<b>And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came from Padan-aram (Gen. 35:9).</b> May it please our master to teach us: What is the punishment meted out to one who does not permit the poor to glean from his field? Thus do our masters teach us: One who does not allow the poor to glean from his field, or permits one and not another, or assists one of them at the time of reaping or harvesting, is considered guilty of robbing the poor. Concerning this it is said: <i>Remove not the landmark of old</i> (<i>'olam</i>) (Prov. 22:28). This should be read as “landmark of the poor” (<i>olim</i>).
The Holy One, blessed be He, said: I have exalted you and have humbled the poor, but I am also able to humble you and exalt the poor, for I am the Judge, as it is said: <i>For God is judge; He putteth down one and lifteth up another</i> (Ps. 75:8).
A lady asked of R. Yosé the son of Halafta: “In how many days did the Holy One, blessed be He, create the world?” “In six days,” he replied, “as it is written: <i>For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth</i> (Exod. 20:1).” “What has He been doing since then?” she asked. “He has been erecting ladders,” he answered, “upon which one ascends and another descends; one becomes wealthy and the other poor.” You know this to be so from the fact that it is written with reference to Jacob’s going to Aram-naharaim: <i>With my staff I passed over this Jordan</i> (Gen. 32:11). <i>And he took one of the stones of that place and put under his head</i> (ibid. 28:11). Surely, if he had owned a mattress or a cushion he would have placed them under his head, yet after he joined Laban’s household he became wealthy, as is said: <i>And the man increased exceedingly</i> (ibid. 30:43). Why did he become wealthy? Because of the power of the blessings his father had bestowed upon him, as it is said: <i>And give thee the blessing of Abraham</i> (ibid. 28:4). What was Abraham’s blessing? <i>And the Lord blessed Abraham in all things</i> (ibid. 24:1). After his return from Laban’s house, the Holy One, blessed be He, said: Now I must bless him Myself. Immediately, the Holy One, blessed be He, appeared before him and blessed him, as it is said: <i>And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came from Padan-aram, and blessed him</i> (ibid. 35:9).
<i>And God appeared unto Jacob</i>. Scripture states elsewhere in allusion to this verse: <i>All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth</i> (Ps. 25:10). When Moses commanded the Israelites: <i>After the Lord your God shall ye walk</i> (Deut. 13:5), he added the words: <i>Walk ever in his ways</i> (ibid. 19:9). “How can one possibly walk in His ways?” they inquired, since it is written: <i>The Lord, in the whirlwind and the storm is His way, and the clouds are the dust of His feet</i> (Neh. 1:3), and <i>Thy way was in the sea, and Thy path in the great waters, and Thy footsteps not known</i> (Ps. 77:20), and <i>A fire devoureth before Him, and round about Him it stormeth mightily</i> (Ps. 50:3). Moses replied to the Israelites: “Have I not informed you also that His ways are ways of mercy, truth, and loving-kindness,” as it is written: <i>All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth</i> (ibid. 25:10).
Deeds of loving-kindness are mentioned at the beginning of the Torah, in its middle, and at its conclusion. At the beginning of the Torah, the naked are clothed, as it is said: <i>The Lord God made for Adam and his wife garments of skin, and He clothed them</i> (Gen. 3:21); in the middle of the Torah, the ailing are visited, as it is said: <i>And God appeared unto him in the grove of Mamre</i> (ibid. 18:1); and at the conclusion of the Torah, the dead are buried, as is said: <i>And he was buried in the valley in the land of Moab</i> (Deut. 34:6). In this way you must walk in the ways of the Holy One, blessed be He.
The Holy One, blessed be He, declared: In this world you sin because of the evil inclination within you, and therefore you are subservient to other nations. Nevertheless, My Shekhinah will not depart from you, as it is said: <i>In all their afflictions He was afflicted</i> (Isa. 63:9). In their rejoicing, He rejoiced, as is said: <i>Because I rejoice in Thy salvation</i> (I Sam. 2:1). And He also said: <i>I will rejoice in Jerusalem and rejoice in My people</i> (Isa. 65:49). And it says also: <i>And as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee</i> (ibid. 62:5). Hence, <i>all the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth</i>.