Specifically, it grapples with the verse, "Ask of me and I will give you the nations." Seems pretty straightforward, right? Except… isn't the whole world already promised to God? As Psalm 72:8 proclaims, “May he rule from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth." And again, Psalm 2:8 states, "From the rivers of Ethiopia to the ends of the earth.” So what’s the deal? What was God getting at when He said "Ask of Me" to specific individuals?
The Midrash identifies three key figures: Solomon, Ahaz, and the Messiah. Think about it. Solomon, the wise king, was famously offered anything he desired. 1 Kings 3:5 recounts, “Ask what I shall give you.” What an incredible invitation! And then there’s Ahaz. Isaiah 7:11 tells us God said to him, “Ask a sign for yourself.” The Midrash offers a couple of reasons for his name. First, he held onto the promise of bringing good to the world. But there's more! He also "seized upon the study of Torah in the study halls," diving deep into learning. And, of course, the Messiah, to whom the original verse, "Ask of me and I will give you the nations," directly applies.
But the questioning doesn’t stop there. Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachmani adds another layer, drawing from the aggadah, the storytelling tradition within rabbinic literature. He points out that both Abraham and Jacob also asked of God. Remember Abraham's plaintive cry in Genesis 15:2: "Lord God, what will You give me?" The implication, according to Rabbi Shmuel, is that he was actively asking. And what about Jacob’s vow in Genesis 28:20: "If God will be with me and will keep me…" Again, the Midrash sees this as a form of asking, of petitioning the Divine.
This idea of asking is further emphasized in Psalm 21:5, "You gave him his heart's desire and did not withhold the request of his lips." So, what exactly did Jacob ask for? The Midrash tells us: He asked that Israel should live and endure forever.
Isn’t that powerful? The ability to ask, to petition, to pour out one’s heart before God is not just a right, but almost a responsibility. It’s a way to connect, to engage, to shape the future. What would you ask for? And perhaps more importantly, what are you doing to make that asking a reality?