Persia

Ulla says: Jerusalem is redeemed only by means of righteousness, as it is stated: “Zion shall be redeemed with justice and those who return to it with righteousness” (Isaiah 1:27). Rav Pappa says: If the arrogant will cease to exist, the Persian sorcerers will cease to exist as well. If the deceitful judges will cease to exist, the royal officers [gazirpatei] and taskmasters will cease to exist. Rav Pappa elaborates: If the arrogant will cease, the Persian sorcerers will cease, as it is written: “And I will purge away your dross [sigayikh] as with lye, and I will remove all your alloy [bedilayikh].” When the arrogant [sigim] are purged, the sorcerers, who are separated [muvdalim] from the fear of God, will also cease. And if the deceitful judges cease to exist, the royal officers and taskmasters will cease to exist, as it is written: “The Lord has removed your judgments; cast out your enemy” (Zephaniah 3:15).

The Roman Empire leaves, and the Persian Empire enters after it. What is the reason that the Persian Empire enters second? The reason is that after the Roman Empire it is the next most important. And from where do we derive this? As it is written in Daniel’s vision: “And behold another beast, a second, like a bear” (Daniel 7:5). And Rav Yosef teaches: These are the Persians, who are compared to a bear, as they eat and drink copious amounts as does a bear, and they are fleshy like a bear, and they grow their hair long as does a bear, and they never rest, like a bear, which is constantly on the move from one place to another.

Furthermore, the Sages taught: Members of three groups hate other members of the same group: Dogs, roosters, and the Persian priests. And some say: Also prostitutes. And some say: Also Torah scholars in Babylonia.

THIS MONTH SHALL BE UNTO YOU THE BEGINNING OF MONTHS. This is the first commandment which the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded Israel through Moses. Therefore it says here [that the Eternal spoke unto Moses and Aaron] in the land of Egypt, for the rest of the commandments of the Torah were given to him on Mount Sinai. It may be that the intent of the expression, in the land of Egypt, is to exclude the city of Egypt, just as our Rabbis have said: “In the land of Egypt. This means outside the city.”Now Scripture should have first said, Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying:This month shall be unto you the beginning of months, and so on to the end of the chapter. [Why then is the verse, Speak ye, etc., mentioned after the verse, This month, etc.?] It is because Moses and Aaron — [as mentioned in Verse 1: And the Eternal spoke unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying: This month, etc.] — are in the place of Israel. Saying it to them is equivalent to saying it to Israel in all their generations. In the following verse, however, He repeats by saying, Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, in order to command them something which is not binding for all time, namely, the buying of the paschal offering in Egypt on the tenth day of Nisan.According to the Midrashic interpretation, lachem (unto you) [in the verse, This month shall be unto you], means that “the Sanctification of the New Moon” is to be performed only by a Court of experts [as Moses and Aaron were]. And this is the reason it does not say at the beginning [of Verse 2], Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, since “the Sanctification of the New Moon” can be performed only by Moses and Aaron and their like.Now the purport of the expression, This month shall be unto you the beginning of months, is that Israel is to count this as the first of the months, and from it they are to count all months — second, third, etc., until a year of twelve months is completed — in order that there be through this enumeration a remembrance of the great miracle, [i.e., the exodus from Egypt, which occurred in the first month]. Whenever we will mention the months, the miracle will be remembered. It is for this reason that the months have no individual names in the Torah. Instead, Scripture says: In the third month;And it came to pass in the second year, in the second month … that the cloud was taken up from over the Tabernacle of the Testimony;And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, etc., and so in all cases. Just as in counting the weekdays we always remember the Sabbath-day since the weekdays have no specific name of their own, but instead are called “one day in the Sabbath,” “the second day in the Sabbath,” as I will explain, so we remember the exodus from Egypt in our counting “the first month,” “the second month,” “the third month,” etc., to our redemption.This order of the counting of the months is not in regard to the years, for the beginning of our years is from Tishri, [the seventh month], as it is written, And the feast of ingathering at the turn of the year, and it is further written, And the feast of ingathering, at the end of the year. If so, when we call the month of Nisan the first of the months and Tishri the seventh, the meaning thereof is “the first [month] to the redemption” and “the seventh month” thereto. This then is the intent of the expression, it shall be the first month to you, meaning that it is not the first in regard to the year but it is the first “to you,” i.e., that it be called “the first” for the purpose of remembering our redemption.Our Rabbis have already mentioned this matter when saying, “The names of the months came up with us from Babylon,” since at first we had no names for the months. The reason for this [adoption of the names of the months when our ancestors returned from Babylon to build the Second Temple], was that at first their reckoning was a memorial to the exodus from Egypt, but when we came up from Babylon, and the words of Scripture were fulfilled — And it shall no more be said: As the Eternal liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt, but: As the Eternal liveth that brought up and that led the children of Israel from the land of the north — from then on we began to call the months by the names they were called in the land of Babylon. We are thus reminded that there we stayed [during our exile] and from there, blessed G-d brought us up [to our Land]. These names — Nisan, Iyar, and the others — are Persian names and are to be found only in the books of the prophets of the Babylonian era and in the Scroll of Esther. It is for this reason that Scripture says, In the first month, which is the month of Nisan, just as it says, they cast ‘pur,’ that is, the lot. To this day, people of Persia and Media use these names of the months — Nisan, Tishri, and the others — as we do. Thus through the names of the months we remember our second redemption even as we had done until then with regard to the first one.

“The end of a matter is better than its beginning; one of patient spirit is better than one of proud spirit” (Ecclesiastes 7:8).“The end of a matter is better than its beginning.” Rabbi Meir was sitting and expounding in the study hall of Tiberias, and his teacher, Elisha, was passing in the marketplace, riding on a horse on Shabbat. They said to Rabbi Meir: ‘Your teacher Elisha is coming and passing in the marketplace on Shabbat.’ He emerged to him. [Elisha] said to him: ‘In what were you engaged?’ [Rabbi Meir] said to him: ‘“The Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning”’ (Job 42:12). he [continued and] said to him: ‘“Blessed” [indicates] that He doubled his possessions for him.’ [Elisha] said to him: ‘Akiva, your teacher, did not say so, but rather “the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning,” thanks to the repentance and good deeds that he had to his credit from his beginning.’[Elisha] said to [Rabbi Meir]: ‘What else did you say?’ [Rabbi Meir answered:] “The end of a matter is better than its beginning.” [Elisha] said to him: ‘What did you say in its regard?’ [Rabbi Meir] said to him: ‘You have a person who purchases merchandise in his youth and he loses [money on it], and [he engages in commerce] in his old age and he makes a profit. Alternatively, “the end of a matter is better than its beginning” – you have a person who begets children in his youth and they die, [and he begets children] in his old age, and they endure. Alternatively, “the end of a matter is better than its beginning” – you have a person who performs wicked deeds in his youth, and in his old age, performs good deeds. Alternatively, “the end of a matter is better than its beginning” – you have a person who studies Torah in his youth and forgets it, and in his old age he returns to it; that is what is written: “the end of a matter is better than its beginning.”’ [Elisha] said to him: ‘Rabbi Akiva, your teacher, did not say so; rather [he explained the verse to mean:] “The end of a matter” is good when it is good “from its beginning.”‘Likewise, there was an incident: Avuya, my father, was one of the prominent leaders of the generation. When he came to circumcise me, he invited all the prominent residents of Jerusalem and all the prominent leaders of the generation, and invited Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua with them. When they had eaten and drunk, some began to sing songs and others recited alphabetical poems. Rabbi Eliezer said to Rabbi Yehoshua: ‘These are engaging in their [areas of interest], but we are not engaging in ours.’ They began with the Torah, from the Torah to the Prophets, and from the Prophets to the Writings, and the matters were as joyous as when they were given at Sinai, and the fire was burning around them. In their original giving at Sinai, were they not given in fire, as it is stated: “The mountain was ablaze with fire to the heart of the heavens” (Deuteronomy 4:11). [Avuya] said: ‘Since the power of the Torah is so great, this son, if he endures, I will dedicate him to the Torah.’ Because his intention was not for the sake of Heaven, my Torah did not endure in me.’[Elisha said to Rabbi Meir:] ‘And what else did you say [in your lecture]?’ [Rabbi Meir answered:] ‘“It cannot be valued like gold and glass”’ (Job 28:17). [Elisha asked:] ‘What did you say in its regard?’ [Rabbi Meir] said to him: ‘These are matters of Torah that are as difficult to acquire as gold and glass.’ [Elisha] said to him: ‘Akiva, your teacher, did not say so; rather, just as vessels of gold and glass, if they break they can be repaired, so too, a Torah scholar, if he lost his learning, he can return to it.[Elisha] said to him: ‘Return and enter [the city].’ [Rabbi Meir] said to him: ‘Why?’ [Elisha said:] ‘The Shabbat boundary ends here.’ [Rabbi Meir] said to him: ‘How do you know?’ [Elisha] said to him: ‘From the [number of] steps my horse [has taken, I can tell] that it has already gone two thousand cubits.’ [Rabbi Meir] said to him: ‘You have all this wisdom and you do not repent?’ [Elisha] said to him: ‘I do not have the strength.’ [Rabbi Meir] said to him: ‘Why?’ [Elisha] said to him: ‘I was riding a horse and was sauntering behind the Temple on Yom Kippur that coincided with Shabbat. I heard a Divine Voice crying out and saying: “Return wayward children” (Jeremiah 3:22), “return to Me and I will return to you” (Malachi 3:7), except for Elisha ben Avuya, who was aware of My might and rebelled against Me.’From where did he have this? He saw a certain person who climbed to the top of a palm tree on Shabbat. He took the mother bird with the fledglings and climbed down unharmed. After Shabbat, he saw a certain person who climbed to the top of a palm tree, took the fledglings, and sent the mother away. He climbed down and a snake bit him and he died. [Elisha] said: ‘It is written: “Send away the mother bird and take the fledglings for yourself so it will be good for you and you will prolong your days” (Deuteronomy 22:7). Where is the good of this one? Where are the prolonged days of this one?’ But he did not know that Rabbi Akiva had expounded it: “So it will be good for you,” in the world that is entirely good; “and you will prolong your days,” in the world that is eternally long [the World to Come].And some say it was because he saw the tongue of Rabbi Yehuda the baker in the mouth of a dog. He said: ‘If for the tongue that toiled in Torah throughout his life it is so, for the tongue that does not know and does not toil in Torah, all the more so. He said: If so, there is no reward given to the righteous and no revival of the dead.’ And some say it was because when his mother was pregnant with him, she passed by houses of idol worship and smelled, and they gave her some of that kind, and she ate it, and it was churning in her stomach like the venom of a snake.Sometime later, Elisha ben Avuya fell ill. They came and said to Rabbi Meir: ‘Elisha is ill.’ [Rabbi Meir] went to him and said: ‘Repent.’ [Elisha] said to him: ‘Is [repentance] accepted even in such [circumstances]?’ [Rabbi Meir] said to him: ‘But is it not written: “You turn man to contrition [daka] [and say: Return, son of man]” (Psalms 90:3) – until his soul is crushed?’ At that moment, Elisha ben Avuya wept, and he died. Rabbi Meir was glad and said: ‘It appears that my teacher departed in the midst of repentance.’When they buried him, fire came to burn his grave. They came and said to Rabbi Meir: ‘The grave of your teacher is burning.’ He emerged and spread his garment over it. [Rabbi Meir] said to [Elisha]: ‘“Stay tonight” (Ruth 3:13), in this world that is entirely night. “It will be in the morning, if he will redeem you, good, he will redeem” (Ruth 3:13). What is: “It will be in the morning”? It is in the world that is totally good. “If he will redeem you, good, [he will redeem]” – this is the Holy One blessed be He, as it is stated: “The Lord is good to all” (Psalms 145:9). “But if he will be unwilling to redeem you, I will redeem you, as the Lord lives; lie until the morning”’ (Ruth 3:13). The fire subsided.They said to [Rabbi Meir]: ‘Rabbi, in the World to Come, if they say to you, which do you request, your father or your teacher, what would you say?’ He said to them: ‘First [my] father and then my teacher.’ They said to him: ‘Will they listen to you?’ He said to them: ‘Is it not a mishna: One may rescue the casing of a Torah scroll with the Torah scroll, and the casing of phylacteries with the phylacteries (Shabbat 16:1)? They will save Elisha due to the merit of his Torah.’Ultimately, his daughters came and demanded charity from Rabbeinu. He said: ‘“Let no one extend kindness to him; and let no one be gracious to his orphans”’ (Psalms 109:12). They said: ‘Rabbi, do not look at his actions, look at his Torah.’ At that moment, Rabbi wept and decreed that they should be supported. He said: ‘If one whose Torah was not for the sake of Heaven produced such, one whose Torah is for the sake of Heaven, all the more so.’“One of patient spirit is better than one of proud spirit.” A certain Persian came to Rav [and] said to him: ‘Teach me Torah.’ [Rav] said to him: ‘Say alef.’ He said to [Rav]: ‘Who says that it is alef? Let them say that it is not so.’ ‘Say bet.’ He said to [Rav]: ‘Who says that it is bet? Let them say that it is not so.’ Rav scolded him and had him removed, with reprimand. He went to Shmuel [and] said to him: ‘Teach me Torah.’ [Shmuel] said to him: ‘Say alef.’ He said to [Shmuel]: ‘Who says that it is alef?’ ‘Say bet.’ He said to [Shmuel]: ‘Who says that it is bet?’ [Shmuel] pulled him by his ear. He said: ‘My ear, my ear!’ Shmuel said to him: ‘Who says that it is your ear?’ He said to [Shmuel]: ‘Everyone knows that it is my ear.’ [Shmuel] said to him: ‘Here, too, everyone knows that this is alef and this is bet.’ The Persian was silenced, and he accepted it upon himself. That is, “one of patient spirit is better than one of proud spirit.” The patience that Shmuel extended the Persian is better than the exactitude with which Rav acted in his regard. Had he not done so, the Persian would have returned to his corruption. He read in [Shmuel’s] regard: “One of patient spirit is better.”Moreover, Aquila the proselyte asked Rabbi Eliezer, he said to him: ‘The love with which the Holy One blessed be He loves the proselyte is with only bread and garment, as it is stated: “He loves the proselyte, giving him bread and a garment” (Deuteronomy 10:18). [Yet] I have so many peacocks and so many pheasants that even my servants pay no attention to them.’ He said to him: ‘Is it insignificant in your eyes what our patriarch Jacob requested initially, as it is stated: “And He will give me bread to eat and a garment to wear” (Genesis 28:20)? Is that an insignificant matter?’[Aquila] came before Rabbi Yehoshua and asked him this. [Rabbi Yehoshua] said to him: ‘A proselyte who converts for the sake of Heaven is privileged, and his daughters may marry into the priesthood. “Bread,” this is the showbread; “garment,” these are the priestly vestments.’ He drew him near with his words. His disciples said to him: ‘Is the matter for which the elder entreated insignificant in your eyes, as it is stated: “And He will give me bread”? Why, then, do you dispatch him with a trifling matter?’ He began to placate him with his words: ‘“Bread,” this is Torah, as it is stated: “Come partake of my bread” (Proverbs 9:5); “garment,” this is glory, as it is stated: “Through me kings reign” (Proverbs 8:15).’ That is, “one of patient spirit is better than one of proud spirit.” The patience that Rabbi Yehoshua extended Aquila the proselyte is better than the exactitude with which Rabbi Eliezer acted in his regard. Had he not done so, he would have returned to his corruption. He read in his regard: “One of patient spirit is better than one of proud spirit.”

לא תתעמר בה means; THOU SHALT NOT USE HER AS A SLAVE. In the Persian language slavery and servitude is termed עימראה. I learned this from the work of R. Moses the Preacher.

The first part of that verse stated: “And behold a second beast, similar to a bear” (Daniel 7:5). Rav Yosef taught: These are Persians, who eat and drink copious amounts like a bear, and are corpulent like a bear, and grow hair like a bear, and have no rest like a bear, which is constantly on the move from one place to another. When Rabbi Ami saw a Persian riding, he would say: This is a bear on the move.

Shmuel said: One who is struck with Persian spears [alunkei] will not live long afterward, as he will certainly die from this wound. In the meantime, they should force-feed him fatty meat that was roasted over coals, and undiluted wine. If they do this, it is possible that he will live for a little bit longer and have time to instruct his household with regard to what they should do after his death.

Another matter, “He made everything beautiful in its time” – Rabbi Berekhya said that Rabbi Abbahu said in the name of Rabbi Elazar: The schism that was between Reḥavam and Yerovam was fitting to have been between David and Sheva ben Bikhri, but the Holy One blessed be He said: The Temple has not yet been constructed and I am introducing a schism in the kingdom of the House of David? Rather, let the Temple be constructed and then, what will ultimately happen, will happen.Rabbi Binyamin said in the name of Rabbi Levi: “The world, too, He has placed in their heart” (Ecclesiastes 3:11) – He placed in their heart love of the world. Rabbi Yonatan said: He has placed in their heart fear of the angel of death. Neḥemya, son of Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman, said: “And behold it was very good” (Genesis 1:31). “And behold it was...good,” this is man; “and behold it was…good,” this is the good inclination, “very,” this is the evil inclination. Is the evil inclination “very good”? It is to teach you that were it not for the evil inclination, man would not build a house, would not marry a wife, and would not beget children, as Solomon says: “[I saw all toil and all skilled action;] that it is man’s envy of his neighbor” (Ecclesiastes 4:4).Rabbi Berekhya and Rabbi Abbahu said in the name of Rabbi Yoḥanan: “The world, too, He has placed in their heart” – He placed in their heart love of the world, He placed in their heart love of young children. To what is this matter analogous? [It is analogous] to a king who had two sons, one big and one small. The big one cleans and the small one sullies; nevertheless, he loves the small one more than the big one.Rabbi Aḥva son of Rabbi Zeira said: “The world [ha’olam],” the ineffable name was concealed [ho’olam] from them. This is analogous to a king who made a feast [and] invited guests. Once they ate and drank, they said to him: ‘Give us swords and spears and we will play with them.’ He gave them myrtle branches and they struck each other and wounded each other. The king said to them: ‘If, when I gave you myrtle branches, this is what you did, had I given you swords and spears, all the more so.’ So too, the Holy One blessed be He said: ‘If, at a time when I concealed the ineffable name from them, they killed with appellations, had I given and revealed to them the ineffable name, all the more so.’ There was a Persian woman who cursed her son with one element of the ineffable name. Shmuel heard her and said: ‘Go prepare a shroud for him.’Rabbi Ḥanina had knowledge of the ineffable name. When his death approached, he said: ‘Is there a person here to whom I can entrust it?’ They said: ‘Eneini bar Naḥshon is here.’ He sent for him and he came, and his own son entered and hid under the bed. When he was about to transmit it, that child sneezed. His father [Rabbi Ḥanina] said: ‘Go out of here. You are not worthy to hear it, and this one is not worthy to receive it.’One doctor in Tzippori had knowledge of the ineffable name. When his death approached, he said: ‘Is there a person here to whom I can entrust it?’ They said: ‘Pinḥas bar Ḥama is here.’ He sent for him and he came. [The doctor] asked him [a question] and said to him: ‘Have you ever taken anything from a Jew?’ He said to him: ‘I have taken first tithe.’ [The doctor] resolved not to entrust it to him, saying: ‘Perhaps he will demand something from a person and he will not give it to him, and he will become angry with him and kill him.’ It is taught, one does not entrust the name to just any person, and not to one who has lived half his life, but rather, to one who has lived most of his life. In addition, one entrusts it only standing, and one entrusts it only in a place of purity, and near water. Initially, they would entrust it to any person. When the sinners became more prevalent, they instituted that it should be entrusted only to the modest among the priests, and the modest among the priests would obscure it in the melody of the priests.Rabbi Tarfon said: One time I ascended to the platform with Samson, my mother’s brother, and I cocked my ear in the direction of the High Priest, but he obscured it in the melody of the priests. And Rabbi Tarfon said: One time I heard it and I fell on my face. Those nearby, when they hear it, fall on their faces and say: “Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever.” These and those would not move from there until the time when it was forgotten [shenitalem] from them, as it is stated: “This is My name forever [le’olam]” (Exodus 3:15), le’elem is written. To what purpose? “But so that man will not discover the work that God has performed from beginning to end” (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

The Gemara comments: And this coral is so precious that it is exchanged for twice its weight in silver. The Gemara further notes: There are three ports in those places. Two belong to the Romans [Armai], and one belongs to the Persians. In the one belonging to the Romans, they raise up coral, whereas in the one belonging to the Persians, they raise up pearls. And the Persian ports are called royal ports.

Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi said to Levi: Show me Persians, i.e., describe a typical Persian to me. Levi said to him: They are similar to the legions of the house of David. Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi said: Show me Ḥabbarin, Persian priests. Levi said to him: They are similar to angels of destruction. Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi said: Show me Ishmaelites. Levi said to him: They are similar to demons of an outhouse. Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi said: Show me Torah scholars of Babylonia. Levi said to him: They are similar to ministering angels.

The Rabbis interpreted the verse regarding the returning exiles. “We have a little sister” (Song of Songs 8:8) – this is [a reference to] the returning exiles. “Little” – because they were small in number. “And she has no breasts” (Song of Songs 8:8) – these are the five matters that were lacking in the latter Temple relative to the first, and these are: Heavenly fire, anointing oil, the Ark, the Divine Spirit, and the Urim and the Tummim. That is what is written: “I will accept it and be honored [ve’ekaveda]” (Hagai 1:8); ve’ekaveda is written without a heh. “What shall we do for our sister?” (Song of Songs 8:8) – what shall we do on the day that it was decreed: Whoever has crossed the Euphrates has crossed, and whoever has not crossed shall not cross. “I am a wall” – had Israel ascended from Babylon like a wall, the Temple would not then have been destroyed a second time.Rabbi Ze’eira went out to the marketplace to purchase something. He said to the one who was weighing: ‘Weigh properly.’ He said to him: ‘Will you not go away from us, you Babylonian, whose ancestors caused the destruction?’ At that moment Rabbi Ze’eira said: Are my ancestors not like the ancestors of these? He went to the meeting place [of the Sages] and heard the voice of Rabbi Shila, who sat and expounded: Had Israel ascended from the exile like a wall, the Temple would not have been destroyed a second time. [Rabbi Ze’eira] said: That ignoramus taught me well.“And if she is a door, we will affix [natzur] upon her a cedar panel” – just as a drawing [tzura], even when it is blurred, its mark is noticeable, so too, even though the Temple was destroyed, Israel did not abrogate its footsteps to their pilgrimages three times a year.“I am a wall” – Rabbi Aivu said: The Holy One blessed be He said: I am destined to become an advocate for Israel among the nations of the world. How is that? This is the Divine voice. That is what is written: “Had the Lord of hosts not left us a remnant” (Isaiah 1:9). It is taught: Once the later prophets, Hagai, Zechariah, and Malachi, died, the Divine Spirit ceased from Israel. Even so, they would avail themselves of the Divine Voice. There was an incident where the Sages gathered to vote in the upper story of Beit Gadya in Jericho. A Divine Voice emerged and said to them: There is among you a man who is worthy of the Divine Spirit, but his generation is not worthy of it. They directed their glance to Hillel the Elder. When he died, they would say in his regard: How humble, how pious, a disciple of Ezra.There was another incident where the Sages of Israel gathered to vote in the vineyard of Yavne. Were they in a vineyard? Rather, this is the Sanhedrin, which is configured in rows and in tiers like the configuration of a vineyard. A Divine Voice emerged and said to them: ‘There is among you a man who is worthy of the Divine Spirit, but his generation is not worthy of it.’ They directed their glance to Shmuel HaKatan. When he died, they would say in his regard: How humble, how pious, a disciple of Hillel the Elder. He also said three matters at the time of his death: Shimon and Yishmael by sword, and the rest of their colleagues to death; and the rest of the people will be plundered; and great troubles are destined to befall the world; and he said it in Aramaic. Regarding Rabbi Yehuda ben Bava, as well, they instituted that they would say in his regard: How humble, how pious, a disciple of Shmuel. But the opportunity was missed, because one does not eulogize those executed by the monarchy. There was an incident where Yoḥanan the High Priest heard a Divine Voice emerging from the Holy of Holies that said: The lads who went to wage war in Antioch emerged victorious. They wrote that day and that hour, and it was so, they had emerged victorious on that same day.There was an incident where Shimon HaTzadik heard a Divine Voice emerging from the Holy of Holies that said: The matter that the enemy said, to destroy the Sanctuary, is void; Geyoslokin was killed, and his decrees were voided. He heard it in Aramaic. Rabbi Ḥonya [said] in the name of Rabbi Reuven: If the king is in the province, they cry out to him and he responds. If the king is not in the province, his image is there; however his image does not do what the king does. Rabbi Yoḥanan and Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman: Rabbi Yoḥanan said: It is written: “The Lord will give you there a trembling [ragaz] heart” (Deuteronomy 28:65). When they ascended, the wrath [rogez] that was given ascended with them. Rabbi Shmuel said: There, there was a trembling heart. Once they ascended, they were cured.Reish Lakish, when he would see them gathering in the marketplace, he would say to them: ‘Scatter yourselves.’ He said to them: ‘When you ascended, you did not consolidate into a wall, and here you are coming to consolidate into a wall?’ When Rabbi Yoḥanan would see them, he would provoke them. He said: If the prophet provoked them, as it is stated: “My God will spurn them because they did not heed Him” (Hosea 9:17), will I not provoke them?Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: If you see benches filled with Babylonians in the Land of Israel, anticipate the footsteps of the messianic king. What is the source? “He spread [paras] a net for my feet” (Lamentations 1:13). Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai taught: If you see a Persian horse tied to a grave in the Land of Israel, anticipate the footsteps of the Messiah. What is the source? “This will be peace: When Assyria will come into our land, and when it will tread in our palaces, we shall raise against it seven shepherds…” (Micah 5:4). These are the seven shepherds: David in the center, Adam, Seth, Methuselah to his right, Abraham, Jacob, and Moses to his left. Where did Isaac go? He went and sat at the entrance to Gehenna to rescue his descendants from the judgment of Gehenna. “And eight princes of men” (Micah 5:4) – these are the eight princes: Yishai, Saul, Samuel, Amos, Zephaniah, Hezekiah, Elijah, and the messianic king.

He explains: If the arrogant will cease, the Persian fire priests will cease, as it is written: “And I will purge away your dross [sigayikh] as with lye, and I will remove all your alloy [bedilayikh].” This teaches that when the conceited and haughty [sigim] are purged, the priests of fire, who are separated [muvdalim] from the fear of God, will also cease.

“From on high He sent fire into my bones, and He crushed them; He spread a net for my feet, He turned me back. He rendered me desolate, suffering all day” (Lamentations 1:13).“From on high He sent fire into my bones.” Rabbi Ami asked Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani, he said to him: ‘Because I heard about you, that you are a master of aggada, what is [the meaning of] that which is written: “For Your righteousness [vetzikatekha], God, reaches on high”?’ (Psalms 71:19). He said to him: ‘Just as those below are required to perform charity [tzedaka] with one another, so those on high are required to perform charity with one another.’Rabbi Yoḥanan said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai: Any place where it is stated: “He said, he said,” it is stated only to be expounded. That is what is written: “He said to the man clothed in linen, and He said: Come to between the galgal[beneath the cherub, and fill your hands with smoldering coals from between the cherubs, and cast them upon the city]” (Ezekiel 10:2). What is “He said,” “He said,” twice? It is that the Holy One blessed be He spoke to the angel, and the angel [then] said to the cherub: ‘Even though the Holy One blessed be He decreed upon me to take the coals, I am not allowed to enter behind your partition. Rather, perform an act of kindness and give me two of your coals so I will not be burned.’ That is what is written: “He carried it and placed it into the cupped hands of the one clothed in linen” (Ezekiel 10:7). What is “he carried it and he placed it”? Rabbi Yitzḥak said: He cooled them and placed them in his hand.Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin [said] in the name of Rabbi Levi: For six years the coals were dimly smoldering in Gabriel’s hand, and he believed that Israel would repent. When they did not repent, he sought to cast them upon them in rage. The Holy One blessed be He summoned him and said to him: ‘Gabriel, Gabriel! Slowly, slowly, for there are among them those who perform charity with one another.’ That is what is written: “On the cherubs the form of a man’s hand was seen beneath their wings” (Ezekiel 10:8).Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said in the name of Rabbi Levi: What holds up the supernal and the earthly? It is the charity that Israel performs with the hand. That is what is written: “For Your righteousness, God, reaches on high” (Psalms 71:19).Similarly, “The man of God approached and said to the king of Israel, and said: So said the Lord: [Because Aram said: The Lord is a God of mountains and not a God of lowlands, I will deliver all this great multitude into your hand, and you will know that I am the Lord]” (I Kings 20:28). What is “and said” twice? It is that in the first statement he said to him: ‘If ben Hadad comes under your control, have no pity on him.’ In the second statement, he said to him: ‘How many traps have I laid, how many signals have I sent, how many conquests did I perform before I subdued him before you, and now you have freed him in peace?’ Therefore, “your life shall be in place of his life, and your people instead of his people” (I Kings 20:42).Similarly, “King Aḥashverosh said and he said to Queen Esther” (Esther 7:5). What is “he said,” “he said,” twice? Rav said in the name of Rabbi Elazar: Before he sensed that she was Jewish, he would speak to her directly. Once he sensed that she was Jewish, King Aḥashverosh spoke to the translator and the translator spoke to Queen Esther.Similarly, “The Lord said to Moses: Speak to the priests, sons of Aaron, and say to them” (Leviticus 21:1). Why do I need these two sayings? It is that in the first saying, He said to him: “He shall not become impure from a corpse among his people”(Leviticus 21:1). In the second, He said to him: ‘If you come upon a corpse that it is a mitzva to bury, impurify yourself for it.’ Since in this world you impurify yourself for a corpse that it is a mitzva to bury, in the future you will not become impure from any corpse, for there will be no death in the future, as it is stated: “He will eliminate death forever” (Isaiah 25:8).Alternatively, “for Your righteousness, God, reaches on high, [for the great deeds You have done]” these are the two luminaries. “God, who is comparable to You” (Psalms 71:19), in that You suppress the attribute of justice. At that moment, the accuser leapt before the Throne of Glory and said before Him: ‘Master of the universe, will this wicked one arrogantly say: I destroyed the house of the Lord and burned His Temple? If it is so, let fire descend from on high and burn it.’ Immediately, what is written: “From on high He sent fire into my bones.” Rabbi Yehoshua said: That is why the prophet rebukes Babylon and says to it: “Take a millstone and grind flour” (Isaiah 47:2). Everyone grinds wheat, yet it says “grind flour”? Rather, Jerusalem said to the daughter of Babylon: Had war not been waged against me from on high, could you have waged war against me? Had fire not been sent against me from on high, could you have overcome me? Rather, you killed a dead lion. You ground already ground flour. You set fire to a burned city. That is why it says: “From on high He sent fire into my bones and He crushed them [vayirdena].” What is “and He crushed them [vayirdena]”? Moved them, just as you say: “He scooped [vayirdehu] it into his hands” (Judges 14:9).Alternatively, vayirdena [means] ruled, just as it says: “He will rule [veyerd] from sea to sea” (Psalms 72:8). Alternatively, vayirdena [means] subjugated, just as it says: “For he subjugated [rodeh] the entire region beyond the River” (I Kings 5:4). Alternatively, vayirdena [means] plowing [radya], as it is taught: Rufus plowed the Sanctuary. Rabbi Beiva of Rangaya said: Vayirdena, he saw [vayar] the attribute of justice [din] harming it.“He spread a net for my feet.” Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: If you see benches filled with Babylonians situated in the Land of Israel, anticipate the footsteps of the Messiah. What is the source? “He spread [paras] a net for my feet.” Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai taught: If you see a Persian horse tied in the Land of Israel, anticipate the footsteps of the Messiah. What is the source? “This will be peace: When Assyria [will come into our land and when it will tread in our palaces, we will raise against it seven shepherds, and eight princes of men]” (Micah 5:4). “He turned me back,” away from the priesthood, away from the kingdom. “He rendered me desolate,” set for destruction; “suffering all day,” [sent] to the gallows.