "[All the families of the earth] shall be blessed in you.” But when the Chaldeans came and confronted Abraham, people worried that God would withdraw His protection. This is reflected in (Genesis 14:7): "They returned and came to Ein Mishpat, which is Kadesh.”
Rabbi Ḥiyya interprets “Ein Mishpat” as the "eyeball of the world," with Abraham being as precious to the world as the eye is to a person. The attackers sought to blind the eye that confronted injustice. Rabbi Aḥa adds that “Kadesh” implies that it was Abraham who sanctified (kiddesh) God's name by descending into the fiery furnace. The kings cried "Woe, woe" – “vayhi in the days of Amrafel the king of Shinar.”
The Midrash continues, exploring other instances. "It was during the days of Aḥaz" (Isaiah 7:1). The trouble? Aram and the Philistines attacking Israel. The analogy here is chilling: a king entrusts his son to a steward who hates him. The steward, fearing punishment for outright murder, decides to starve the son by withholding his wet nurse. Aḥaz, in this analogy, is the corrupt steward. He reasons that without children, there are no students; without students, no scholars; without scholars, no Torah; and without Torah, God’s presence will not dwell in the world. So, he locks the synagogues and study halls. (Isaiah 8:16) says, “Bind the testimony, seal the Torah in my disciples.” Rabbi Huna, citing Rabbi Elazar, explains that Aḥaz was named so because he "seized" (ahaz) the synagogues. People cried, "Woe, woe – vayhi during the days of Aḥaz.”
What about “It was during the days of Yehoyakim son of Josiah” (Jeremiah 1:3)? The trouble then was utter desolation, as (Jeremiah 4:23) says: “I saw the land, and behold, it is emptiness and disorder, [and the heavens, and their light is not].” The analogy: a king's letters are treated with reverence in every province but his own, where they are ripped and burned. (Jeremiah 36:23) tells us how Yehoyakim cut up the scroll with a scribe's razor and threw it into the fire. Again, the cry of despair: "Woe, woe – vayhi during the days of Yehoyakim.”
Then there's “It was during the days of Aḥashverosh” (Esther 1:1). The trouble? A plot "to destroy, to kill, and to eliminate" (Esther 3:13) the Jewish people. The analogy shifts to a king's vineyard attacked by three enemies: Pharaoh, who killed the baby boys (Exodus 1:22); Nebuchadnezzar, who exiled the elite (II (Kings 24:1)6); and Haman, who sought to uproot the entire Jewish people. When people saw Aḥashverosh selling and Haman buying their destruction, they cried, "Woe, woe – vayhi during the days of Aḥashverosh.”
Finally, “It was during the days when the judges judged” (Ruth 1:1). The trouble? “There was a famine in the land” (Ruth 1:1). This time, the analogy involves a province that mistreats the king's tax collector. Similarly, Israelites would mistreat their judges. God, witnessing this disrespect, brought famine upon them.
But wait, there's a twist! Shimon bar Rav Abba, citing Rabbi Yonatan, offers a different perspective: Vayhi signifies either unparalleled trouble or unparalleled joy! Rabbi Yishmael challenges this, arguing that vayhi never indicates joy, while vehaya never indicates trouble. A series of objections and counter-objections follow, examining verses from Genesis to Samuel, each debated and reinterpreted. For example, the creation of light ("God said: Let there be light, and there was [vayhi] light") is deemed not pure joy because the world wasn't worthy of that light. Even when it says “The Lord was [vayhi] with Joseph and he was a successful man" (Genesis 39:2), it's not pure joy, because that success led to Potiphar's wife's advances.
The debate culminates with Rabbi Yishmael conceding that “It was [vehaya] when Jerusalem was captured” (Jeremiah 38:28) wasn’t entirely trouble, because Israel received retribution for its sins, preventing even greater calamity.
So, what do we take away from all of this? Is "vayhi bi-mei" a guaranteed sign of trouble? Perhaps not in every single instance. But the Sages are pointing to something important: that certain phrases, certain historical moments, carry a weight, a shadow of potential suffering. They remind us to be vigilant, to learn from the past, and to recognize the subtle signs that might precede difficult times. And perhaps, most importantly, to appreciate those moments of true joy when they arrive, for they are precious and, as this Midrash suggests, not always easy to find.
Rabbi Tanḥuma and Rabbi Ḥiyya say, and Rabbi Berekhya in the name of Rabbi Elazar HaModa’i: This midrash came up from the Diaspora in our possession. Wherever it is stated, “it was in the days,” it is nothing other than trouble. Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman says: They are five. “It was in the days of Amrafel” (Genesis 14:1). What was the trouble there? “They waged war, etc.” (Genesis 14:2). This is analogous to the friend of a king who entered a province and, for his sake, the king attended to that province. Barbarians came and confronted him. When they came and confronted him, everyone said: ‘Woe unto us, for the king will not attend to the province the way that he once did.’ So too, Abraham our patriarch, the beloved of the Holy One blessed be He, in whose regard it is written: “[All the families of the earth] shall be blessed in you” (Genesis 12:3). For his sake, the Holy One blessed be He attended to the entire world. The Chaldeans came and confronted him. [People] said: ‘Woe unto us that the Holy One blessed be He will not attend to His world the way that He once did.’ That is what is written: “They returned and came to Ein Mishpat, which is Kadesh” (Genesis 14:7). Rabbi Ḥiyya said: They sought to confront only the eyeball [galgal eino] of the world.14Abraham was as precious to the world as the eyeball is to a person. They sought to blind the eye [ayin] that confronted the attribute of justice in the world.15The name Ein Mishpat is interpreted as a reference to eye [ayin] and justice [mishpat]. “Which [hi] is Kadesh,” Rabbi Aḥa says: Hu16The word “which” is pronounced hi, but written hey-vav-aleph, such that it can be read hu, which literally means “he.” is written, [indicating that] it was he who sanctified [kiddesh] the name of the Holy One blessed be He, and descended into the fiery furnace. When the kings came to confront him, they began screaming: Woe, woe [vai, vai]; “it was [vayhi] in the days of Amrafel the king of [Shinar].” “It was during the days of Aḥaz” (Isaiah 7:1). What trouble was there? “Aram from the east and the Philistines from the west; [they devour Israel with an open mouth]” (Isaiah 9:11). This is analogous to a king who entrusted his son to a steward, but the steward hated him. He said: If I kill him, I will become liable to be executed by the king. Rather, I will withhold his wet nurse from him and he will die on his own. So too, Aḥaz said: If there are no kids, there are no goats, and if there are no goats, there is no flock, and if there is no flock, there is no shepherd, and if there is no shepherd, there is no world. So said Aḥaz: If there are no children, there are no students,17If there are no children at the beginning stages of their studies there will be no students at the intermediate level. and if there are no students, there are no scholars, if there are no scholars, there is no Torah, if there is no Torah, there are no synagogues and study halls, if there are no synagogues and study halls, the Holy One blessed be He will not rest His Divine Presence in the world. What did he do? He arose and locked all the synagogues and study halls. That is what is written: “Bind the testimony, seal the Torah in my disciples” (Isaiah 8:16). Rav Huna said in the name of Rabbi Elazar: Why was his name called Aḥaz? Because he seized [aḥaz] the synagogues and study halls. Rabbi Yaakov said in the name of Rabbi Aḥa: You may derive it from this [verse]: “I will wait for the Lord, who conceals His face” (Isaiah 8:17). There was no time that was as grim as this time, in whose regard it is stated: “I will conceal My face on that day” (Deuteronomy 31:18). From that moment “I sought Him” (Isaiah 8:17), as it is written: “As it will not be forgotten from the mouths of their descendants” (Deuteronomy 31:21). What did [Aḥaz] accomplish? “Behold, I and the children whom the Lord gave me [are to become signs and wonders in Israel]” (Isaiah 8:18).18This is stated by the prophet Isaiah. Despite the attempts of Aḥaz, Torah would not be forgotten from Israel. But were they his children? Were they not merely his students? Rather, it is derived from here that a person’s student is called his son. Once everyone saw that he seized the synagogues and study halls, they began screaming: Woe, woe [vai, vai] – “it was [vayhi] during the days of Aḥaz.” “It was during the days of Yehoyakim son of Josiah” (Jeremiah 1:3). What was the trouble there? “I saw the land, and behold, it is emptiness and disorder, [and the heavens, and their light is not]” (Jeremiah 4:23). This is analogous to letters of a king that entered a province. In each and every province that his letters would reach, the residents of the province would stand on their feet, bare their heads, and read them with reverence, fear, quaking, and trembling. But when they reached the king’s province, they read them, ripped them, and burned them. That is what is written: “It was, when Yehudi read three columns or four,” (Jeremiah 36:23). When they reached the fifth verse: “Its besiegers are ascendant” (Lamentations 1:5), immediately: “He cut it with a scribe’s razor and cast it into the fire that was in the fireplace” (Jeremiah 36:23). When they saw this, they began screaming: Woe, woe [vai, vai] – “it was [vayhi] during the days of Yehoyakim.” “It was during the days of Aḥashverosh” (Esther 1:1). What was the trouble there? It was “to destroy, to kill, and to eliminate” (Esther 3:13). This is analogous to a king who had a vineyard and three enemies confronted him. The first began picking unripe grapes, the second began trimming the clusters, and the third began uprooting vines. Pharaoh began picking unripe grapes; that is what is written: “Every son who is born [you shall cast him into the Nile]” (Exodus 1:22). Nebuchadnezzar began trimming the clusters; that is what is written: “And the artisans and the smiths, one thousand” (II Kings 24:16).19This is a reference to the social elites, who were exiled in the exile of Yehoyakhin, eleven years before the destruction of the Temple. Rabbi Berekhya in the name of Rabbi Yehuda and the Rabbi, Rabbi Berekhya in the name of Rabbi Yehuda says: One thousand artisans and one thousand smiths, and the Rabbis say: Both together were one thousand. Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon says: These are Torah scholars. Rabbi Shmuel bar Rabbi Yitzḥak says: These are the benefactors. The Rabbis say: These are the counselors. The wicked Haman began uprooting the vines. That is what is written: “To destroy, to kill, and to eliminate” (Esther 3:13). He sought to undermine the foundation of Israel. He sought to purchase every foundation.20A literal translation of the Hebrew is: “He sought to purchase every egg,” meaning to control and extinguish all future potential before it could be developed. When everyone saw that Aḥashverosh was selling and Haman purchasing, they began screaming: Woe, woe [vai, vai] – “it was [vayhi] during the days of Aḥashverosh.” “It was during the days when the judges judged” (Ruth 1:1). What was the trouble there? “There was a famine in the land” (Ruth 1:1). This is analogous to a province that owed a tribute to the king, and the king sent a tax collector to collect it. What did residents of the province do? They arose and hung him and appropriated it from him. They [then] said: ‘Woe unto us when the king becomes aware of these matters, that we did to the emissary of the king what he sought to do to us.’ So too, when one of the people of Israel would do something improper, they would take him to the judge, and what the judge sought to do to the defendant, the defendant would do to the judge. The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘You demean your judges; as you live, I will bring upon you a matter that you are unable to withstand.’ What is that? It is famine, as it is stated: “There was a famine in the land” (Ruth 1:1). Shimon bar Rav Abba said in the name of Rabbi Yonatan: Wherever [the term] vayhi is stated, it refers to trouble or joy; if trouble, it is unparalleled trouble, if joy, unparalleled joy. Rabbi Yishmael came and suggested a different distinction: Wherever vayhi is stated there is no joy; wherever vehaya is stated, there is no trouble. They raised an objection: “God said: Let there be light, and there was [vayhi] light” (Genesis 1:3). He said to them: That too, is not joy, as the world was not privileged to utilize that light, as Rabbi Yehuda bar Simon said: With the light that the Holy One blessed be He created on the first day a person could observe and see from one end of the world to the other. When the Holy One blessed be He saw that the actions of the generation of Enosh and the actions of the generation of the Flood were corrupt, He arose and concealed it from them. That is what is written: “The light is withheld from the wicked” (Job 38:15). Where did He conceal it? In the Garden of Eden; that is what is written: “Light is sown for the righteous and joy for the upright” (Psalms 97:11). They raised an objection: “It was [vayhi] evening [and it was morning, one day]” (Genesis 1:5). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as everything that was created on the first day is destined to come to an end. That is what is written: “As the heavens will be eroded like smoke and the earth [will be tattered like a garment]” (Isaiah 51:6). They raised an objection: “It was [vayhi] evening and it was morning, a second day” (Genesis 1:8), [and] third, fourth, fifth, the sixth.21The same phrasing is used in the descriptions of the creation of the third, fourth, fifth and sixth days. See Genesis 1:13, 19, 23, 31. He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as everything that was created during the six days of Creation require completion; wheat requires grinding, mustard requires sweetening, and lupines require sweetening. They raised an objection: “The Lord was [vayhi] with Joseph and he was a successful man” (Genesis 39:2). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, for as a result, that wicked woman confronted him. They raised an objection: “It was [vayhi] on the eighth day [Moses summoned Aaron and his sons, and the elders of Israel]” (Leviticus 9:1). He said to them: That, too, was not joy, as on that day, Nadav and Avihu died. They raised an objection: “It was [vayhi] on the day that Moses concluded [erecting the Tabernacle]” (Numbers 7:1). He said to them: That, too, was not joy, as on the day of the Temple’s construction, it was sequestered.22The Tabernacle was not permanent, and was hidden when the Temple was completed. They raised an objection: “The Lord was [vayhi] with Joshua” (Joshua 6:27). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as Ya’ir, who was equivalent [in stature] to the majority of the Sanhedrin, was killed. That is what is written: “The men of Ai smote them, approximately thirty-six men” (Joshua 7:5). Thirty-six men is not written, but rather approximately, or like, thirty-six; that is Ya’ir ben Menashe, who was equivalent to the majority of Sanhedrin. They raised an objection: “David was [vayhi] successful in all his ways” (I Samuel 18:14). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as it is written there: “Saul was hostile to David” (I Samuel 18:9). They raised an objection: “It was [vayhi] when the king had settled in his house, and the Lord had given him respite” (II Samuel 7:1). He said to them: That, too, is not joy, as on that day, Natan the prophet came and said to him: “It will not be you who will build [Me] a house” (I Chronicles 17:4). They said to him: We said ours, now you say yours.23We have stated our objections; now you state the proofs to your position. He said to them, it is written: “It will be [vehaya] on that day, the mountains will drip with nectar” (Joel 4:18). “It will be [vehaya] on that day, each man shall keep alive a calf of the herd [and two sheep]” (Isaiah 7:21). “It will be [vehaya] on that day that spring water will emerge [from Jerusalem]” (Zechariah 14:8). “He will be [vehaya] like a tree planted near streams of water” (Psalms 1:3). “The remnant of Jacob will be [vehaya] among the nations, [in the midst of many peoples, as a lion among the flocks of sheep]” (Micah 5:7). They raised an objection to him: “It was [vehaya] when Jerusalem was captured” (Jeremiah 38:28). He said to them: That, too, is not trouble, as on that day, Israel received retribution for its sins, as Rabbi Yishmael ben Rabbi Naḥman said: Israel received great retribution on the day that the Temple was destroyed.24Israel was punished for its sins through the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. Were it not for that, the entire populace would have been killed as a result of their sins (Etz Yosef). That is what is written: “Your sin is completed, daughter of Zion, and He will not continue to exile you” (Lamentations 4:22).
