עַשֵּׂר תְּעַשֵּׂר. זֶה שֶׁאָמַר הַכָּתוּב: לֹא תִּירָא לְבֵיתָהּ מִשָּׁלֶג כִּי כָּל בֵּיתָהּ לָבוּשׁ שָׁנִים (משלי לא, כא). חִזְקִיָּה אָמַר, מִשְׁפַּט רְשָׁעִים בַּגֵּיהִנָּם שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר חֳדָשִׁים. שִׁשָּׁה חֲדָשִׁים בַּחַמָּה, וְשִׁשָּׁה חֲדָשִׁים בַּצִּנָּה. בַּתְּחִלָּה, הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מַכְנִיסָן בַּחַמָּה, וְהֵן אוֹמְרִים: זוֹ הִיא גֵּיהִנָּם שֶׁל הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא. וְאַחֲרֵי כֵן מוֹצִיאָן לַשֶּׁלֶג, וְהֵן אוֹמְרִים: זוֹ הִיא צִנָּתוֹ שֶׁל הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא. בַּתְּחִלָּה הֵן אוֹמְרִים הֲוָה, וּלְבַסּוֹף הֵן אוֹמְרִים וַי, הוּא שֶׁדָּוִד אוֹמֵר, וַיַּעֲלֵנִי מִבּוֹר שָׁאוֹן מִטִּיט הַיָּוֵן (תהלים מ, ג), מִמָּקוֹם שֶׁאוֹמְרִים וַי וַי. וְהֵיכָן הֵן מַשְׁלִימִין עַצְמָן, רַבִּי יְהוּדָה בַּר רַבִּי אוֹמֵר, בַּשֶּׁלֶג. הָדָא הוּא דִּכְתִיב: בִּפְרֹשׂ שַׁדַּי מְלָכִים בָּהּ תַּשְׁלֵג בְּצַלְמוֹן (שם סח, טו). הַשֶּׁלֶג הוּא צַלְמָוֶת שֶׁלָּהֶן. יָכֹל אַף לְיִשְׂרָאֵל. תַּלְמוּד לוֹמַר: כִּי כָל בֵּיתָהּ לָבוּשׁ שָׁנִים (משלי לא, כא). שְׁנַיִם, שְׁנַיִם, מִלָּה פְּרִיעָה, צִיצִית תְּפִלִּין, הַעֲנֵק תַּעֲנִיק, נָתֹן תִּתֵּן, פָּתֹחַ תִּפְתַּח, עַשֵּׂר תְּעַשֵּׂר. לְפִיכָךְ מֹשֶׁה מַזְהִיר אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל, עַשֵּׂר תְּעַשֵּׂר. (Deut. 14:22:) “You shall surely tithe.” This is related to the verse (in Prov. 31:21), “She is not afraid for her household because of snow, for all her household are dressed in scarlet,”13The usual voweling for this word is shanim, which means “SCARLET,” but here the voweling, shenayim, which means “TWOFOLD,”might better fit the sense of the midrash. Hezekiah said, “The judgment of the wicked in Gehinnom [lasts] twelve months,14PRK 10:4; also above, Gen. 1:33. The judgment saying alone also occurs in ‘Eduy. 2:10, where it is attributed to R. Aqiba, and in ySanh. 10:3 (29b), where it is attributed to Judah b. R. Hezekiah and Rabbi. six months in the heat and six months in the cold.” At first the Holy One, blessed be He, has them come into the sun, and they say, “Is this the Gehinnom of the Holy One, blessed be He?” Then after that He brings them to the snow, where they say, “Is this the cold of the Holy One, blessed be He?” At first they say, “Ah (wah),” [from pleasure], but in the end they say, “Oy (way),” [from pain].15For this interpretation, see Buber, ad loc., n. 45. That is what David said (in Ps. 40:3), “And He raised me up from the pit of desolation, from the miry mud (hywn),” [i.e.,] from a place where they say, “Oy, oy (way, way).” So where do they resign themselves [to their punishment]? R. Judah bar Rabbi says, “In the snow. This is [the meaning of] what is written (in Ps. 68:15), ‘When the Almighty scattered kings there, it snowed in Zalmon.’16Zalmon, which means “darkness,” is a name for Gehinnom. Their darkness (zalmavet) is the snow.” Can this also [apply to] Israel? Scripture teaches (in Prov. 31:21), “[because of snow,] for all her household are dressed in scarlet (shanim),” [meaning] twofold, twofold (shenayim, shenayim, i.e., Israel is clothed in scriptural pairs): circumcision (of the foreskin) and uncovering (the corona); tassels and tefillin (i.e., phylacteries); (in Deut. 15:14,) “Provide liberally (literally, provide, provide” [for the redeemed slave)]; (in Deut. 15:10,) “Give liberally (literally, give, give)” [to the poor Israelite]; (in Deut. 15:11,) “You shall surely open up (literally, open up, open up)” [to the poor and needy]; and (in Deut. 14:22,) “You shall surely tithe (literally, tithe, tithe).” For that reason Moses warned Israel (in Deut. 14:22), “You shall tithe, tithe.”