"אב שכעס על בנו" - על רגשות אלוהיים במדרש פרופ' ישי רוזן צבי

בה

״וְאִם לֹא תִשְׁמָעוּהָ בְּמִסְתָּרִים תִּבְכֶּה נַפְשִׁי מִפְּנֵי גֵוָה״, אָמַר רַב שְׁמוּאֵל בַּר אִינְיָא מִשְּׁמֵיהּ דְּרַב: מָקוֹם יֵשׁ לוֹ לְהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא וּמִסְתָּרִים שְׁמוֹ. מַאי ״מִפְּנֵי גֵוָה״? אָמַר רַב שְׁמוּאֵל בַּר יִצְחָק: מִפְּנֵי גַּאֲווֹתָן שֶׁל יִשְׂרָאֵל שֶׁנִּיטְּלָה מֵהֶם וְנִתְּנָה לַגּוֹיִם. רַבִּי שְׁמוּאֵל בַּר נַחְמָנִי אָמַר: מִפְּנֵי גַּאֲווֹתָהּ שֶׁל מַלְכוּת שָׁמַיִם. וּמִי אִיכָּא בְּכִיָּה קַמֵּיהּ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא? וְהָאָמַר רַב פָּפָּא: אֵין עֲצִיבוּת לִפְנֵי הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״הוֹד וְהָדָר לְפָנָיו עוֹז וְחֶדְוָה בִּמְקוֹמוֹ״! לָא קַשְׁיָא: הָא בְּבָתֵּי גַוָּאֵי, הָא בְּבָתֵּי בַרָאֵי. וּבְבָתֵּי בַרָאֵי לָא? וְהָא כְּתִיב: ״וַיִּקְרָא אֲדֹנָי ה׳ צְבָאוֹת בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא לִבְכִי וּלְמִסְפֵּד וּלְקׇרְחָה וְלַחֲגוֹר שָׂק״! שָׁאנֵי חֻרְבַּן בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ, דַּאֲפִילּוּ מַלְאֲכֵי שָׁלוֹם בְּכוֹ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״הֵן אֶרְאֶלָּם צָעֲקוּ חוּצָה מַלְאֲכֵי שָׁלוֹם מַר יִבְכָּיוּן״. ״וְדָמֹעַ תִּדְמַע וְתֵרַד עֵינִי דִּמְעָה כִּי נִשְׁבָּה עֵדֶר ה׳״, אָמַר רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר: שָׁלֹשׁ דְּמָעוֹת הַלָּלוּ לָמָּה? אַחַת עַל מִקְדָּשׁ רִאשׁוֹן, וְאַחַת עַל מִקְדָּשׁ שֵׁנִי, וְאַחַת עַל יִשְׂרָאֵל שֶׁגָּלוּ מִמְּקוֹמָן. וְאִיכָּא דְּאָמְרִי: אַחַת עַל בִּיטּוּל תּוֹרָה. בִּשְׁלָמָא לְמַאן דְּאָמַר עַל יִשְׂרָאֵל שֶׁגָּלוּ, הַיְינוּ דִּכְתִיב: ״כִּי נִשְׁבָּה עֵדֶר ה׳״, אֶלָּא לְמַאן דְּאָמַר עַל בִּיטּוּל תּוֹרָה — מַאי ״כִּי נִשְׁבָּה עֵדֶר ה׳״? כֵּיוָן שֶׁגָּלוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל מִמְּקוֹמָן — אֵין לְךָ בִּיטּוּל תּוֹרָה גָּדוֹל מִזֶּה. תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן, שְׁלֹשָׁה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא בּוֹכֶה עֲלֵיהֶן בְּכׇל יוֹם: עַל שֶׁאֶפְשָׁר לַעֲסוֹק בַּתּוֹרָה וְאֵינוֹ עוֹסֵק, וְעַל שֶׁאִי אֶפְשָׁר לַעֲסוֹק בְּתוֹרָה וְעוֹסֵק, וְעַל פַּרְנָס הַמִּתְגָּאֶה עַל הַצִּבּוּר.

Chagigah 5b

is not from among them. The Sages said to Rava: Master, you are not subject to His hiding of the face, as your prayers are heard, and you are not subject to: “And they shall be devoured,” as the authorities take nothing from you. He said to them: Do you know how many gifts I send in private to the house of King Shapur? Although it might seem that the monarchy does not take anything from me, in actuality I am forced to give many bribes. Even so, the Sages looked upon Rava with suspicion. In the meantime, messengers from the house of King Shapur sent for him and imprisoned him to extort more money from him. Rava said: This is as it is taught in a baraita that Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said: Wherever the Sages looked upon someone, it resulted in either death or poverty. With regard to the verse: “And I will hide my face in that day” (Deuteronomy 31:18), Rava said that the Holy One, Blessed be He, said: Even though I hid my face from them and My Divine Presence is not revealed, nevertheless: “I speak with him in a dream” (Numbers 12:6). Rav Yosef said: His hand is outstretched, guarding over us, as it is stated: “And I have covered you in the shadow of my hand” (Isaiah 51:16). The Gemara relates: Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananya was standing in the house of the Caesar. A certain heretic, who was also present, gestured to him, indicating that his was the nation whose Master, God, turned His face away from it. Rabbi Yehoshua gestured to him that His hand is outstretched over us in protection. The Caesar said to Rabbi Yehoshua: What did he gesture to you, and how did you respond? He replied: He indicated that mine is the nation whose Master turned His face from it, and I gestured to him that His hand is outstretched over us. The members of the Caesar’s household said to that heretic: What did you gesture to him? He said to them: I gestured that his is the nation whose Master has turned His face from it. They asked: And what did he gesture to you? He said to them: I don’t know; I did not understand. They said: How can a man who does not know what others gesture to him dare to gesture in the presence of the king? They took him out and killed him. The Gemara relates: When Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananya was dying, the Sages said to him: What will become of us, from the threat of the heretics, when there is no scholar like you who can refute them? He said to them that the verse states: “Is wisdom no more in Teiman? Has counsel perished from the prudent? Has their wisdom vanished?” (Jeremiah 49:7). He explained: Since counsel has perished from the prudent, from the Jewish people, the wisdom of the nations of the world has vanished as well, and there will be no superior scholars among them. And if you wish, say instead that the same idea can be derived from here: “And he said: Let us take our journey, and let us go, and I will go corresponding to you” (Genesis 33:12). Just as the Jewish people rise and fall, so too, the nations of the world simultaneously rise and fall, and they will never have an advantage. The Gemara relates that Rabbi Ila was ascending the stairs in the house of Rabba bar Sheila, a children’s teacher. He heard a child who was reading a verse out loud: “For, lo, He Who forms the mountains, and creates the wind, and declares to man what is his speech” (Amos 4:13). Rabbi Ila said: With regard to a servant whose master declares to him what is his proper speech, is there a remedy for him? The Gemara asks. What is the meaning of the phrase: “What is his speech”? Rav said: Even frivolous speech that is between a man and his wife before engaging in relations is declared to a person at the time of death, and he will have to account for it. The Gemara asks: Is that so? Is it prohibited for a man to speak in this manner with his wife? Wasn’t Rav Kahana lying beneath Rav’s bed, and he heard Rav chatting and laughing with his wife, and performing his needs, i.e., having relations with her. Rav Kahana said out loud: The mouth of Rav is like one who has never eaten a cooked dish, i.e., his behavior is lustful. Rav said to him: Kahana, leave, as this is not proper conduct. This shows that Rav himself engaged in frivolous talk before relations. The Gemara answers: This is not difficult. Here, where this type of speech is permitted, it is referring to a situation where he must appease his wife before relations, and therefore this speech is appropriate. However, this statement, that it is prohibited, is referring to a situation where he doesn’t need to appease her. In these circumstances, it is prohibited to engage in excessively lighthearted chatter with one’s wife. The verse states: “But if you will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret [bemistarim] for your pride” (Jeremiah 13:17). Rav Shmuel bar Inya said in the name of Rav: The Holy One, Blessed be He, has a place where He cries, and its name is Mistarim. What is the meaning of “for your pride”? Rav Shmuel bar Yitzḥak said: God cries due to the pride of the Jewish people, which was taken from them and given to the gentile nations. Rav Shmuel bar Naḥmani said: He cries due to the pride of the kingdom of Heaven, which was removed from the world. The Gemara asks: But is there crying before the Holy One, Blessed be He? Didn’t Rav Pappa say: There is no sadness before the Holy One, Blessed be He, as it is stated: “Honor and majesty are before Him; strength and gladness are in His place” (I Chronicles 16:27)? The Gemara responds: This is not difficult. This statement, that God cries, is referring to the innermost chambers, where He can cry in secret, whereas this statement, that He does not cry, is referring to the outer chambers. The Gemara asks: And doesn’t God cry in the outer chambers? Isn’t it written: “And on that day the Lord, the God of hosts, called to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth” (Isaiah 22:12)? The Gemara responds: The destruction of the Temple is different, as even the angels of peace cried, as it is stated: “Behold, their valiant ones cry without; the angels of peace weep bitterly” (Isaiah 33:7). The verse continues: “And my eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because the Lord’s flock is carried away captive” (Jeremiah 13:17). Rabbi Elazar said: Why these three references to tears in the verse? One is for the First Temple; one is for the Second Temple; and one is for the Jewish people who were exiled from their place. And there are those who say: The last one is for the unavoidable dereliction of the study of Torah in the wake of the exile. The Gemara asks: Granted, according to the one who said that the last tear is for the Jewish people who were exiled, this is as it is written: “Because the Lord’s flock is carried away captive.” However, according to the one who said that this tear is for the dereliction of the study of Torah, what is the meaning of: “Because the Lord’s flock is carried away captive”? The Gemara answers: Since the Jewish people were exiled from their place, there is no greater involuntary dereliction of the study of Torah than that which was caused by this. The Sages taught that there are three types of people for whom the Holy One, Blessed be He, cries every day: For one who is able to engage in Torah study and does not engage in it; and for one who is unable to engage in Torah study and nevertheless he endeavors and engages in it; and for a leader who lords over the community. The Gemara relates: Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi was holding the book of Lamentations and was reading from it. When he reached the verse: “He has cast down from heaven to earth the beauty of Israel” (Lamentations 2:1), in his distress the book fell from his hand. He said: From a high roof to a deep pit, i.e., it is terrible to tumble from the sky to the ground. § The Gemara relates: Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi and Rabbi Ḥiyya were walking along the road. When they arrived at a certain city, they said: Is there a Torah scholar here whom we can go and greet? The people of the city said: There is a Torah scholar here but he is blind. Rabbi Ḥiyya said to Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi: You sit here; do not demean your dignified status as Nasi to visit someone beneath your stature. I will go and greet him. Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi grabbed him and went with him anyway, and together they greeted the blind scholar. When they were leaving him, he said to them: You greeted one who is seen and does not see; may you be worthy to greet the One Who sees and is not seen. Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi said to Rabbi Ḥiyya: Now, if I had listened to you and not gone to greet him, you would have prevented me from receiving this blessing. They said to the blind scholar: From whom did you hear that we are worthy of this blessing? He said to them: I heard it from the instruction of Rabbi Ya’akov, as Rabbi Ya’akov of the village of Ḥitiyya would greet his teacher every day. When Rabbi Ya’akov grew elderly, his teacher said to him: Do not despair, my Master, that my Master is unable to make the effort to greet me. It is better that you should not visit me. Rabbi Ya’akov said to him: Is it a minor matter, that which is written about the Sages: “That he should still live always, that he should not see the pit. For he sees that wise men die” (Psalms 49:10–11)? In this regard an a fortiori inference applies: Just as one who sees Sages in their death will live, all the more so one who sees them in their lifetime. From here the blind scholar learned the importance of greeting Torah scholars, which is why he blessed the Sages who came to greet him. The Gemara relates: Rav Idi, father of Rabbi Ya’akov bar Idi, would regularly travel three months on the road to reach the study hall and as he would immediately travel back again to arrive home for the festival of Sukkot, he spent only one day in the school of Rav. And the Sages would disparagingly call him: A student of Torah for one day. He was offended and read the following verse about himself: “I am as one that is a laughingstock to his neighbor, a man who calls upon God, and He answers him” (Job 12:4). Rabbi Yoḥanan said to him: Please do not punish the Sages, i.e., do not take offense and be harsh with them, as this will cause them to be punished by God. Rabbi Yoḥanan left Rav Idi and went to the study hall and taught: “Yet they seek Me daily, and delight to know My ways” (Isaiah 58:2). But is it possible that only during the day they seek Him and at night they do not seek Him? What is the meaning of daily? Rather, this verse comes to say to you that with regard to anyone who engages in Torah study even one day a year, the verse ascribes him credit as though he engaged in Torah study the entire year. And the same applies to the attribute of punishment, as it is written: “After the number of the days in which you spied out the land, even forty days, for every day a year, shall you bear your iniquities” (Numbers 14:34). But did they sin for forty years? Didn’t they sin for only forty days? Rather, this comes to say to you that anyone who transgresses a sin even one day a year, the verse ascribes him liability as though he transgressed the entire year. § The mishna taught: Who is a minor who is exempt from the mitzva of appearance in the Temple? Any child who is unable to ride on his father’s shoulders and ascend from Jerusalem to the Temple Mount. Rabbi Zeira strongly objects to this:

ברכות נ״ט א

מַאי זְוָעוֹת? אָמַר רַב קַטִּינָא: גּוּהָא. רַב קַטִּינָא הֲוָה קָאָזֵיל בְּאוֹרְחָא. כִּי מְטָא אַפִּתְחָא דְּבֵי אוֹבָא טַמְיָא גְּנַח גּוּהָא. אָמַר: מִי יָדַע אוֹבָא טַמְיָא הַאי גּוּהָא מַהוּ? רְמָא לֵיהּ קָלָא: קַטִּינָא קַטִּינָא, אַמַּאי לָא יָדַעְנָא? בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא זוֹכֵר אֶת בָּנָיו שֶׁשְּׁרוּיִים בְּצַעַר בֵּין אוּמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם מוֹרִיד שְׁתֵּי דְמָעוֹת לַיָּם הַגָּדוֹל, וְקוֹלוֹ נִשְׁמָע מִסּוֹף הָעוֹלָם וְעַד סוֹפוֹ, וְהַיְינוּ גּוּהָא. אָמַר רַב קַטִּינָא: אוֹבָא טַמְיָא כַּדִּיב הוּא, וּמִילֵּיהּ כְּדִיבִין. אִי הָכִי — גּוּהָא גּוּהָא מִיבְּעֵי לֵיהּ? וְלָא הִיא, גּוּהָא גּוּהָא עָבֵיד, וְהַאי דְּלָא אוֹדִי לֵיהּ, כִּי הֵיכִי דְּלָא לִיטְעֵי כּוּלֵּי עָלְמָא אַבָּתְרֵיהּ. וְרַב קַטִּינָא דִּידֵיהּ אָמַר: סוֹפֵק כַּפָּיו, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וְגַם אֲנִי אַכֶּה כַפִּי אֶל כַּפִּי וַהֲנִיחֹתִי חֲמָתִי״. רַבִּי נָתָן אוֹמֵר: אֲנָחָה מִתְאַנֵּחַ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וַהֲנִיחוֹתִי חֲמָתִי בָּם וְהִנֶּחָמְתִּי״. וְרַבָּנַן אָמְרִי: בּוֹעֵט בָּרָקִיעַ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״הֵידָד כְּדֹרְכִים יַעֲנֶה אֶל כׇּל יֹשְׁבֵי הָאָרֶץ״. רַב אַחָא בַּר יַעֲקֹב אָמַר: דּוֹחֵק אֶת רַגְלָיו תַּחַת כִּסֵּא הַכָּבוֹד, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״כֹּה אָמַר ה׳ הַשָּׁמַיִם כִּסְאִי וְהָאָרֶץ הֲדֹם רַגְלָי״.

Berakhot 59a

as if it was appended onto it. The Gemara explains: And the fact that Ursa Major follows Pleiades, it is as if Ursa Major is saying to Pleiades: Give me back my children, my two stars. As it is related: When the Holy One, Blessed be He, sought to bring a flood into the world, He took two stars from Pleiades and brought the flood upon the world. And afterward, when He wished to fill the void, He took two stars from Ursa Major and filled the void with them. Consequently, the constellation of Ursa Major attempts to persuade Pleiades, seeking to get its stars back. The Gemara asks: And return it, why did the Holy One, Blessed be He, not restore the original two stars to Pleiades? The Gemara answers: A pit cannot be filled by its own earth; when a pit is excavated, the earth that was excavated from it is insufficient to refill it. Alternatively, one could say that a prosecutor cannot become an advocate; since these stars caused the flood it is not appropriate that they facilitate the end of the flood. The Gemara argues: Then God should have created two other new stars for Pleiades. The Gemara responds: “There is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9). Rav Naḥman said: In the future, the Holy One, Blessed be He, will restore those same stars to Ursa Major, as it is stated: “Or can you guide [tanḥem] Ursa Major with her sons?” (Job 38:32), which is interpreted homiletically in the sense of consolation [tanḥumim] apparently due to the restoration of those stars. And we learned in the mishna that over zeva’ot one recites the blessing: Whose strength and power fill the world. The Gemara asks: What are zeva’ot? Rav Ketina said: An earthquake. The Gemara relates: Rav Ketina was once walking along the road when he came to the entrance of the house of a necromancer and an earthquake rumbled. He said: Does this necromancer know what is this earthquake? The necromancer raised his voice and said: Ketina, Ketina, why would I not know? Certainly this earthquake occurred because when the Holy One, Blessed be He, remembers His children who are suffering among the nations of the world, He sheds two tears into the great sea. The sound of their reverberation is heard from one end of the earth to the other. And that is an earthquake. Rav Ketina said: The necromancer is a liar and his statements are lies. If so, it would necessitate an earthquake followed by another earthquake, one for each tear. The Gemara remarks: That is not so, as it indeed causes an earthquake followed by another earthquake; and the fact that Rav Ketina did not admit that the necromancer was correct was so that everyone would not mistakenly follow him. Rav Ketina also stated his own explanation for the earthquake: Because God claps His hands together in anger, as it is stated: “I will also smite My hands together and I will satisfy My fury; I, the Lord, have spoken it” (Ezekiel 21:22). Rabbi Natan says: The earthquake is caused because God sighs over the dire straits in which Israel finds itself, as it is stated: “Thus shall My anger spend itself, and I will satisfy My fury upon them, and I will be eased” (Ezekiel 5:13). And the Rabbis say: An earthquake is caused when God kicks the firmament, causing a rumbling, as it is stated: “The Lord roars from on high, from His holy dwelling He makes His voice heard. He roars mightily over His dwelling place, He cries out like those who tread grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth” (Jeremiah 25:30). Rav Aḥa bar Ya’akov said: An earthquake is caused when God forces His feet beneath the throne of glory and the world quakes, as it is stated: “The heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool” (Isaiah 66:1). We also learned in the mishna that over thunder one recites: Whose strength and power fill the world. The Gemara asks: What causes thunder? Shmuel said: When the clouds located in the curvature of the firmament collide with the firmament itself, they produce this sound, as it is stated: “The voice of Your thunder was in the whirlwind; the lightning lighted up the world; the earth trembled and shook” (Psalms 77:19). And the Rabbis say: Thunder is the sound of clouds pouring water into one another, as it is stated: “At the sound of His giving a multitude of waters in the heavens” (Jeremiah 10:13). Rav Aḥa bar Ya’akov said: Thunder is caused by a powerful lightning bolt that flashes in the cloud and shatters the hailstones. Rav Ashi said: Because the clouds are hollow, and when the wind comes and blows across their mouths, it sounds like wind blowing in the mouth of a jug. The Gemara concludes: And it stands to reason in accordance with the opinion of Rav Aḥa bar Ya’akov; as lightning flashes, the clouds rumble, and the rain comes. We also learned in the mishna that over wind one recites the blessing: Whose strength and power fill the world. The Gemara asks: What are these winds? Abaye said: These are gale force winds. Abaye said: We learned through tradition that there are no gale force winds at night. The Gemara asks: Don’t we see that there are gale force winds at night? The Gemara answers: This gale force wind that blows at night does not begin blowing at night; rather, it begins blowing during the day. And Abaye said: We learned through tradition that a gale force wind does not last two hours, to fulfill that which is stated: “Trouble shall not rise up a second time” (Nahum 1:9). The Gemara asks: Don’t we see that it does last longer than two hours? The Gemara answers: Actually, it does not last longer than two hours. The fact that we sense that it does last longer is due to cases where it does not blow uninterruptedly, but it briefly stops in between. We also learned in the mishna that over lightning one recites: Blessed…Whose strength and power fill the world. The Gemara asks: What is this lightning? Rava said: A bright light. And Rava said: A single bolt of lightning, white lightning, green lightning, clouds that rise in the western corner and come from the southern corner, and two clouds that rise with one facing the other are all signs of trouble. The Gemara asks: What practical difference is there in the knowledge that they are signs of trouble? The Gemara answers: So that we may pray for God’s mercy, that they cause us no harm. The Gemara remarks that this only applies when these phenomena appear at night. In the morning, however, they are insignificant. Rabbi Shmuel bar Yitzḥak said: Morning clouds dissipate immediately so they have no substance, as it is written: “For your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the dew that early passes away” (Hosea 6:4). With regard to this, Rav Pappa said to Abaye: But don’t people say the maxim: If there is rain when people open their doors in the morning, donkey-driver, fold your sack and go to sleep, as rain will continue to fall all day. Apparently morning clouds indicate that there will be rain all day. The Gemara responds: This is not difficult, as this, that suggests that there will be considerable rain, refers to a case where the sky is covered with thick clouds, while this opinion, where Rabbi Shmuel bar Yitzḥak said that morning clouds have no substance and will not produce much rain, refers to a case where the sky is covered with flimsy clouds which will certainly pass. Rabbi Alexandri said that Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: Thunder was created only to impose fear and straighten the crookedness of the heart, as it is stated: “And God has so made it, that men should fear before Him” (Ecclesiastes 3:14). And Rabbi Alexandri said that Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: One who sees a rainbow in a cloud must fall upon his face, as it is stated: “As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face” (Ezekiel 1:28). The colors of the rainbow symbolize the glory of God and one may not stare at them. Yet, in the West, Eretz Yisrael, they would curse one who fell upon his face when seeing a rainbow because it appears as one who is bowing to the rainbow. As far as blessing is concerned, however, all agree that one certainly recites a blessing. What blessing does one recite? Blessed…Who remembers the covenant with Noah. It was taught in a baraita that Rabbi Yishmael, son of Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Beroka, says that the blessing is: Blessed…Who is faithful to His covenant and fulfills His word. Rav Pappa said: Therefore we will say them both combined: Blessed…Who remembers the covenant and is faithful to His covenant and fulfills His word. We learned in the mishna that over mountains and hills one recites: Blessed…Author of creation. The Gemara asks: Is that to say that all those that we mentioned until now, such as lightning, are not acts of creation? Among God’s praise for creation of the world and forming the mountains, is it not also written: “He makes lightning for the rain” (Psalms 135:7)? Abaye said: Combine the two statements and teach that in all the cases in our mishna, one recites these two blessings. Rava said: There, over lightning and thunder, one recites two blessings: Blessed…Whose power fills the world, and: Author of creation. Here, however, over mountains and hills, one recites the blessing: Author of creation, but need not recite: Whose power fills the world. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: One who sees the firmament in its purity recites: Blessed…Author of creation. The Gemara asks: When does the firmament appear in its purity? Abaye said: When rain falls all night and in the morning a northern wind blows, exposing the heavens. The Gemara notes: And in this they disagree with Rafram bar Pappa who said that Rav Ḥisda said, as Rafram bar Pappa said that Rav Ḥisda said: Since the day the Temple was destroyed the firmament has not been seen in its purity, as it is said: “I clothe the heavens with blackness and I make sackcloth their covering” (Isaiah 50:3).

תלמוד ירושלמי ברכות ט׳:ב׳

אֱלִיָּהוּ זָכוּר לַטּוֹב שָׁאַל לְרִבִּי נְהוַֹריי מִפְּנֵי מַה בָּאִין זְוָעוֹת לָעוֹלָם. אָמַר לֵיהּ בְּעָוֹן תְּרוּמָה וּמַעְשְׂרוֹת. כָּתוּב אֶחָד אוֹמֵר תָּמִיד עֵינֵי ײ֨ אֱלֹהֵיךָ בָהּ. וְכָתוּב אֶחָד אוֹמֵר הַמַּבִּיט לָאָרֶץ וַתִּרְעָד יִגַּע בֶּהָרִים וְיֶעֱשָׁנוּ. הָא כֵיצַד יִתְקַייְמוּ שְׁנֵי כְתוּבִין הַלָּלוּ. בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁיִּשְׂרָאֵל עוֹשִׂין רְצוֹנוֹ שֶׁל מָקוֹם וּמוֹצִיאִין מַעְשְׂרוֹתֵיהֶן כְּתִיקֻּנָן תָּמִיד עֵינֵי ײ֨ אֱלֹהֵיךָ בָהּ מֵרֵאשִית הַשָּׁנָה וְעַד אַחֲרִית שָׁנָה וְאֵינָן נִזּוּקִין כְּלוּם. בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁאֵין יִשְרָאֵל עוֹשִׂין רְצוֹנוֹ שֶׁל מָקוֹם וְאֵינָן מוֹצִיאִין מַעְשְׂרוֹתֵיהֶן כְּתִיקֻּנָן הַמַּבִּיט לָאָרֶץ וַתִּרְעָד. אָמַר לֵיהּ בְּנִי חַיֶּיךָ כַּךְ הִיא סְבָרָא דְּמִילְתָא. אֲבָל כֵּן עִיקָּרוֹ שֶׁל דָּבָר אֶלָּא בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מַבִּיט בְּבָתֵּי תֵיָטְרִיּוֹת וּבְבַתֵּי קִרְקֻסָּאוֹת יוֹשְׁבוֹת בֶּטַח וְשַׁאֲנָן וְשַׁלְוָה וּבֵית מִקְדָּשׁוֹ חָרֵב הוּא אַפֵּילוֹן לְעוֹלָמוֹ לְהַחֲרִיבוֹ. הָהוּא דִכְתִיב שָׁאוֹג יִשְׁאַג עַל נָוְהוּ. בִּשְׁבִיל נָוְהוּ. אָמַר רִבִּי אָחָא בְּעָוֹן מִשְׁכַב זָכוֹר. אָמַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אַתָּה זִיעֲזַעְתָּ אֵיבָרָךְ עַל דָּבָר שֶׁאֵינוֹ שֶׁלָּךְ. חַיֶּיךָ שֶׁאֲנִי מְזַעְזֵעַ עוֹלָמִי עַל אוֹתוֹ הָאִישׁ. וְרַבָּנָן אָֽמְרֵי בִּשְׁבִיל הַמַחְלוֹקֶת. וְנַסְתֶּם גֵּיא הָרַי כִּי יַגִּיעַ גֵּיא הָרִים אֶל אָצַל. אָמַר רִבִּי שְׁמוּאֵל אֵין רַעַשׁ אֶלָּא הֶפְסֵק מַלְכוּת. כְּמַה דְּאַתְּ אֲמַר וַתִּרְעַשׁ הָאָרֶץ וַתָּחֹל. מִפְּנֵי מַה. כִּי קָמָה עַל בָּבֶל מַחְשָׁבוֹת ײ֨. אֱ

Jerusalem Talmud Berakhot 9:2

MISHNAH: On ziqin, earthquakes, lightning, thunder, and hurricanes, one says: Praise to Him Whose power fills the world. On mountains, hills, seas, rivers, and deserts, one says: Praise to the Maker of Creation. Rebbi Yehudah says, he who sees the ocean says: Praise to Him Who made the ocean; if he sees it at intervals. On rains and good tidings one says: Praise to Him Who is good and does good. On bad news, one says: Praise to the True Judge. If one built a new house or bought new garments, he says: Praise to Him Who let us reach this time. One recites the benediction for bad news containing good and for good ones containing bad. HALAKHAH: Bar Kappara stated: One blows the shofar because of an earthquake. Samuel said: If that ziqa would pass by Kesil, it would destroy the world. They objected to Samuel: Do we not see that it passes by it? He said to them: It is impossible; either above or below it. Samuel said: I know the places of heaven like the places of my city Nahardea; except for that ziqa, I do not know what that is. Did Samuel ascend to heaven? No, following (Job. 38:37): “Who may discourse about heaven in wisdom?” Elijah, may he be well remembered, asked Rebbi Nehorai: Why do earthquakes occur in the world? He said to him, because of sin concerning heave and tithes. One verse says (Deut. 11:12): The eyes of the Eternal, your God, are permanently on it. Another verse says (Ps. 104:32): He who gazes on the Earth and it trembles, He touches mountains and they smoke. How can these two verses coexist? If Israel fulfill the will of the Omnipresent and separate their tithes following the rules, “the eyes of the Eternal, your God, are permanently on it from the start to the end of the year” and they will not be hurt by anything. If Israel do not fulfill the will of the Omnipresent and do not separate their tithes following the rules, “He gazes on the Earth and it trembles.” He said to him, my son, that is the reasonable explanation. But the main thing is that if the Holy One, praise to Him, sees theatres and circuses existing in safety and quiet, but His temple is destroyed, He is menacing His world to destroy it; that is what is written (Jer. 25:30): “He will roar on His Place,” about His place. Rebbi Aḥa said, because of homosexual activity. The Holy One, praise to Him, said: You made your member tremble for something that is not for you; by your life, I shall make My world tremble because of that man. But the rabbis said, because of quarrels (Zach. 14:5): “You will flee by the valley of the mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach Aẓel.” Rebbi Samuel said, an earthquake presages a change of government, as one says (Jer. 51:29): “The earth quaked and trembled,” why? “for the intentions of the Eternal overtake Babylon.” Elijah, may he be well remembered, asked Rebbi Nehorai: Why did the Holy One, praise to Him, create abominable and crawling animals in His world? He said to him, they fill a need because, when men sin, He gazes at those and says, if I am keeping those who have no utility, certainly I shall keep these who might have utility. He said to him, still they have utility: a fly for wasps, bedbugs for a leech, snail for skin rash, semamit for the scorpion. “On lightning.” Rebbi Jeremiah, Rebbi Zeïra in the name of Rav Ḥasdai: It is enough once a day. Rebbi Yose said, what are we talking about? If it is permanent, once a day is enough. If it is intermittent, one recites the benediction for each occurrence. The force of Rebbi Yose from the following: If he was sitting in the perfumer’s store all day long, he would recite the benediction only once. But if he enters and leaves, enters and leaves, he recites a benediction every time. It came, it was said by Rebbi Aḥa (and) Rebbi Ḥanina in the name of Rebbi Yose: If it is permanent, once a day is enough. If it is intermittent, one recites the benediction for each occurrence. If one was sitting in the bathroom or the room of filth, if he can exit and recite the benediction in time for one sentence, he should exit, but if not, he should not exit. Rebbi Jeremiah asked: If he was sitting naked in his house, should he make the house a garment, lean his head out of the window and recite the benediction? If he was sitting naked in a “tower”, should he make it a garment, lean his head out of the window and recite the benediction? “On winds what does he say? Praise to Him, Whose power and might fill the world.” The Mishnah if they come destructively. But if they come quietly, one says: Praise to the Maker of Creation. Rebbi Joshua ben Ḥananiah said: When the wind goes out into the world, the Holy One, praise to Him, breaks it on mountains, lets it stumble on hills, and tells it: Be careful not to hurt my creatures. What is the reason? (Is. 57:16) “The wind becomes faint before Me.” He makes it tired, as one says (Jonah 2:8): “When I am fainting.” All that why? Rebbi Ḥuna in the name of Rebbi Aḥa (Is. 57:16): “And I made souls;” because of the souls that I made. Rebbi Ḥuna said, in three places did the wind come out without measure and desired to destroy the entire world; once in the time of Jonah, once in the time of Elijah, and once in the time of Job. In the time of Jonah (Jonah 1:4): “The Eternal sent a strong wind.” In the time of Job (Job 1:19): “A great wind came across the desert.” In the time of Elijah, from where? (1K. 19: 19:11) “Lo, the Eternal passes, and a great, strong wind, shattering mountains.” Rebbi Yudan ben Shalom said, let us say that the one of Job was for him only, that of Jonah was for him only. You have only that of Elijah which was worldwide “Lo, the Eternal passes, etc. After that an earthquake and after the earthquake fire, but the Eternal was not in the fire.” “Rebbi Yehudah says, he who sees the ocean says: Praise to Him Who made the ocean, if he sees it at intervals.” What is an interval? Once in thirty days. Simeon the hard-working man asked Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba: Since I am a donkey driver and go up to Jerusalem all the time, how do I have to tear? He said to him: If it is within thirty days, you do not have to tear, after thirty days you have to tear. Rebbi Ḥuna and Simeon Qamateria in the name of Rebbi Samuel ben Naḥman (Jud. 18:30): “Jonathan ben Gershom ben Manasseh,” a hanging נ. If he merits it, ben Mosheh. If he does not merit it, ben Manasseh. The colleagues asked before Rebbi Samuel bar Naḥman: He was a priest of idol worship and lived so long? He said to them, because he [Jonathan] was grudging to his idol. How was he grudging to his idol? If a man came to sacrifice an ox, a sheep, or a goat to the idol and told him: Make it favorably inclined towards me, he would say: What use does it have for you? It neither sees, nor hears, nor eats, nor drinks, nor does good or evil, and does not talk. He said to him, by your life, what should we do? He said to him, go, make, and bring me a wooden vessel full of fine flour and put on it ten eggs, then I shall prepare it before that one and it will eat from all that comes and I shall make it favorably inclined towards you! After he left, he would eat it. One day, a son of pashas came and he said that to him. He said to him, if it is of no use, what are you doing here? He said to him, because of my livelihood. When David became king, he sent and brought him. He said to him, you are the grandson of that righteous man and you worship idols? He said to him: I have a tradition from my grandfather’s house: Sell yourself to idol worship rather than need other people. He said to him: Heaven forbid! He did not say so, but sell yourself to work that is strange to you rather than to need other people. When David saw that he loved money, he made him count of his treasuries. That is what is written (1Chr. 26:24): “Shabuel ben Gershom ben Moshe, overseer of the treasuries.” “Shabuel” because he returned to God with all his heart and all his might. “Overseer of the treasuries,” that he made him count of the treasuries. They objected to Rebbi Samuel bar Naḥman: (Jud. 18:30): “Until the day the land went into exile.” He said to them, when David died, Shelomo rose and exchanged all his counselors. He returned to his former bad ways. That is what is written: (1K. 13:11) “An old prophet was dwelling at Beth El;” they say that this was he. He who sees the sun at its turning point, the moon at its turning point, and the sky in its purity, says: Praise to the Maker of Creation. Rebbi Ḥuna says, that means in the rainy season and only after three days. That is what is written (Job 37:21): “Now they do not see light, etc.” He who sees the moon in its renewal says: Praise to Him Who renews months. Until when? Rebbi Jacob bar Aḥa in the name of Rebbi Yose: Until it is seen like half a stick. Rebbi Aḥa and Rebbi Ḥinena in the name of Rebbi Yose: Until its missing part is filled. The rabbis of Caesarea say, until the fourteenth day. Rebbi Yose bar Abun said, that is correct; the missing part is never filled before the fourteenth day. Hence, all fourteen days one needs to recite the benediction. In prayer, Rebbi Yose bar Nahorai said: “He Who sanctifies Israel, renews months.” Rav Ḥiyya bar Ashi said: “He Who sanctifies Israel and the New Moon.” Samuel said, one must say “bestow on us.” Rav said, one must mention “time.” Rebbi Hoshaya stated: (Gen. 1:14) “They should be for signs and appointed times, days and years.” What says he who passes between graves? Praised are You, Eternal, Who makes the dead live. Rebbi Ḥiyya in the name of Rebbi Yoḥanan: Who is true to His word and makes the dead live. Rebbi Ḥiyya in the name of Rebbi Yoḥanan: He Who knows your number will wake you up and remove the dust from upon your eyes. Praised are You, Eternal, Who makes the dead live. Rebbi Eleazar in the name of Rebbi Ḥanina: Who created You by judgment, fed you by judgment, and removed you by judgment, He will in the future make you live by judgment. He Who knows your number will remove the dust from upon your eyes. Praised be He Who makes the dead live. That is, for Jewish dead. But for the dead of the Gentiles, he says (Jer. 50:12): Your mother is very shameful, the one who bore you is ashamed …. He who sees the rainbow in the clouds says: Praised are You, Eternal, Who remembers the Covenant. Rebbi Ḥiyya in the name of Rebbi Yoḥanan: Who is faithful to His Covenant and remembers the Covenant. Rebbi Ḥizqiah in the name of Rebbi Jeremiah: No rainbow was seen all the days of Rebbi Simeon ben Yoḥai. Rebbi Ḥizqiah in the name of Rebbi Jeremiah: Rebbi Simeon bar Yoḥai used to say, “Valley, valley, get filled with gold denars,” and it got filled. Rebbi Ḥizqiah in the name of Rebbi Jeremiah: Rebbi Simeon bar Yoḥai used to say, I saw the people of the Future World and they are few. If they are three, I and my son are of them. If they are two, they are me and my son. Rebbi Ḥizqiah in the name of Rebbi Jeremiah: Rebbi Simeon bar Yoḥai used to say, Abraham should bring near from his back to my back; I shall bring near from my back to the end of all generations. Otherwise, Aḥiya from Shiloh should join me and I shall bring everybody near. What reason did they have to take together good news and rains? Rebbi Berekhiah in the name of Rebbi Lewi: Because of (Pr. 25:25) “cold water on a weary person and good news from a distant land.” How much rain should fall that a man is required to recite a benediction? Rebbi Ḥiyya in the name of Rebbi Yoḥanan: At the start, that it should fertilize, at the end that the surface should be wet. Rebbi Yannai ben Ismael in the name of Rebbi Simeon ben Laqish: At the start, that it should fertilize, at the end that the seal of the amphora should be soaked. Is the seal ever soaked? But it is as if it were soaked. Rebbi Yose in the name of Rav Yehudah, Rebbi Jonah, Rav Yehudah in the name of Samuel: At the start, that it should fertilize, atthe end even a minimal amount. Rebbi Yose in the name of Rebbi Zeïra: It was said for fast days. Rebbi Ḥizqiah, Rebbi Naḥum, and Rav Ada bar Abimi were sitting. Rebbi Naḥum said to Rav Ada bar Abimi: Is it not reasonable that this was said for the benediction; he answered: Yes. Rebbi Ḥizqiah said to Rav Ada bar Abimi: Is it not reasonable that this was said for fast days; he answered: Yes. He said to him, why did you say “yes” here? He said to him, it is the argumentation of my teacher. Rebbi Mana asked Rebbi Ḥizqiah, who is his teacher? He said to him, Rebbi Zeïra. He said to him, but we say: Rebbi Yose in the name of Rebbi Zeïra: It was said for fast days. Rav Yehudah bar Ezechiel said, my father used to recite for rainfall: May Your Name be magnified, sanctified, praised, and elevated, our King, for every drop that You bring down to us, and you make them refrain one from the other. (Job. 36:27) “For He reduces water drippings;” as one says (Lev. 27:18): “Your value will be reduced.” Rebbi Yudan said, not only that, but He brings them down in measure, as it is said (Job 28:25): “Water He determined by measure.” Rebbi Yose bar Jacob went to visit Rebbi Yudan from Migdal. While he was there, rain started to come down and he heard his (R. Yudan’s) voice saying: Thousands of thousands and myriads of myriads we are obliged to thank Your Name, our King, for every drop that You bring down to us, for You do good things for the guilty ones. He said to him: From where do you have this? He said to him: This is the benediction that Rebbi Simon recited for rainfall. How much rain should fall that it is considered fertilizing? If it fills a vessel of three hand-breadths, the words of Rebbi Meïr. Rebbi Yehudah says, the first rainfall one hand-breadth, the second one two hand breadths, and the third one three hand-breadths. It has been stated: Rebbi Simeon ben Eleazar says, there is no hand-breadth that falls from above that the earth does not raise two hand-breadths towards it. What is the reason? (Ps. 42:8) “The deep calls to the deep by the sound of Your water spouts.” And Rebbi Levi said: The upper waters are male and the lower ones female. What is the reason? (Is. 45:8) “The earth shall open,” like a female who opens before a male; “they should bear fruit of help,” that is being fruitful and multiplying; “and justice shall sprout together,” that is rainfall; “I, the Eternal, did create it,” for that I created it, for the well-being of the world. Rebbi Aḥa stated it in the name of Rebbi Simeon ben Gamliel: Why is it called “fertilizing,” because it impregnates the earth. Rebbi Ḥanina bar Yaqqa in the name of Rav Yehudah: The roots of wheat split the earth to a depth of three cubits. The soft roots of a fig tree split rock. It has been stated: Rebbi Ismael ben Eleazar says, the earth drinks only according to its hardness. If this is so, what do the roots of the carob do? What do the roots of the sycamore do? Rebbi Ḥanina said, once every thirty days the abyss wells up and drenches them. What is the reason? (Is. 27:3) “I, the Eternal, watch over it and water it in moments.” Rebbi Zeïra said, it is stated there: If one notices cheapness coming to the world, plenty coming to the world, or a river supplying a city, one recites: He Who is good and does good. If he was told that his father had died, he says: “Praise to the True Judge.” He died and made him an heir, he says: “Praise to Him Who is good and does good.”

ברכות ז׳ א:א׳-ד׳

אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן מִשּׁוּם רַבִּי יוֹסֵי: מִנַּיִן שֶׁהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מִתְפַּלֵּל? שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וַהֲבִיאוֹתִים אֶל הַר קָדְשִׁי וְשִׂמַּחְתִּים בְּבֵית תְּפִלָּתִי״, ״תְּפִלָּתָם״ לֹא נֶאֱמַר, אֶלָּא ״תְּפִלָּתִי״, מִכָּאן שֶׁהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מִתְפַּלֵּל. מַאי מְצַלֵּי? אָמַר רַב זוּטְרָא בַּר טוֹבִיָּה, אָמַר רַב: ״יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּפָנַי שֶׁיִּכְבְּשׁוּ רַחֲמַי אֶת כַּעֲסִי, וְיִגּוֹלּוּ רַחֲמַי עַל מִדּוֹתַי, וְאֶתְנַהֵג עִם בָּנַי בְּמִדַּת רַחֲמִים, וְאֶכָּנֵס לָהֶם לִפְנִים מִשּׁוּרַת הַדִּין״. תַּנְיָא, אָמַר רַבִּי יִשְׁמָעֵאל בֶּן אֱלִישָׁע: פַּעַם אַחַת, נִכְנַסְתִּי לְהַקְטִיר קְטוֹרֶת לִפְנַי וְלִפְנִים, וְרָאִיתִי אַכְתְּרִיאֵל יָהּ ה׳ צְבָאוֹת, שֶׁהוּא יוֹשֵׁב עַל כִּסֵּא רָם וְנִשָּׂא, וְאָמַר לִי: ״יִשְׁמָעֵאל בְּנִי, בָּרְכֵנִי!״ אָמַרְתִּי לוֹ: ״יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּפָנֶיךָ, שֶׁיִּכְבְּשׁוּ רַחֲמֶיךָ אֶת כַּעַסְךָ, וְיִגּוֹלּוּ רַחֲמֶיךָ עַל מִדּוֹתֶיךָ, וְתִתְנַהֵג עִם בָּנֶיךָ בְּמִדַּת הָרַחֲמִים, וְתִכָּנֵס לָהֶם לִפְנִים מִשּׁוּרַת הַדִּין״. וְנִעְנַע לִי בְּרֹאשׁוֹ. וְקָמַשְׁמַע לַן, שֶׁלֹּא תְּהֵא בִּרְכַּת הֶדְיוֹט קַלָּה בְּעֵינֶיךָ.

Berakhot 7a:1-4

Along the same lines, Rabbi Yoḥanan said in the name of Rabbi Yosei: From where is it derived that the Holy One, Blessed be He, prays? As it is stated: “I will bring them to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in the house of My prayer” (Isaiah 56:7). The verse does not say the house of their prayer, but rather, “the house of My prayer”; from here we see that the Holy One, Blessed be He, prays. The Gemara asks: What does God pray? Rav Zutra bar Tovia said that Rav said:
God says: May it be My will that My mercy will overcome My anger towards Israel for their transgressions,
and may My mercy prevail over My other attributes through which Israel is punished,
and may I conduct myself toward My children, Israel, with the attribute of mercy,
and may I enter before them beyond the letter of the law. Similarly, it was taught in a baraita that Rabbi Yishmael ben Elisha, the High Priest, said: Once, on Yom Kippur, I entered the innermost sanctum, the Holy of Holies, to offer incense, and in a vision I saw Akatriel Ya, the Lord of Hosts, one of the names of God expressing His ultimate authority, seated upon a high and exalted throne (see Isaiah 6).
And He said to me: Yishmael, My son, bless Me.
I said to Him the prayer that God prays: “May it be Your will that Your mercy overcome Your anger,
and may Your mercy prevail over Your other attributes,
and may You act toward Your children with the attribute of mercy,
and may You enter before them beyond the letter of the law.”
The Holy One, Blessed be He, nodded His head and accepted the blessing. This event teaches us that you should not take the blessing of an ordinary person lightly. If God asked for and accepted a man’s blessing, all the more so that a man must value the blessing of another man.

מכילתא דרבי ישמעאל, מַסֶּכְתָּא דְשִׁירָה ד׳:א׳

מלך בשר ודם יוצא למלחמה ומדינות קרבות באות אצלו ושואלות צרכיהן מלפניו והן אומ' להן זעוף הוא למלחמה הוא יוצא לכשינצח במלחמה וישוב באין אתם ושואלין צרכיכם מלפניו אבל הקב"ה אינו כן אלא ה' איש מלחמה שהוא נלחם במצרים ה' שמו שהוא שומע צעקת כל באי העולם שנ' שומע תפלה עדיך כל בשר יבואו (תהלים סה).

Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael, Tractate Shirah 4:1

(1) (Exodus, Ibid. 3) "The L rd is a man of war; the L rd is His name." R. Yehudah says: This is a verse rich from (what is written) in many places. We are hereby apprised that He revealed Himself to them in the implements of war. He revealed Himself to them as a warrior girded with a sword, viz. (Psalms 45:4) "Gird Your sword upon Your thigh, O Hero. He revealed Himself to them as a rider, viz. (Ibid. 18:11) "And He mounted a cherub and flew, etc." He revealed Himself to them in mail and helmet, viz. (Isaiah 59:17) "He donned righteousness as mail, and a helmet of salvation on His head." He revealed Himself to them with a spear, viz. (Habakkuk 3:11) "by the light of the flash of Your spear," and (Psalms 35:3) "and draw spear and (don) buckler, etc." He revealed Himself to them with bow and arrows, viz. (Habakkuk 3:9) "The nakedness of Your bow will be revealed," and (II Samuel 22:15) "And He sent forth arrows, etc." He revealed Himself to them with shield and buckler, viz. (Psalms 91:4) "Shield and bucker is His Your truth, and (Ibid. 35:2) "Take up buckler and shield." I might think that He (actually) required one of all these appurtenances. It is, therefore, written "The L rd is a man of war; the L rd is His name. It is with His name that He wars, and not with any of these appurtenances. Why, then, need each of them be singled out? For if Israel requires it, He makes war for them. And woe to the nations what they hear with their ears, that He who spoke and brought the world into being is destined to make war with them! "the L rd is a man of war': What is the intent of this? Because He revealed Himself at the sea as a hero waging war — "The L rd is a man of war" — and He revealed Himself at Sinai as an elder full of mercy, viz. (Exodus 24:10) "And they saw the G d of Israel … and under His feet as the work of a sapphire brick and as the appearance of the heavens in brightness" [[ see Rashi], and (Daniel 7:9) "I watched as thrones were set up, and the Ancient of Days sat … (10) A stream of fire was flowing forth from before Him, etc." — So as not to give a pretext to the peoples of the world to say that there are two (i.e., numerous) deities, (it is written) "The L rd is a man of war — the L rd is His name. It was He upon the sea, He in Egypt, He in the past, He in the future, He in time to come, He in this world, He in the world to come. As it is written (Devarim 32:39) "See, now, that it is I, I, and there is no god with Me, etc.", and (Isaiah 41:4) "Who wrought and did? The Caller of the generations (into being) from the beginning. I, the L rd, was the first (to perform wonders and to help,) and it is I (who will be) with (you,) the later (generations." There is a warrior in a province, accoutered in all the weapons of war, but lacking power, strength, stratagem, and war (wisdom). Not so, the Holy One Blessed be He. He possesses all of these. As it is written (I Samuel 17:42) "For unto the L rd is the war, and He will deliver you into our hands." And it is written (Psalms 144:1) ("A psalm) of David: Blessed is the L rd, my Rock, who trains my hands for battle, my fingers for war." There is a warrior, at the height of his power, forty years old, who is not like a sixty-year-old, nor a sixty-year-old like a seventy-year-old, but the older he grows the more his power wanes. Not so, He who spoke and brought the world into being — (Malachi 3:6) "I am the L rd. I have not changed! There is a warrior in a province, who may be so swayed by wrath and power s to vent his fury even upon his father and mother and close of kin. Not so, the Holy One Blessed be He. "The L rd is a man of war — the L rd ("yod-keh-vav-keh," signifying mercy) is His name. "The L rd is a man of war" — who fought against the Egyptians. "The L rd is His name — He compassionates His creations, viz. (Exodus 24:6) "The L rd, the L rd, the G d (Kel) who is merciful and gracious, etc." There is a warrior in a province. As soon as the arrow leaves his hand he cannot retrieve it. Not so, the Holy One Blessed be He. When Israel do not do His will, a decree goes forth from Him, viz. (Devarim 32:41) "When I whet the flash of My sword, etc." But if they repent, immediately he withdraws it, viz. (Ibid.) "My hand shall take hold of justice." I might think that He withdraws it in vain (i.e., unbloodied); it is, therefore, written (Ibid.) "I shall return (with that sword) vengeance to My adversaries." Against whom does He return it? The nations of the world, viz. (Ibid.) "and (with it) My haters shall I repay!" A king of flesh and blood goes out to war and (emissaries of) neighboring lands come and request sustenance form him. He tells them angrily that he is going to war. When he returns victorious, they come and request sustenance form him. "The L rd is a man of war" — He wars against Egypt. "the L rd is His name" — (At the same time) He hears the outcries of all who enter the world. As it is written (Psalms 65:3) "Heeder of prayer — to You does all flesh come. A king of flesh and blood, whilst at war, cannot supply all of his soldiers. Not so, the Holy One Blessed be He. "The L rd is a man of war" — He wars against Egypt. "The L rd is His name" — He sustains all who enter the world. As it is written (Psalms 136:13) "He divides the sea into strips" (twelve strips for twelve tribes) — (Ibid. 25) "He gives bread to all flesh." (Ibid. 147:10) He gives the beast its food, the raven's young, what they call for." "The L rd is a man of war": Is it possible to say this (i.e., to refer to Him as "a man")? Is it not written (of His transcendent majesty) (Jeremiah 23:24) "Do I not fill heaven and earth, sys the L rd"? And (Isaiah 6:3) "And one (seraph) would call to another and say: Holy, Holy, Holy, etc." And (II Chronicles 6:14) "O L rd, G d of Israel, there is none like You, etc." And (Ezekiel 43:2) "And, behold, the glory of the G d of Israel, etc." What, then, is the intent of "a man of war"? Because of your love (i.e., the love He has for you) and because of your holiness, I shall sanctify My name through you. For it is written (Hoshea 11:9) "For I am G d, and not a man, etc." "the L rd is His name": It is with His name that He wars, and He has no need of any of these (military) appurtenances. And thus did David say (I Samuel 17:95) "You come to me with sword, and spear, and javelin; but I come to you with the name of the L rd of hosts, etc." And (Psalms 20:8) "These with chariots and these with horse, but we with the name of the L rd our G d, etc." And thus did Assa say, viz. (II Chronicles 14:10) "And Assa called out to the L rd his G d and said: O L rd, there is none besides You, etc." (Exodus 15:4) "the chariots of Pharaoh and his host": "As one measures, so is it meted out to him." They (the Egyptians [i.e., Pharaoh]) said (Ibid. 5:2) "Who is the L rd that I should hearken to his voice?" And You meted it out to him accordingly, viz. "The chariots of Pharaoh, etc." One verse (here) states "yarah" (He cast into the sea"), and, another (Ibid. 1) "ramah" ("He lifted into the sea"). How are these two verses to be reconciled? "Yarah" — they descended to the depths; "ramah" — they rose to the heights. Variantly: "The chariots of Pharaoh, etc." They (the Egyptians [i.e., Pharaoh') said (Ibid. 1:22) "Every son that is born into the Nile shall you thrown him, You, likewise, meted it out to him accordingly, viz.: "The chariots of Pharaoh, etc." They (Ibid. 14:7): "And he took six hundred chosen chariots." You, likewise (Ibid. 15:4): "and the élite of his officers were mired in the sea. They placed (Ibid. 14:7) "officers upon all of them"; You, likewise, (Ibid. 17:5) [He mired them there] "so that the waters should [return and] cover them." They (Ibid. 1:14) "embittered their lives with hard toil, with mortar"; You, likewise, made the water like slime for them, and they sank in it. Thus (15:4) "They were mired in the Red Sea," "mired" connoting slime, as in (Psalms 69:3) "I am sunk in the slime of the depths," and (Jeremiah 38:6) "and Jeremiah sank in the slime." Thus, "they were mired in the sea."

איכה רבה, פתיחתא

:כֹּה אָמַר ה' צְבָאוֹת הִתְבּוֹנְנוּ וְקִרְאוּ לַמְקוֹנְנוֹת, רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן וְרַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן לָקִישׁ וְרַבָּנָן, רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן אָמַר לְמֶלֶךְ שֶׁהָיוּ לוֹ שְׁנֵי בָנִים, כָּעַס עַל הָרִאשׁוֹן נָטַל אֶת הַמַּקֵּל וַחֲבָטוֹ וְהִגְלָהוּ, אָמַר אוֹי לָזֶה מֵאֵיזוֹ שַׁלְוָה נִגְלָה. כָּעַס עַל הַשֵּׁנִי וְנָטַל אֶת הַמַּקֵּל וַחֲבָטוֹ וְהִגְלָהוּ, אֲמַר אֲנָא הוּא דְּתַרְבּוּתִי בִּישָׁא. כָּךְ, גָּלוּ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַשְּׁבָטִים וְהִתְחִיל הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אוֹמֵר לָהֶם אֶת הַפָּסוּק הַזֶּה (הושע ז, יג): אוֹי לָהֶם כִּי נָדְדוּ מִמֶּנִּי. וְכֵיוָן שֶׁגָּלוּ יְהוּדָה וּבִנְיָמִין, כִּבְיָכוֹל אָמַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא (ירמיה י, יט): אוֹי לִי עַל שִׁבְרִי. רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן לָקִישׁ אָמַר לְמֶלֶךְ שֶׁהָיָה לוֹ שְׁנֵי בָנִים כָּעַס עַל הָרִאשׁוֹן וְנָטַל אֶת הַמַּקֵּל וַחֲבָטוֹ וּפִרְפֵּר וָמֵת, הִתְחִיל מְקוֹנֵן עָלָיו, כָּעַס עַל הַשֵּׁנִי וְנָטַל אֶת הַמַּקֵל וַחֲבָטוֹ וּפִרְפֵּר וָמֵת, אָמַר מֵעַתָּה אֵין בִּי כֹּחַ לְקוֹנֵן עֲלֵיהֶם אֶלָּא קִרְאוּ לַמְּקוֹנְנוֹת וִיקוֹנְנוּ עֲלֵיהֶם. כָּךְ, גָּלוּ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַשְּׁבָטִים וְהִתְחִיל מְקוֹנֵן עֲלֵיהֶם (עמוס ה, א): שִׁמְעוּ אֶת הַדָּבָר הַזֶּה אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי נֹשֵׂא עֲלֵיכֶם קִינָה בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל. וְכֵיוָן שֶׁגָּלוּ יְהוּדָה וּבִנְיָמִין, כִּבְיָכוֹל אָמַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מֵעַתָּה אֵין בִּי כֹּחַ לְקוֹנֵן עֲלֵיהֶם, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב (ירמיה ט, טז יז): קִרְאוּ לַמְקוֹנְנוֹת וגו' וּתְמַהֵרְנָה וְתִשֶֹּׂנָה עָלֵינוּ נֶהִי, עֲלֵיהֶם אֵין כְּתִיב כָּאן אֶלָּא עָלֵינוּ, דִּידִי וְדִידְהוֹן. וְתֵרַדְנָה עֵינֵיהֶם דִּמְעָה אֵין כְּתִיב כָּאן, אֶלָּא עֵינֵינוּ, דִּידִי וְדִידְהוֹן. וְעַפְעַפֵּיהֶם יִזְלוּ מָיִם אֵין כְּתִיב כָּאן, אֶלָּא וְעַפְעַפֵּינוּ, דִּידִי וְדִידְהוֹן. רַבָּנָן אָמְרִין לְמֶלֶךְ שֶׁהָיוּ לוֹ שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר בָּנִים, וּמֵתוּ שְׁנַיִם, הִתְחִיל מִתְנַחֵם בָּעֲשָׂרָה. מֵתוּ עוֹד שְׁנַיִם, וְהִתְחִיל מִתְנַחֵם בִּשְׁמוֹנָה. מֵתוּ שְׁנַיִם, הִתְחִיל מִתְנַחֵם בְּשִׁשָּׁה. מֵתוּ שְׁנַיִם, הִתְחִיל מִתְנַחֵם בְּאַרְבָּעָה. מֵתוּ שְׁנַיִם, הִתְחִיל מִתְנַחֵם בִּשְׁנַיִם. וְכֵיוָן שֶׁמֵּתוּ כֻּלָּם, הִתְחִיל מְקוֹנֵן עֲלֵיהֶם אֵיכָה יָשְׁבָה בָדָד.

Eikhah Rabbah, Petichta

(1) Rabbi Abba bar Kahana opened [with] (Isaiah 10:30) "Give a shrill cry O Bath-Gallim". Isaiah says to Israel, As long as you are saying songs and psalms for planet worship, Cry out with words of Torah! Cry out in the synagogues! [Regarding] Bath-Gallim, just as waves (Gallim) are distinct in in the sea, so too their ancestors are distinct in the world. Another explanation, Bath-Gallim [is like] Bath-Golim, the daughter of exiles. The daughter of Abraham, about him it is written, (Genesis 12:10) "There was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt". The daughter of Isaac, it is written about him, (Genesis 26:1) "Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, in Gerar". The daughter of Jacob, it is written about him, (Genesis 28:5) "He went to Paden Aram". (Isaiah 10:30) "Hearken", Hearken to my commandments! Hearken to words of Torah! Hearken to words of prophecy! Hearken to righteous acts and good deeds! (Isaiah 10:30) "Laishah", if [you] do not [hearken], a Laishah, that is a lion, is ascending to you. This [lion] is Nebuchadnezzar the wicked, as it is written about him (Jeremiah 4:7) "The lion has come up from his thicket". (Isaiah 10:30) "Take up the cry", Take up the cry from the Righteous! Take up the cry from the words of prophecy! Take up the cry from commandments and good deeds! (Isaiah 10:30) "Anathoth", if [you] do not [take up the cry], Anathoth, that is the Anathothite [Jeremiah], is coming to prophesize about you, as it is written (Jeremiah 1:1) "The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests at Anathoth" Since the punishment [that he prophesized] came, he laments about them [saying] "Alas!" (Lamentations 1:1).

(2) Rabbi Abba bar Kahana opened [with] (Jeremiah 9:11) "What man is so wise That he understands this?". Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai taught: If you see towns uprooted from their locations in the land of Israel, know that they did not possess the reward of scribes and those who repeat the Oral Torah, as it is said (Jeremiah 9:11) "Why is the land in ruins..." (Jeremiah 9:12) "The LORD replied: Because they forsook my Torah..." Rabbi sent the message to Rabbi Asei and Rabbi Amei to to go out and repair towns of the land of Israel. They would come to a town and say to them, "Bring us the city's defenders," and they would bring them the chief of police and the bailiff, and say to them, "These are the city's defenders." They (the rabbis) would say to them (the townspeople) "These are the city's defenders?! These are are the city's destroyers!" They would say to them, "Then who are the city's defenders?" They said to them, "They are the scribes and those who repeat the Oral Torah, who recite, repeat, and preserve the Torah, day and night." As it is said (Joshua 1:8) "...recite it day and night." And it is said (Psalms 127:1) "Unless the LORD builds the house..." Rabbi Huna and Rabbi Yirmiyah, quoting Rabbi Shmuel B'Rabbi Yitzchak say: We find that the Holy Blessed One overlooked idolatry, sexual crime, and bloodshed, but would not overlook the rejection of Torah. As it is said, (Jeremiah 9:11) "Why is the land in ruins..." It is not written, "For idolatry" or "For sexual crime" or "For bloodshed" but rather (Jeremiah 9:12) "Because they forsook my Torah..." Rabbi Huna and Rabbi Yirmiyah, quoting Rabbi Hiyya Bar Abba say: (Jeremiah 16:11) "They deserted Me and did not keep My Torah" "If only they deserted me but kept My Torah! As they busied themselves with it, the illumination within it would have brought them back to goodness." Rav Huna said: Study Torah, even if not for its own sake, since "for its own sake" derives from "not for its own sake." Rabbi Yehoshua Ben Levi says: Every single day, a Divine Voice emerges from Har Chorev and says: "Woe to mortals, for offending the Torah." Shmuel taught about it in the name of Rabbi Shmuel Bar Amei: When are governments able to proclaim decrees and successfully enforce them? Only when Israel is throwing the words of Torah to the ground. This is why it is written (Daniel 8:12) "An army was arrayed iniquitously against the regular offering..." and "army" (tzavah) must refer to the government, as it is said, (Isaiah 24:21) "In that day, the LORD will punish The host (tzevah) of heaven in heaven (And the kings of the earth on earth.)" The 'regular offering' are Israel, as it is written (Joshua 1:8) "...recite it day and night." 'Iniquitously' means for the iniquity against Torah, when Israel is throwing the words of Torah to the ground, the government can decree and succeed, as it is said (Daniel 8:12) "...it hurled truth to the ground..." And 'truth' could only mean Torah, as it is said (Proverbs 23:23 "Buy truth and never sell it." If you throw the words of Torah to the ground, immediately the government succeeds. This is why it is written (Daniel 8:12) "...and prospered in what it did. Rabbi Yehuda Ben Pazi says: (Hosea 8:3) "Israel rejects what is good..." and 'good' could only mean Torah as it is said: (Proverbs 4:2) "For I give you good instruction..." Rabbi Abba Bar Kahana said: There were never gentile philosophers of the stature of Bilam Ben Beor and Avnimus HaGardi. They were asked, "Can we outmatch this nation?" They said, "Go around to their synagogues. If the children there are chirping with their voices, you will not be able to overcome them, but if not, you will be able to overcome them, as their Patriarch promised them when he said (Genesis 27:22) “The voice is the voice of Jacob, yet the hands are the hands of Esau.” While Jacob's voice is in the synagogues and study halls, the hands are not Esau's, but when his voice does not chirp in the synagogues and study halls, the hands are Esau's." And similarly it says: (Isaiah 5:24) "Assuredly, like the straw's consumption, a tongue of fire..." Can straw eat fire? Doesn't fire normally eat straw? You must interpret (Isaiah 5:24) "Assuredly, like the straw's consumption, a tongue of fire..." 'Straw' is the House of Esau, as it is said (Obadiah 1:18) "The House of Jacob shall be fire, And the House of Joseph flame, And the House of Esau shall be straw." 'A tongue of fire' is the House of Jacob. (Isaiah 5:24) "And hay shrivels as it burns" - this is the House of Joseph. (Isaiah 5:24) "Their rootstock shall become like rot" - these are the Patriarchs, the rootstock of Israel. (Isaiah 5:24) "And their flowers shall blow away like dust" - these are the Tribes, who are the flowers of Israel. What was the reason? (Isaiah 5:24) "For they have rejected the Torah of the LORD of Hosts..." Rabbi Yudan said: (Isaiah 5:24) "For they have rejected the Torah of the LORD of Hosts..." refers to the Written Torah (Isaiah 5:24) "...and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel" refers to the Oral Torah. And once they threw the words of Torah to the ground, Yirmiyah began to lament over them "Eicha" (Jeremiah 9:16) "Thus said the LORD of Hosts: Listen! Summon the dirge-singers..." Rabbi Yochanan, Rabbi Shimon Ben Lakish, and the Rabbis [all offer parables to explain this]. Rabbi Yochanan compares it to a king who had two sons. He got angry at the eldest, took the staff, struck him, and exiled him. He said, "Woe to this one, exiled from such tranquility!" He got angry at the second, took the staff, struck him, and exiled him. He said, "I am the source of corrupting influence." Thus, the ten tribes were exiled and the Holy Blessed One began saying this verse over them (Hosea 7:13) "Woe to them for straying from Me" but when Judah and Benjamin were exiled, if is as if the Holy Blessed One was saying (Jeremiah 10:19) "Woe unto me for my hurt." Rabbi Shimon Ben Lakish says it is like a king who had two sons. He got angry at the eldest, took the staff, struck him, and he seized up and died. He began to lament over him. He got angry at the second, took the staff, struck him, and he seized up and died. He said, "From now on, I have no strength to lament over them. Instead, (Jeremiah 9:16) "Summon the dirge-singers..." and let them lament over them." Thus, the ten tribes were exiled and He began lamenting over them (Amos 5:1) "Hear this word which I intone As a dirge over you, O House of Israel" but when Judah and Benjamin were exiled, it was as if the Holy Blessed one was saying, "From now on, I have no strength to lament over them. Instead, (Jeremiah 9:16) "Summon the dirge-singers..." (Jeremiah 9:17) "Let them quickly start a wailing for us..." It is not written "for them" but "for us," for me and you. (Jeremiah 9:17) "...that our eyes may run with tears..." It is not written "their eyes may run with tears" but "our eyes," mine and yours. (Jeremiah 9:17) ...and our eyelids flow with water." It is not written "and their eyelids" but "and our eyelids," mine and yours. Our Rabbis compare it to a king who had twelve sons. Two died, and he began to become reconciled to having the ten. Two more died, and he began to be reconciled to having eight. Two died, and he became to be reconciled to having six. Two died, and he began to be reconciled to having four. Two died, and he began to be reconciled to having two. But once they all died, he began lamenting over them, (Lamentations 1:1) "Alas! Lonely sits..."

(3) Rebbi Aba Bar Cahana opened: I never sat in the council of jokers and enjoyed myself (Jeremiah 15:17). The congregation of Yisrael said before The Holy One Blessed is He, “Master of Universes, never in my life have I entered the theatres and circuses of the nations of the world and laughed and enjoyed myself with them”. Because of Your hand I sit in loneliness (ibid.). The hand of Pharaoh afflicted me, but I did not sit in loneliness. The hand of Sancherib afflicted me, but I did not sit in loneliness. But now that Your hand has afflicted me, I sit in loneliness. How can this be!

(4) ...Rabbi Abahu opens “And they, to a person, transgressed the covenant” (Hosea 6:7). This is the first person, said the Kadosh Baruch Hu, the first person that I put into Gan Eden, and I commanded them and they transgressed my commands and I judged them according to exile and banishment, and I mourned for them, [saying] “How!?”I put them in Gan Eden, as it says “Hashem Elohim took the person and left them in Gan Eden” (Breishit 2:15), and commanded them, as it says “Hashem God commanded the person, saying….” (Breishit 2:16). And the person transgressed my commandments, as it says “And what about the tree that I commanded you about [did you eat from it?]...” (Breishit 3:11), and I judged them according to exile, as it says “[God] drove the person out…” (Breishit 3:24), and I judged the person according to banishment, as it says “Hashem banished them from Gan Eden” (Breishit 3:23), and I mourned them, crying “where”, as it says “[God] said to them ‘Where.’” (Breishit 3:9). “איכה” is written. Therefore only his son entered with him to the land of Israel, as it says “I brought you to the farmland” (Jeremiah 2:7) and commanded them, as it says “Command the Israelites” (Vayikra 24:2) and they transgressed my commandments, as it says “All of the Israelites have transgressed Your Torah” (Daniel 9:11), and I judged them according to exile, as it says “From my house, I will divorce them” (Hosea 9:15), and I judged them according to banishment, as it says “Banish them from my presence and let them go out” (Jeremiah 15:1), and I mourned them “How it dwells alone” (Lamentations 1:1).

(5) Rabbi Abahu, quoting Rabbi Yosei Bar Chanina, opened: (Ezekiel 24:6) "Assuredly, thus said the Lord GOD: Woe to the city of blood..." Woe to those who come to the city, who spill blood in it. (Ezekiel 24:6) "...a cauldron whose scum is in it..." - whose sediment is in it - (Ezekiel 24:6) "...whose scum has not been cleaned out." - whose lower classes were not displaced from it. (Ezekiel 24:6) "Empty it piece by piece..." - they were exiled in a patchwork pattern. How were they exiled? Rabbi Elazar says: The tribes of Reuven and Gad were exiled first. Rabbi Shmuel Bar Nachman says: The tribes of Zevulun and Naftali were exiled first, as it is written (Isaiah 8:23) "The first one brought abasement to the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali..." How does Rabbi Elazar uphold the truth of Rabbi Shmuel Bar Nachman's cited verse? Rather, at the time that the tribes of Revuven and Gad were exiled, the tribe of Zevulun and the tribe of Naftali were also exiled. (Isaiah 8:23) "...while the later one would have brought honor (hichbid)..." Rabbi Abbi Bar Kahana said: He disturbed them like with a sweeper (machbid). This is similar to how it is written (Isaiah 14:23) "I will sweep it with a broom of extermination." (Ezekiel 24:6) "No lot has fallen upon it." The Holy Blessed One said: While I was throwing scorn at the nations of the world, to exile them, they were not exiled. Why were you exiled? (Ezekiel 24:7) "For the blood she shed is still in her." And why so extreme? (Ezekiel 24:8) "So that it may stir up fury." Rabbi Yudan asked Rabbi Acha a question. He said to him: Where did Israel murder Zachariah- in the Israelite Courtyard [area of the Temple] or the Women's Courtyard? He said to him: Not in the Israelite Courtyard or the Women's Courtyard but in the Priests' Courtyard. And they treated his blood like neither ibex's or gazelle's, as regarding both ibex blood and gazelle blood it is written (Leviticus 17:13) "He shall pour out its blood and cover it with earth," but in spite of this it is written, (Ezekiel 24:7) "For the blood she shed is still in her; She set it upon a bare rock; She did not pour it out on the ground To cover it with earth." Another interpretation: (Ezekiel 24:9) "Assuredly, thus said the Lord GOD: Woe to the city of blood..." Woe to those who come to the city, who spill blood in it. (Ezekiel 24:9) I in turn will make a great blaze." - I will increase misfortune. (Ezekiel 24:10) "Pile on the logs..." - these are the legions - "...kindle the fire..." - these are the kings - "...cook the meat through..." - this is the public - ..."and stew it completely..." - Rabbi Yehoshua and Rabbi Nechemiah, quoting Rabbi Acha, say: Since all of Israel would say, 'Nevuchadnetzar has gathered all the money in the world, so why would he want our money?' The Holy Blessed one said: I swear by your lives that I will make your money as valuable to him as the spice on a banquet table. (Ezekiel 24:10) "...and let the bones be charred." We find that when Israel was being exiled, their bodies were as volatile as that spice. (Ezekiel 24:10) "Let it stand empty on the coals..." Rabbi Elazar said: If "broken" had been said, there would be no way to fix this world. But since it says "empty" - all empty containers could ultimately be filled. And why so extreme? (Ezekiel 24:10) "So it becomes so hot that the copper glows, it shall melt away..." Once they sinned, they were exiled. And once they were exiled. Yirmiyah began to lament over them, (Lamentations 1:1) "Alas! Lonely sits..."

(23) end of Petihta 24 ...At that moment, Rachel our Matriarch jumped forward before the Holy One Blessed be He and said…………Master of the Universe! it is known before You that Your servant Yacov’s love for me knew no bounds, and he worked for my father for seven years for me. When those seven years were completed and the time came for my marriage to my husband, my father advised exchanging me with my sister. This was exceedingly difficult for me, when I learned of this counsel. I informed Yacov, and I gave him a sign so that he could distinguish between me and my sister, so that my father would not be able to exchange me. After that I consoled myself, I suffered [to overcome] my desire and had compassion for my sister that she not suffer disgrace, and I gave her all the signs that I had given to my husband, so that he would think that she was Rachel…... I acted kindly with her, I was not jealous of her, and I did not cause her to be shamed and disgraced. What am I, flesh and blood, dust and ashes, that I was not jealous of my rival wife, and that I did not allow her to be shamed and disgraced, but You, Merciful Living and Eternal King, why were You jealous of idolatry that is of no import, and exiled my children who were slain by the sword, and allowed their enemies to do with them as they pleased?” Gd’s mercy was immediately revealed, and He said: “For your sake, Rachel, I shall return Israel to their place—for there is a reward for your labour […]. And there is hope for your future—declares the Lord: Your children shall return to their country”

(24) . . . Another Interpretation: (Isaiah 22:12) "My Lord GOD of Hosts summoned on that day to weeping and lamenting etc." When The Holy One blessed is He sought to destroy the temple, he said, 'As long as I am inside [the temple] the nations of the world cannot touch it, so I will hide my eyes from it, and I will swear that I will not connect to it until the end time, and the enemies will come and destroy it.' Immediately The Holy One blessed is He swore with his right hand and withdrew it behind his back, as it is written (Lamentations 2:3) "He has withdrawn his right hand in the presence of the foe." In that moment the enemies entered the [Temple] hall and burned it. When it had burned, The Holy One blessed is He said, 'I no longer have a dwelling on the Earth. I will lift my presence from it and I will return to my original home. As it is written (Hosea 5:15) "And I will return to My abode - Till they realize their guilt and beg my favor" In that moment The Holy One blessed is He was crying and saying, 'Woe is to me what have I done. My presence served below for Israel's sake, and now that they have sinned I have returned to my original place, I never intended to be a laughing stock to the nations and a joke to the people.' In that moment Metatron came and fell on his face and said, 'Master of the world I should cry instead of you.' [G-d] said to him, 'If you do not allow me to cry now, I will retreat to a place that you cannot enter, and I will cry [there].' As it says, (Jeremiah 13:17) "For if you do not give heed, My inmost self must weep because of your arrogance." The Holy One blessed is He said to the ministering angels , 'Let us go, you and I, and we will see what the enemies did to my house.' Immediately The Holy One blessed is went with the ministering angles and Jeremiah ahead. When The Holy One blessed is He saw the Temple, he said with confidence, 'This is My house and this is My resting place, into which enemies came and did as they wished.' In that moment The Holy One blessed is He was crying and saying, 'Woe is to me for my house. My children, where are you? My priests, where are you? My beloved, where are you? What can I do for you!? I warned you, but you did not repent.' The Holy One blessed is He said to Jeremiah, 'Today I am like a man who had one son. He made a [wedding?] canopy [for the son], and [the son] died under his canopy. There is no pain for me nor for my son. (G-d is numbed by the tragedy) [Jeremiah] go and call Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses out from their graves, since they know how to cry.' [Jeremiah] said, 'Master of the world I do not know where Moses is buried.' The Holy One blessed is He said to him, "Stand on the bank of the Jordan, and raise your voice and call out, 'Son of Amram Son of Amram, stand and gaze upon your sheep whom the enemies swallowed.'" Immediately Jeremiah went to the Machpelah cave and said to the Fathers of yore, 'Stand, for the time has arrived when you are summoned before The Holy One blessed is He.' They said to [Jeremiah], 'Why?' [Jeremiah] said to them, 'I do not know.' Since he feared they would say, 'In your days this happened to our children.' (i.e. it was Jeremiah's fault) Jeremiah set them down, and he stood on the bank of the Jordan and called out, 'Son of Amram Son of Amram, Stand up. The time has arrived that you are summoned before The Holy One blessed is He.' [Moses] said to him, 'What is special about today, that I am being summoned before The Holy One blessed is He.' Jeremiah said to him, 'I do not know.' Moses set him [Jeremiah?] down and went to the ministering angels, since he knew them from the giving of the Torah. [Moses] said to them, 'Ministers of the lofty ones, do you know anything about why I am summoned before The Holy One blessed is He.' They said to him, 'Son of Amram, don't you know that the Temple was destroyed and Israel was exiled.' [Moses] cried and wept until he reached the Fathers of yore. Immediately they too tore their garments and cried and wept until [they reached] the Temple gates. When The Holy One blessed is He saw them, immediately The LORD God of hosts summoned on that day to weeping and lamenting, to tonsuring and girding with sackcloth. (Isaiah 22:12) If this was not written in scripture it would be impossible to say. They went weeping from gate to gate like a man whose deceased is placed before him. The Holy One blessed is He lamented and said, 'Woe is to the king who succeeded in his youth, but failed in his old age.' Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachman said, when the Temple was destroyed, Abraham came before The Holy One blessed is He weeping, tearing out his beard and his hair, slapping himself in the face, and tearing his clothes and ashes on his head. He was walking through the Temple lamenting and crying. He said before The Holy One blessed is He, 'Why did I make myself different from every nation and language to be brought to such shame and embarrassment as this.' When the ministering angels saw him, they too composed a lamentation line by line saying (Isaiah 33:8) "Highways are desolate wayfarers have ceased etc." What does “Highways are desolate” mean? the ministering angels said before The Holy One blessed is He, ‘The highways that you made for Jerusalem so that the travelers would not be delayed. How are they desolate now? 'Wayfarers have ceased' The ministering angels said before The Holy One Blessed is He, 'The roads that Israel would travel on for the festivals, How have they ceased [travel]?' 'A covenant has been renounced' The ministering angels said before The Holy One Blessed is He, 'The covenant of Abraham their father has been renounced, through his hand the world was settled, and through his hand the world recognized that you are G-d most high creator of heaven and earth.' 'He rejected cities.' The ministering angels said before The Holy One Blessed is He, 'You have rejected Jerusalem and Zion after you chose them.’ As it is written (Jeremiah 14:19) ”Have You, then, rejected Judah? Have you spurned Zion? etc.” (Isaiah 33:8) ’He did not consider man.’ The ministering angels said before The Holy One blessed is He, ‘Even according to the generation of man that were the most prominent pagans, you have not evaluated Israel.’ In that moment The Holy One blessed is He connected to the ministering angels, he said to them, ‘Why are you composing a lamentation like this line by line?’ They said before him, ‘Master of the world, because of Abraham your beloved who came to your house and lamented and wept because you did not watch over it.’ [G-d] said to them, ‘From the day that my beloved passed before me into his world (i.e. when he died), he did not come to my house, and now (Jeremiah 11:15) ”Why should my beloved be in My house,”’ Abraham said before The Holy One blessed is He, ‘Master of the world why have you exiled my children and passed them into the hands of the nations who have killed them with all manner of strange deaths? And you destroyed the Temple; the place where I offered my son as a burnt offering before you.’ The Holy One blessed is He said to Abraham, ‘Your children have sinned and transgressed the entire Torah and the 22 letters within it.’ As it is written (Daniel 9:11), ”All Israel has violated your teaching.” Abraham said before The Holy One blessed is he, ‘Who among them has testified against Israel that they transgressed your Torah?’ [G-d] said to him, ‘The Torah will come and testify against Israel.’ Immediately the Torah came to testify against them. Abraham said to her (the Torah), ‘My daughter (term of endearment), you are coming to testify against Israel, who transgressed all your commandments, and you have no shame in front of me. Remember the day that The Holy One blessed is He passed you to every nation and language, and no one desired to accept you until my children came to Mount Sinai and accepted and honored you. And now you are coming to testify against them on their day of distress.’ When the Torah heard this, she stood to the side and did not testify against them. The Holy One blessed is He said to Abraham the 22 letters will come to testify against Israel. Immediately the 22 letters came. Alef came to testify against Israel that they transgressed the Torah. Abraham said to her, ‘Alef you are the head of all the letters, and you came to testify against Israel on the day of their distress. Remember the day that The Holy One blessed is He was revealed on Mount Sinai, and he began with you (Exodus 20:2) ”I The LORD am you G-d”. No nation or language accepted you except my children, and you are coming to testify against my children?’ Immediately Alef stood to the side, and did not testify against them. Bet came to testify against Israel. Abraham said to her, ‘My daughter, you are coming to testify against my children, who are quick to follow the five books of the Torah of which you are the head.’ As it is written (Genesis 1:1) ”When G-d began to create.” Immediately Bet stood to the side, and did not testify. Gimel came to testify against Israel. Abraham said to her, ‘Gimel you are coming to testify against my children, who have transgressed the Torah. There is no nation that fulfills the commandment of Tzitzit, of which you are placed at its head, except my children.’ As it is written (Deuteronomy 22:12) ”You shall make tassels.” Immediately Gimel stood to the side, and did not testify. When all the letters saw that Abraham had silenced them, they were ashamed and they stood amongst themselves and did not testify against Israel. Immediately Abraham opened up before The Holy One blessed is He and said, ‘Master of the world, at one hundred years [of age] you gave me a son, and when he became an adult and was a lad of thirty seven years, you said to me, “bring him as a burnt offering before me.” I acted upon him with cruelty and I did not pity him, rather I myself forced him. [Yet] you will not remember this for me, and you will not not have mercy upon my children!’ Isaac opened up and said, ‘Master of the world, when Dad told me (Genesis 22:8) ”G-d will see to the sheep for His burnt offering, my son.” I did not hesitate on his words, and I bound myself with the will of my heart upon the altar and I stretched my neck under the knife. [Yet] you will not remember this for me and you will not have mercy for my children.’ Jacob opened up and said, ‘Master of the world, did I not stand in Laban’s house for twenty years, and when I left his house Esau the wicked attacked me and sought to kill my children, so I gave myself up to die for them. And now they have been given to their enemies like sheep to the slaughter, after I raised them like the chicks of chickens. I was burdened with the pain of raising children, for most of my days I was in great pain because of them. And yet you will not remember this for me to have mercy for my children.’ Moses opened and said, ‘Master of the world was I not the faithful shepherd of Israel for forty years; I ran in front of them like a horse in the desert. But when the time came to enter the land, you decreed upon me that my bones would fall in the desert. And now that [Israel] was exiled, you sent for me to lament and cry for them. This is like the proverb that people say, “What’s good for my lord is not good for me, and what’s bad for him is bad for me.” In that moment Moses said to Jeremiah, ‘Go lead me that I should go and bring [Israel] and show who laid his hand upon them.’ Jeremiah said to him, ‘It is impossible to go on the road because of the corpses.’ [Moses] said to him, ‘Despite that, [go].’ Immediately Moses went and Jeremiah led him. When they reached the rivers of Babylon, they saw Moses and they said to each other, ‘The son of Amram has come from his grave to redeem us from our oppressors.’ A divine whisper was sent out and said, ‘It is a decree from my presence’. Immediately Moses said to them, ‘My children it is impossible to return you, since a decree has already been made, but The Place (refers to G-d) will return you soon and place you [back home]. In that moment they raised their voices with a great wail until their cry reached up high, as it is written (Psalms 137:1) ”By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat, sat and wept.” When Moses came to the fathers of yore, they said to him, ‘What have the enemies done with our children?’ [Moses] said to them, ‘Some they killed, some they forced their hands behind their backs, some are tied in iron chains, some are stripped naked, some died on the road and their corpses [were left] for the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the land, some were thrown out in the sun hungry and thirsty.’ Immediately they all opened up and wept and lamented with lamentations: Woe on what has reached our children. How have you become like orphans without a father? How can you sleep at noon and in the summer without clothing and without a covering? How do you walk on mountains and sharp rocks barefoot and without shoes? How do you bear mundane loads? How are your hands tied behind your backs? How have you not swallowed the spit in your mouths? Moses opened up and said: Curse the Sun! Why didn’t you darken when the enemy entered the Temple? The Sun responded, On your life Moses the faithful shepherd. How could I have become dark? They did not allow me and they were not lax with me. They held me with sixty poles of fire, and they told me, Go and shine your light! Moses opened up again and said: Woe for you glow O’ Temple! How did it darken? Woe for its time has come to be destroyed, and the Hall to be burned. And the school children are murdered. And their fathers go in captivity, to exile, or by the sword. Moses opened up again and said: Captors, if on your lives you are murderers. Do not kill in a cruel way. Do make a complete destruction. Do not kill a son on the face of his father. Do not kill a daughter on the face of her mother. The time is coming when The Lord in heaven calculates your tally. But the wicked Chaldeans do not act this way. Rather they sit the son in his mother’s lap, and they say to his father, Get up! Slaughter him! His mother weeps and leaves tears on [her son], and his father extends his [son’s] neck. [Moses] said further before him, ‘Master of the world you wrote in your Torah (Leviticus 22:28) ”However, no animal from the herd or from the flock shall be slaughtered on the same day with its young.” Have they not already killed so many sons with their mothers, and you are silent.’ In that moment Rachel our mother jumped before The Holy One blessed is He and said, ‘Master of the world it is revealed before you that Jacob your servant loved me the most. He worked for my father for me for seven years, and when those seven years were completed and the time of my marriage to my husband arrived, my father thought to switch me with my sister. It was very hard for me because I had a solution. I informed my husband and I gave him a signal so that he could recognize me over my sister so that my father could not switch me. After that I regretted it, so I controlled my desire and I had mercy on my sister that she should not be embarrassed. That evening they switched me for my sister, and I gave my sister all the signals that I gave my husband, so that he would think that she was Rachel. Not only that, I went underneath the bed, that he was sleeping on with my sister, and when he would speak to her, she remained quiet, I answered him for everything so that he would not recognize the voice of my sister. I performed a kindness for her, and I was not jealous and I did not embarrass her. What am I, flesh, blood, dirt, and ashes, [but] I was not jealous of my sister-wife nor did I embarrass or shame her. And you living existing King, merciful one, why were you jealous of idol worship that contains nothing real? And yet you exiled my children and they were killed at the sword and the enemies did with them as they pleased. Immediately the mercy of The Holy One blessed is He rolled forth and he said, ‘Because of you Rachel, I am returning Israel to their place.’ As it is written (Jeremiah 31:15) ”Thus said the LORD: A cry is heard on high - Wailing, bitter weeping- Rachel weeping for her children. She refuses to be comforted for her children, who are gone.” And it is written (Jeremiah 31:16) ”Thus said the LORD: Retrain your voice from weeping, your eyes from shedding tears; For there is a reward for your labor etc.” And it is written (Jeremiah 31:17) ”And there is hope for your future -declares the LORD: Your children shall return to their country.”

(26) ...Rabbi Abahu opens “And they, to a person, transgressed the covenant” (Hosea 6:7). This is the first person, said the Kadosh Baruch Hu, the first person that I put into Gan Eden, and I commanded them and they transgressed my commands and I judged them according to exile and banishment, and I mourned for them, [saying] “How!?”I put them in Gan Eden, as it says “Hashem Elohim took the person and left them in Gan Eden” (Breishit 2:15), and commanded them, as it says “Hashem God commanded the person, saying….” (Breishit 2:16). And the person transgressed my commandments, as it says “And what about the tree that I commanded you about [did you eat from it?]...” (Breishit 3:11), and I judged them according to exile, as it says “[God] drove the person out…” (Breishit 3:24), and I judged the person according to banishment, as it says “Hashem banished them from Gan Eden” (Breishit 3:23), and I mourned them, crying “where”, as it says “[God] said to them ‘Where.’” (Breishit 3:9). “איכה” is written. Therefore only his son entered with him to the land of Israel, as it says “I brought you to the farmland” (Jeremiah 2:7) and commanded them, as it says “Command the Israelites” (Vayikra 24:2) and they transgressed my commandments, as it says “All of the Israelites have transgressed Your Torah” (Daniel 9:11), and I judged them according to exile, as it says “From my house, I will divorce them” (Hosea 9:15), and I judged them according to banishment, as it says “Banish them from my presence and let them go out” (Jeremiah 15:1), and I mourned them “How it dwells alone” (Lamentations 1:1).

(34) end of Petihta 24 ...At that moment, Rachel our Matriarch jumped forward before the Holy One Blessed be He and said…………Master of the Universe! it is known before You that Your servant Yacov’s love for me knew no bounds, and he worked for my father for seven years for me. When those seven years were completed and the time came for my marriage to my husband, my father advised exchanging me with my sister. This was exceedingly difficult for me, when I learned of this counsel. I informed Yacov, and I gave him a sign so that he could distinguish between me and my sister, so that my father would not be able to exchange me. After that I consoled myself, I suffered [to overcome] my desire and had compassion for my sister that she not suffer disgrace, and I gave her all the signs that I had given to my husband, so that he would think that she was Rachel…... I acted kindly with her, I was not jealous of her, and I did not cause her to be shamed and disgraced. What am I, flesh and blood, dust and ashes, that I was not jealous of my rival wife, and that I did not allow her to be shamed and disgraced, but You, Merciful Living and Eternal King, why were You jealous of idolatry that is of no import, and exiled my children who were slain by the sword, and allowed their enemies to do with them as they pleased?” Gd’s mercy was immediately revealed, and He said: “For your sake, Rachel, I shall return Israel to their place—for there is a reward for your labour […]. And there is hope for your future—declares the Lord: Your children shall return to their country”