The author of Rav Pealim [Vilna Gaon] wrote about the Socher Tov of Midrash Tehillim and said: I found in the book, Ohel Yosef by Rabbi Yosef the Sefaradi on Parashat Vayikra, on the verse, on the side of the altar (Leviticus 1:11), that Ibn Ezra wrote: And likewise, the sides of the north (Psalms 48:3); for many err and say that the tower of Zion was in the midst of Jerusalem. To here are his [words]. And the aforementioned R. Yosef wrote—and these are his words: He explained on Psalms 48 (3) on the verse, Beautifully situated, the joy of the whole earth, Mount Zion, the sides of the north, and explained there that Mount Zion is to the north of Jerusalem. And he said that by way of logic. Yosef said this is not true! Rather Mount Zion is to the south of Jerusalem. And the proof of this is from Midrash Tehillim, as they expounded from that psalm, Mount Zion, the sides of the north, "And is it in the north? Is it not that it is not, etc." And it is well known that Rabbi Yochanan composed it in the land of Israel. And since he lived there, hence his words can be relied upon. And further, since I, the one commenting, lived in Jerusalem many years and I saw that it was like the words of R. Yochanan. And that is where I wrote this commentary. Whereas Rabbi Ibn Ezra only came to Jerusalem after he composed the commentary on the Torah and also his commentary on Psalms. And the testimony to this is that he wrote in Parashat Vayishalch on the verse, And the sun shone for him (Genesis 32:32), that he composed [the commentary on] the Torah in Luba which is in the kingdom of Lombardy, close to greater Rome. And in the fourth approach at the beginning of his commentary, he mentioned that he composed [the commentary on] the book of Psalms before he composed the commentary on the Torah. And he left Spain to go to the land of Israel and came to Luba on his way, before he got to Jerusalem, and then he composed his commentary there. And all of this is an indicator that he only saw Jerusalem after he composed the commentary on the Torah. So he came [to it] by way of logic; hence he erred. And one should not be surprised, as behold Rabbi Shlomo [Rashi] erred like this about the burial of Rachel. As it is within the border of the land of Israel, like a point within a circle, but he said that she is buried outside of the land. And he followed the teaching [drash], and the secret of the teaching is well known. To here are his [words]. And I have already shown you to know that R. Yochanan's intention was to include all of the baraitot in the Yerushalmi, and all of the midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary)im in Midrash Rabbah, which is the Jerusalemite Aggadah (non-legal rabbinic narrative). And in Midrash Socher Tov [Midrash Tehillim], he grouped and shortened all of the midrashim that were composed before his time, as you can see in Chapter 1 of Midrash Tehillim. So he begins with the verse, He who seeks the good [Socher tov] (Proverbs 11:27), and opened with his teaching. And afterward, Rabbi Yudan opened and said, "Do not exalt yourself in the king’s presence (Proverbs 25:6), etc." Rabbi Pinchas worked an extended passage; he opened, I understand more than my elders (Psalms 119:100), etc. Rabbi Nechemiah opened, Wisdom gives strength to the wise(Ecclesiastes 7:19), etc. And the content is as we explained, that R. Yudan, R. Pinchas, and R. Nechemiah all [composed] a midrash on Psalms, and each one opened in a different style; and Rabbi Yochanan gathered them in his study hall and shortened them and added what he had heard on his own. And accordingly, in Chapter 4, He cites, "R. Yudan said a different approach: Flesh and blood have patrons, etc." (Rav Pealim, p. 108)
Midrash Shocher Tov
Curated by The Jewish Mythology Team
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