They turned to midrash, a method of interpreting scripture that fills in gaps, answers questions, and breathes life into the text. Today, we're diving into a fascinating passage from Midrash Tehillim (Midrash on Psalms) 78, and trust me, it’s quite a ride.
The passage begins with a discussion about the eruv. Now, an eruv (אֵרּוּב) is a halakhic construct, a ritual enclosure that allows observant Jews to carry certain items outside their homes on Shabbat (the Sabbath). But this isn't about building codes! Rabbi Yehuda suggests the eruv is a "vulture," while Rabbi Nechemia offers "an eruv from below." Then it gets wild: bears, lions, and leopards are mentioned "from above." Rabbi Nathan throws crows, ravens, and wolves into the mix!
What’s going on here? Well, the Rabbis are wrestling with the idea of boundaries, of what separates the sacred from the profane, the permitted from the forbidden. It’s not just about physical spaces, but about spiritual territories as well.
Rabbi Chama and Rabbi Yehoshua offer a different take. They say the eruv is actually "a type of animal and its name is 'pantherin'," and that God brought it forth. Rabbi Yashia suggests "they should cover them with lamps." It's a whirlwind of interpretations, each trying to grapple with the abstract idea of setting limits.
The midrash then shifts gears, and Reish Lakish recounts God's words to Pharaoh, "You wanted to mix up Abraham's descendants, but I will mix you up from the world." As it says, "He sent against them a mixture" (Exodus 8:20-28). It wasn’t just a mixture, but also frogs and destruction.
Rabbi Yochanan adds a vivid detail: wherever water was found, frogs were created, and they would declare, "We are the table of the One who spoke and the world came into being." Their voices were so loud, they would split thresholds! This paints a picture of the plagues as not just punishments, but as chaotic, overwhelming forces of creation gone awry.
Next, Rabbi Yehuda, in the name of Rabbi, reminds us that God controlled even the mice during the Philistine plague, citing "He smote them with hemorrhoids" (1 Samuel 5:6). Talk about a graphic image! The Philistine, perched on his copper pot, suffered a truly unpleasant surprise. The midrash piles on the examples: the plague in Joshua’s time, the arrow that struck Ahab, David's stone hitting Goliath, and the penetrating roots of fig trees. Rabbi Berechiah Bar Chaninah even says wheat roots can go down fifty cubits!
Rabbi Isaac Luria (the Ari) adds the teeth of lions who didn’t touch Daniel until he reached the bottom of the pit (Daniel 6:24), and the shamir, a legendary worm used to cut stones for the Temple. According to the story, the shamir, kept in a lead vessel filled with bran, could even bore through mountains. This shamir was essential because, as (Deuteronomy 27:5) states, "Do not lift up an iron tool on them" – meaning iron tools couldn't be used on the altar stones.
So, how did they recover the shamir to build the Temple? This is where the story takes a turn into the fantastical. The rabbis are asked how to build the Temple without it, and the answer involves a fish called "shidah and shidodin." Catching it would lead them to the shamir. And if that's not enough, they also need a guardian for the stones, which leads to an elaborate tale of capturing a demon with wine, barley, and a garland imprinted with God's name. Ben Yehoyada, head of the Sanhedrin (the supreme rabbinic court), tricks the demon, who eventually falls into a pit and dies, revealing a jewel used on the High Priest's forehead!
The passage ends with a series of encounters on the road, a magician who smiles for various reasons, and a sorcerer who seeks advice from demons in the Azzi Valley. It culminates in a story of King Solomon, ministering angels, and demons, all vying for power. He uses a three-pronged fork and a hair from a red heifer to establish his authority, banishing the demons to one half of the world and the angels to the other. The end tells us of a cloak with God’s name on it, which Solomon used to identify himself as king.
What do we take away from all this? It's a wild, imaginative tapestry of stories, legends, and interpretations, all woven together to explore fundamental questions about boundaries, creation, power, and the divine. The Rabbis used these stories not just to explain scripture, but to inspire awe, spark debate, and remind us that even in the most mundane aspects of life, there's a connection to something greater. It shows the incredible power of storytelling and the endless possibilities of interpreting sacred texts. It is a reminder that the search for meaning is a never-ending journey.
"They shall send an eruv [1.] with them. Rabbi Yehuda says "a vulture". Rabbi Nechemia says "an eruv from below". Bears, lions, and leopards from above. Rabbi Nathan says "from above, crows, ravens, and birds get agitated. From below, lions, leopards, and wolves." Rabbi Chama and Rabbi Yehoshua both say "it is a type of animal and its name is 'pantherin', and the Holy One, blessed be He, brought it." Rabbi Yashia says "they should cover them with lamps." Reish Lakish said that God said to Pharaoh, "You wanted to mix up Abraham's descendants, but I will mix you up from the world," as it says, "He sent against them a mixture" - not only a mixture but also frogs and destruction. Rabbi Yochanan said that wherever water was found, frogs were made and would enter it. They would say, "We are the table of the One who spoke and the world came into being," and the thresholds would split from their voices. Rabbi Yehuda says in the name of Rabbi that one of the things that God controlled with softness was the mice of the Philistines, as it says, "He smote them with hemorrhoids." The Philistine was sitting on a copper pot, and when it broke from underneath him, he would rise and drop his intestines. Similarly, with the plague in the days of Joshua, the Amorites would go in and out of their wounds, hitting them with one into one eye and one into the other, as it says, "And he will also send the plague of boils." (Deuteronomy 7:20). And the arrow of Naaman, which struck Ahab and entered into his chest, as it is said, "And a man drew his bow at random and struck the king of Israel" (1 Kings 22:34). "And the stone that David threw and sunk in the forehead of Goliath, as it is said (1 Samuel 17:49), 'And the stone sank into his forehead.' And the soft roots of the fig tree that penetrate the rock. Rabbi Berechiah Bar Chaninah said in the name of Rabbi Yehudah, "The roots of wheat penetrate the ground up to fifty cubits, and the soft roots of the fig tree penetrate the rock up to fifty cubits." Rabbi Isaac Luria (the Ari) said, "Even the teeth of lions, as it is written (Daniel 6:25), 'They did not touch him until he reached the bottom of the pit,' until lions had dominion over him." And the shamir, which is like a type of barleycorn, is placed in a lead vessel filled with a special type of bran, and if it was placed even on a mountain or on a rock, it would descend and penetrate downwards. And in it is a part of Solomon, all the altar stones that it is written about them (Deuteronomy 27:5), "Do not lift up an iron tool on them." And who brought the eagle? And they say that the eagle did not bring them, but as it is written (Ecclesiastes 2:8), "I made for myself singers and musical instruments," these are different types of songs. And the pleasures of human beings are these pools of water. And the shidah and shidodin are bathhouses. Here they translated shidah and shidodin. And what are they asking for? They said to the rabbis, "How can we build the Temple if we do not have the shamir, with which Moses engraved the stones of the ephod?" They said to him, "If you have a fish called the shidah and shidodin, catch it, and you will know." They went and brought them, and they said to him, "We do not know where it is." He said to them, "Where is it found?" They said to him, "In such and such a mountain, cut a pit for it, fill it with water, cover it with a large dish, and seal it with lead. Every day it goes up to the sky and comes down and drinks and returns, and when it is finished, come and uncover it and take it." Why did they ask this? He said to the rabbis, 'How can I build the Temple if I do not have a guardian for the stones?' They said to him, 'If you have a suspicion that the king of demons knows about the stones, bring a demon and subdue it. It is possible that he will know and reveal it to you.' He went and brought them. They said to him, 'We do not know about him, perhaps he is one of the demons of the king of the demons.' He said to them, 'Where is he?' They said to him, 'He is in such and such a tower, and there is a pit nearby, and he goes up to the top of the tower every day, descends to the pit, drinks and is covered with a container, and sealed with a seal.' He sent his son, Ben Yehoyada, head of the Sanhedrin, and gave him a cask of wine, a garland, a measure of barley, and a bundle of firewood. He went to the tower, poured out the wine, and covered it. He ascended and sat down under the tree. When the demon came, he found the wine and said, 'It is written (Proverbs 20:1), "Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging."' And it is written (Hosea 4:11), 'Wine and new wine take away the heart.' I did not drink wine when I was young and I will not drink it now.' He said, 'It is written (Psalm 104:15), "Wine makes the heart of man glad." My wife, my soul, and my garden.' When his son came and spread the garland before him with the name of God on it, the demon was alarmed and started to run away. His son said to him, 'Perhaps you are afraid of the name of God?' When he acknowledged it, he came down, followed him, and brought him to the house. When he reached the cask of wine, he said to him, 'Open it for me.' When he opened it, he went inside and fell asleep. When the cask of wine was brought out, they came to the house, and he (the demon) went out and saw the bundle of firewood. He said to him, 'What is this?' He said to him, 'It is firewood.' When he saw the measure of barley, he said to him, 'What is this?' He said to him, 'It is barley.' When he saw the garland, he said to him, 'What is this?' He said to him, 'It is a garland.' When he saw his son, he said to him, 'Perhaps he is your servant?' When he said yes and he (the demon) saw him, he ran away. As he was running, he fell into the pit and died. They dug up the pit and found that he had a jewel on his forehead, and they took it and placed it on the High Priest's forehead." "There was a certain rabbi who was traveling on the road, and he met her. Another rabbi who was traveling on the road met her. A man who said to his companion, "Do me a favor and lend me a thousand coins for two years." A magician who raised a cup and smiled. When they arrived there, they did not go to Solomon's palace for three days. On the first day, he said to them, "Why do I not need a king?" They said to him, "Because of the pressure of drinking." He took a bottle and put it on his shoulder. They said to Solomon, "This is what he said to you: 'Return me to you.'" The next day, he said to them, "Why do I not need a king?" They said to him, "Because of the pressure of eating." He took a bottle and put it on his shoulder. They said to Solomon, "This is what he said to you: 'Return me to you.'" Finally, after three days, they went to her. She smeared a kind of oil on her and she was healed. He said to her, "Since that man brought me only four grams, he now owns everything to me, and I am not satisfied until he returns it to me." She said to him, "I don't care about it, but I want you to build a temple in my heart and I need a guardian for it." He said to her, "To whom did he give it to you?" She said to him, "To the head of the city and he gave it only to the rooster of the trusted barn." He asked, "What did he do with it?" She said, "He carried a tour that had no settlement, placed an eagle on it, broke the tour and went to the outskirts, and this is what we translate as a carpenter's tour. They asked for the rooster of the trusted barn that had children and covered it with a white female chicken. When he came to climb, he did not find it, so he brought the guardian and put him on it. He went and choked himself with a curse. When he came, his mother said to him, "All the words of wonder that you did on the road, what was the reason you met that magician who smiled?" He said to her, "He declared war on her with a flash of lightning." "And why did he smile when he saw that shepherd? He said to him, 'He is a complete rascal, and I said that I would leave him to the world to consume him.' And why did he smile when he saw that harlot? He said to him, 'A man once fasted for thirty days and sought to commit a sin, and when he saw her, he changed his mind.' And why did he smile when he saw that man who said to the tax collector, 'Make me a tax collector so that I may sit for two years and laugh'? He said to him, 'He has no resting days in the world, and he seeks to have two years of rest.' And why did he smile when he saw that sorcerer? He said to him, 'My father used to sit in the Azzi Valley to practice magic, and when he did not know something, he would ask the demons. They would remain with him until he entered the Temple Mount, and then they would depart from him. During the construction of the Temple, there was a certain day when King Solomon sat alone and said, "It is written (Numbers 23:22) 'Behold, it is like the lofty horns of a wild ox for him.' And we say that 'lofty horns' refer to ministering angels, and 'wild ox' refers to demons. What is their dispute? He then heard a heavenly voice telling him to take a three-pronged fork and go to a certain location where he would find a red heifer. He was to take a hair from its neck and use it as a symbol of his authority over both the ministering angels and the demons. He followed these instructions, and the demons were banished to one half of the world and the ministering angels to the other half. He then traveled the world, and wherever he went, he would proclaim, "I have been King Solomon." People would respond that they had never heard of such a thing.Later, the builders of the Temple asked him if he wanted to be king, but he declined. They then sent a message to the queen of Sheba, who asked him the same question, to which he again declined. When they heard this, they gave him a cloak with the name of God inscribed on it, as well as a chain of gold. Solomon then went to the location where the heifer was and saw it blooming with flowers. Even then, he faced a challenge from the demons, as it is written (Song of Songs 3:7-8) "Behold, it is the bed of Solomon, surrounded by sixty mighty men from the mighty men of Israel."Some say that Solomon was both a king and a commoner, while others say that he was only a king.
