שממת הארץ בגלות - האמנם?

(31) I will lay your cities in ruin and make your sanctuaries desolate, and I will not savor your pleasing odors. (32) I will make the land desolate, so that your enemies who settle in it shall be appalled by it. (33) And you I will scatter among the nations, and I will unsheath the sword against you. Your land shall become a desolation and your cities a ruin. (34) Then shall the land make up for its sabbath years throughout the time that it is desolate and you are in the land of your enemies; then shall the land rest and make up for its sabbath years. (35) Throughout the time that it is desolate, it shall observe the rest that it did not observe in your sabbath years while you were dwelling upon it.

(1) והשמתי אני את הארץ AND I WILL BRING THE LAND INTO DESOLATION [AND YOUR ENEMIES WHO ABIDE IN IT SHALL BE DESOLATE UPON IT] — This was a kindly measure for Israel that the enemies would find no satisfaction in their (the Israelites') land and so it would become desolate of its inhabitants (of the enemies also, and Israel might again easily take possession of it) (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 6 5).

(1) APH ANI E’ESEH ZOTH LACHEM’ (ALSO I WILL DO THIS UNTO YOU). By way of the Truth, the meaning [of this verse is] as if it were inverted: ‘aph ani zoth e’eseh lachem’ [meaning: “also ani — the term for the Divine attribute called zoth, which signifies judgment — will do unto you”]. This is why He always mentions in this section the word ani (I): then will ‘ani’ (I) also walk;99Verse 24. And ‘ani’ (I) also will smite you;99Verse 24. and ‘ani’ (I) also will chastise you;100Verse 28. and ‘ani (I) will bring the Land into desolation;101Verse 32. ‘ani’ (I) also will walk contrary unto them.102Verse 41. And in the Midrash of Rabbi Nechunya ben Hakanah [we find it interpreted]:103Sefer Habahir, 66. See Vol. I, p. 24, Note 42. “It will not suffice for Me [merely] to pronounce judgment [and have it executed by a messenger], but even I also will chastise [you], etc.”
The principle [of this section] is that it is the Holy One, blessed be He, Who makes this covenant, and this is the meaning of the expressions: seven for your sins;104Verses: 18, 24, 28. See my Hebrew commentary p. 187. seven according to your sins.105Verse 21. And the oaths are [thus] the oaths of the covenant, for the expressions are from the mouth of the Almighty, [speaking] in the language of the first person: ‘I’ will do;106In Verse 16 before us. and ‘I’ will chastise;100Verse 28. and ‘I’ will smite.99Verse 24. Therefore Scripture states [concerning this covenant], which the Eternal made between Him and the children of Israel,107Further, Verse 46. for He by His Great Name made this covenant. But in the Book of Deuteronomy [Scripture] states, If thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Eternal thy G-d, to observe to do all His commandments,108Deuteronomy 28:15. and it continually mentions there an expression of cursing, thus it starts them [the words of the covenant] with: cursed shalt thou be,109Ibid., Verse 16. since the blessing is absent from them, and it further states, the Eternal will make.110Ibid., Verse 24. It is this which is the [intention of the] saying of our Rabbis:111Megillah 31 b. “The imprecations of the Book of Leviticus were [prounounced] in plural terms [if ‘ye’ will not hearken … if ‘ye’ shall reject …], and Moses, in saying them, said them from the mouth of the Almighty [stating: “Thus did the Holy One blessed be He, say unto me, ‘If ye will not hearken unto Me’ “], but those [imprecations mentioned] in the Book of Deuteronomy were [pronounced] in the singular [if ‘thou’ wilt not hearken … which I command ‘thee'…] and Moses in saying them said them [as though they came] from his own mouth, for the Almighty made Moses a messenger between Him and between all Israel.”
Know and understand that these oaths [stated in this section] allude to the first exile [i.e., the Babylonian exile following the destruction of the First Temple], for it is with reference to the First Temple that all the words of this covenant, concerning the exile and the redemption therefrom, apply. For thus you will see in the exhortations [here] that He stated, And if ye shall reject My statutes, and if your soul abhor Mine ordinances,112Verse 15. and He further stated, that ye void My covenant,112Verse 15. mentioning among them [the rejected statutes]: the high places [on which they offered forbidden sacrifices], sun-images, and idols,113Verse 30. and it was [in the times of the First Temple] that they worshipped idols and did all evil things. It is in connection with this that He said, And I will bring your Sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savor of your sweet odors,114Verse 31. thus warning them that He will remove from them His Sanctuary and the acceptance of the offerings which were favorable to Him in that Sanctuary, and the punishments which were to follow upon them were: the sword,115Verse 25. wild beasts,116Verse 22. pestilence,115Verse 25. famine,117Verse 26. and finally exile.118Verse 33. And all these things occurred then [at the destruction of the First Temple], as is clearly stated in the Book of Jeremiah. Of that [first] exile He stated, Then shall the Land be paid her Sabbaths;119Verse 34. As long as it lieth desolate it shall have a rest; even the rest which it had not [in your Sabbath],120Verse 35. because the years of the [Babylonian] exile were [as many] as the years in which they failed to observe [the laws of] the Sabbatical years.121See Rashi in Verse 35, who explains how the seventy years of the Babylonian exile correspond exactly to the seventy Sabbatical and Jubilee years that Israel failed to observe in the Land. So also does Scripture state concerning that exile, [that it was] To fulfill the word of the Eternal by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the Land had been paid her Sabbaths; for as long as she lay desolate she kept Sabbath, to fulfill threescore and ten years.122II Chronicles 36:21. Thus He warned them and thus it happened to them. If so, it is clear that Scripture speaks here of that [first] exile.
If you examine further the subject of the redemption from it [the Babylonian exile, you see], that He only assures [Israel] that He will remember the covenant of the fathers,123Verse 42. and of the remembrance of the Land,123Verse 42. but not that He will forgive their iniquity and their sin and that He will once again love them as of old, nor that He will gather together those of them who are dispersed. For such indeed happened when they came up from Babylon, for only [the tribes of] Judah and Benjamin returned together with a small group of Levites who were with them, and some124See Ramban’s Sefer Hage’ulah (Kithvei Haramban, Vol. I, pp. 272-4) for a full discussion of this important matter — that in the return from Babylon there were small groups from the other tribes besides Judah and Benjamin, but the main bulk of them remained in their places, and hence the words of the prophets announcing their complete return, not having been fulfilled during the Second Temple, will yet assuredly come to transpire in the future. This is the deeper significance of Ramban’s expression here: “and some of the other tribes …” — “some” but not all, and therefore the words of G-d as spoken by His prophets will still be fulfilled in the future when the ge’ulah shleimah (the perfect redemption) will take place, as the return from Babylon did not represent that final and complete redemption. It is obvious that this constitutes a major principle in our faith of Israel’s future and destiny. Ramban will touch upon this theme of the perfect redemption further on in the text. See also further, Note 154. of the [other] tribes that had been exiled to Babylon, and they returned in poverty, and in servitude to the kings of Persia.125See Ezra 9:9. Nor does He state that they will return to Him in complete repentance, but only that they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers,126Verse 40. and we find that the people of the Second Temple did so, as Daniel confessed: We have sinned, we have dealt iniquitously, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, and have turned aside from Thy commandments etc.127Daniel 9:5. O Eternal, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers.128Ibid., Verse 8. Thus they confessed also the sins of their fathers. The same applies to the following verses. And it is further written, because of our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Thy people are a reproach.129Ibid., Verse 16. And so did Nehemiah confess.130Nehemiah 1:6-7. And Ezra said, Neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers, kept Thy law.131Ibid., 9:34. It should be noted that Scripture there ascribes the actual confession to the Levites, and Ezra’s name is not directly mentioned. However, the implication in Chapter 8 Verse 13 is clearly that it was at Ezra’s instigation that they kept the Festival of Tabernacles and the subsequent confession following it (see ibid., 9:1). Besides, Ezra being a priest (ibid., 8:2) he was automatically of the tribe of Levi and was thus included among the Levites who recited the confession. Thus they all deduced from the Torah that they should confess their iniquity and [also] the iniquity of their fathers. All these [matters] are clear indications that this covenant does indeed allude to the first exile and the redemption therefrom.
However the covenant in the Book of Deuteronomy132Deuteronomy 28:1-69. alludes to this our [present] exile, and to the redemption by which we will be redeemed from it. Thus we observe first that there [in the second covenant] neither the end nor the duration [of the exile] are alluded to, and that He did not assure us of redemption [i.e., promising that it would take place at a certain future time as was the case with the Babylonian captivity, whose end was foretold as a definite event in our section here in Leviticus as explained above], but He made it dependent upon [our] repentance. Neither did He mention among the sins [for which they would be exiled that] they would make any Asherim and sun-images, or that they would worship any idols whatsoever. Rather, He said, But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Eternal thy G-d, to observe to do all His commandments and His statutes,108Deuteronomy 28:15. thus stating that because they will transgress some of His commandments, and will not keep and observe all of them,133I.e., they will “transgress” some of the negative commandments and “not keep and observe” the positive commandments. they would be punished. Such indeed was the case during the Second Temple, just as the Rabbis have said:134Yoma 9 b. “Why was the First Temple destroyed? Because of idolatry, immorality and bloodshed. But the Second Temple, of which we know that they [the people of that period], were engaged in the study of Torah and the practice of loving kindness, why was it destroyed? It was because of the causeless enmity which was among them.” Neither does He mention there [in the covenant in the Book of Deuteronomy] the Sanctuary, or “the pleasing odor” [of the offerings], as He mentioned here,135Verse 31. because the [Heavenly] fire did not come down and consume the offerings [that were brought] in the Second Temple, as the Rabbis testified there in Tractate Yoma.136Yoma 21 b. Thus, as it were, there never was a “pleasing odor” in the days of the Second Temple which could be removed at its destruction. And He further states there among the imprecations, The Eternal will bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as the vulture swoops down,137Deuteronomy 28:49. alluding to the coming upon them of the Romans, who were very far from them. Thus He states there, a nation that thou hast not known;138Ibid., Verse 36. a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand,137Deuteronomy 28:49. because of their great distance from our Land. Such is not the case concerning the words of this covenant [before us], for [it speaks of the time when] they were exiled to Babylon and Assyria, which are near to [our] Land, and they always warred with them;139Therefore, the verse in Deuteronomy 28:49 [The Eternal will bring a nation … from the end of the earth …] could not apply to the period of the First Temple, as their warring enemies were nearby. The case was far different during the Second Temple when the Romans came from far-off Italy. and the stock of Israel comes from there, and they [the Jews] knew their language, as it is said, Speak, I pray thee, to thy servants in the Aramean language, for we understand it.140II Kings 18:26. Similarly, the verse stating [there in the Book of Deuteronomy], And the Eternal shall scatter thee among all peoples, from the one end of the earth unto the other141Deuteronomy 28:64. is [a reference to] our exile today, in which we are scattered from one end of the world to the other. Again He stated [there], And the Eternal shall bring thee back into Egypt in ships,142Ibid., Verse 68. and this happened in our [present] exile, when Titus filled the ships with them [captives], as it is written in the books of the Romans.143Reference is to the book of Josippon, Chapter 95. See Vol. I, p. 604, Note 249. Similarly, that which Scripture says there, Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another people and thy eyes shall see;144Deuteronomy 28:32. Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, and they shall not be thine, for they shall go into captivity145Ibid., Verse 41. Ramban’s illuminating comment on these verses (see following text) brings to light the ruthless cruelty of the Romans at the destruction of the Second Temple, when they deported all the young and only “the fathers [i.e. the old] remained in the Land.” — these are not references to the [Babylonian] exile, when both fathers and sons were exiled, but [refer] to that captivity of the sons alone [following the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans], when the fathers remained in the Land. Such is not stated in the first covenant, because the exile [which it speaks of] was a complete one [for both fathers and sons], but it is mentioned in the second covenant, because the Romans ruled in our Land and took the sons and daughters at their will. Similarly, [the verse stating], Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemy whom the Eternal shall send against thee in hunger, and in thirst146Ibid., Verse 48. is a reference to our servitude when we were subject to the Romans in our Land, and their officers ruled over us, pressing upon us a heavy yoke and taking away our people and our wealth, as is known in the [history] books. Another proof [that the covenant in the Book of Deuteronomy refers to the exile after the destruction of the Second Temple] is that He said, The Eternal will bring thee, and thy king whom thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation that thou hast not known, thou nor thy fathers,147Ibid., Verse 36. for King Agrippa148This was Agrippa II, a loyal servant of Rome. He was the last king of Judea. During the siege of Jerusalem he was with Titus, and following the fall of the city he took part in arranging the Roman triumphal celebrations in Caesarea! He was the opposite of his father King Agrippa I, who in his genuine attachment to the Jewish people and religion won the love of all classes of the people. went to Rome at the end of the [period of the] Second Temple, and on account of his going there the Temple was destroyed.149Ramban here is referring to Josippon Chapter 65, where it is narrated that “King Agrippa went to Nero, emperor of Rome, and told him all these things [concerning the Jewish uprising against Rome], whereupon Nero sent against the Jews the Roman general etc.” This was the beginning of the war which culminated in the fall of Jerusalem. Now Scripture does not state: “the king who will rule over thee,” but it says, thy king whom ‘thou shalt set’. Thus He, blessed be He, is hinting to us that he [that ruler] was not fit to be king, since he was forbidden to be king over Israel according to the law of the Torah [as he was a descendant of King Herod, the son of Antipater the Idumean, and Scripture states, thou mayest not put a foreigner over thee, who is not thy brother],150Deuteronomy 17:15. but they “set up” him and his fathers as kings over them against the law, as is mentioned in Tractate Sotah.151Sotah 41 b.
Now all the hints such as these clearly indicate that the meaning of this matter is this our [present] exile, and the redemption [mentioned] in this second covenant, which will be a complete redemption, superior to all [preceding ones]. Thus He said, And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse etc.;152Deuteronomy 30:1. and He promised, And He will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers,153Ibid., Verse 5. this being a promise to all the tribes of Israel, not [merely] to one-sixth154I.e., the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, which constitute one-sixth of the twelve tribes. Ramban is thus stating that the redemption from the Babylonian exile was not a complete redemption, since the return consisted mainly of two tribes [with small groups of the other tribes, see above Note 124]. But the Divine promise stated in Deuteronomy 30:5 [as mentioned here in the text] refers to all tribes of Israel. Hence the coming redemption will be more complete than all preceding ones. of the people; and there He promised [also] that He would cut down and destroy those who caused our exile, as it is said, And the Eternal thy G-d will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, that persecuted thee,155Ibid., Verse 7. the expressions, thine enemies and those that hate thee alluding to the two nations156A reference to the two dominant religions in Ramban’s times — that of Edom and Ishmael — which persecuted the Jews [and still continue to do so] in countless ways. See my Hebrew commentary p. 190. that continually persecute us. Now these words [And He will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers153Ibid., Verse 5.] assure us of the coming redemption with a more perfect assurance than all the visions of Daniel.
Similarly, that which He stated here, and your enemies that shall dwell therein shall be desolate in it157Further, Verse 32. constitutes a good tiding, proclaiming that during all our exiles, our Land will not accept our enemies. This also is a great proof and assurance to us, for in the whole inhabited part of the world one cannot find such a good and large Land158Exodus 3:8. which was always lived in and yet is as ruined as it is [today],159When these words were written — sometime after the middle of the thirteenth century — the Land of Israel had just experienced the Mongolian invasion (of 1259-60), which following upon the constant wars of the Crusaders, left the country in total ruin. for since the time that we left it, it has not accepted any nation or people, and they all try to settle it, but to no avail.160A clear reference to the many nations that have tried — and failed — to cultivate the Land of Israel since the Jews were driven from it by the Romans. This indubitable historical fact is, as Ramban correctly points out, “a great proof” that the Land belongs to Israel. Witness also the miraculous response of the Land since the recent return of the Jews to its borders.
Now the first covenant mentioned in this section the Holy One, blessed be He, made, for His Great Name was indeed with us in the First Temple, and the second covenant in the section of V’hayah Ki Thavo161Deuteronomy 26:1. — The covenant referred to is ibid., 28:1-68. expressed by the mouth of Moses, alludes to the removal of his Divine Presence entirely, since in the Second Temple only the Glory of His Name was present, as it is said, and I will take pleasure in it i.e., the Second Temple] ‘v’ikavdah’ (and I will be glorified).162Haggai 1:8. The additional letter hei163The word v’ikavdah is in this instance actually written without the hei at the end. Ramban however is referring to the fact that according to the Masorah it is to be read as if it had the letter at the end. Hence his language: “the ‘additional’ hei” … alludes to the second hei in the Great Name [i.e., the Tetragrammaton — which refers to the Glory of His Name].164Abusaula. — Thus the verse establishes that in the Second Temple there was the Glory of His Name. Haggai was one of the prophets who lived at the time of the building of the Second Temple. The Rabbis have also already interpreted this verse by means of another exposition,136Yoma 21 b. Thus, as it were, there never was a “pleasing odor” in the days of the Second Temple which could be removed at its destruction. [that the missing hei in the word v’ikavdah, whose numerical value is five], alludes to the five things which the Second Temple lacked etc.165“They are: the ark with the cover and the cherubim, the Divine fire on the altar, the Divine Presence, the Holy Spirit, and the Urim and Thummim” (ibid.). For Urim and Thummim see Ramban on Exodus 28:30 (Vol. II, pp. 480-4).

In this baraita Rabbi Yehuda is described as head of the speakers in every place. The Gemara asks: And why did they call him head of the speakers in every place? The Gemara relates that this resulted due to an incident that took place when Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Yosei and Rabbi Shimon were sitting, and Yehuda, son of converts, sat beside them. Rabbi Yehuda opened and said: How pleasant are the actions of this nation, the Romans, as they established marketplaces, established bridges, and established bathhouses. Rabbi Yosei was silent. Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai responded and said: Everything that they established, they established only for their own purposes. They established marketplaces, to place prostitutes in them; bathhouses, to pamper themselves; and bridges, to collect taxes from all who pass over them. Yehuda, son of converts, went and related their statements to his household, and those statements continued to spread until they were heard by the monarchy. They ruled and said: Yehuda, who elevated the Roman regime, shall be elevated and appointed as head of the Sages, the head of the speakers in every place. Yosei, who remained silent, shall be exiled from his home in Judea as punishment, and sent to the city of Tzippori in the Galilee. And Shimon, who denounced the government, shall be killed.

The Gemara returns to its narration of the future judgment. First, the members of the Roman Empire enter. The Holy One, Blessed be He, says to them: With what did you occupy yourselves? They say before Him in response: Master of the Universe, we have established many marketplaces, we have built many bathhouses, and we have increased much silver and gold. And we did all of this only for the sake of the Jewish people, so that they would be free to engage in Torah study. The Holy One, Blessed be He, says to them: Fools of the world! Are you attempting to deceive Me? Everything that you did, you did for your own needs. You established marketplaces to place prostitutes in them; you built bathhouses for your own enjoyment; and as for the silver and gold that you claim to have increased, it is Mine, as it is stated: “Mine is the silver, and Mine the gold, said the Lord of hosts” (Haggai 2:8).

§ Once Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi happened to come to Gavla, in the Golan, and he saw those clusters of vines that were standing as large as calves. He said to the locals: Calves are standing between the grapevines and you are not concerned that they will cause damage? They said to him: They are clusters. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: O earth, O earth! Gather in your fruit. For whom do you produce your fruit? For these gentiles who stand over us in our sins? It would be preferable if you did not produce such large fruit.

Rebbi Ze`ira said, come and see how insolent is the Land of Israel, that it yields fruit. Why does it yield fruit? Two Amoraim. One said, because one fertilizes it. The other one said, because one turns its earth over. It happened that a person was sowing in the valley of Arbel when he dug down with his hand and brought up burning dust which burned the seeds.

“For the mountains I will take up weeping and wailing…” (Jeremiah 9:9) – Rabbi Aḥa said: Nebuchadnezzar commanded Nevuzaradan three matters concerning Jeremiah: “Take him and keep your eyes on him” (Jeremiah 39:12) – on him and not on his nation. “Do not do anything harmful to him” (Jeremiah 39:12) – to him do not do, but to his nation do as much harm as you please. “As he will say to you so you shall do to him” (Jeremiah 39:12) – but not to his nation. Jeremiah would see a group of lads placed in collars, and he would place his head with them, and Nevuzaradan would come and remove him from them. He then would see elders chained in chains. He would place his neck with them, and Nevuzaradan would come and remove him from them. Nevuzaradan said to him: ‘Look, you are one of three things; either you are a false prophet, or you are contemptuous of suffering, or you are a shedder of blood. Maybe you are a false prophet, as all these years you are prophesying about this city that it will be destroyed, and now that it is being destroyed, your soul is greatly troubled. Or you are contemptuous of suffering, as I do not wish to do you any harm, but you wish to do yourself harm, as though to say: Suffering is nothing for me. Or you are a shedder of blood, as the king commanded me extensively in your regard that I not do you any harm, and you seek to do harm so that the king will hear and execute this man.’
Ultimately, he said to him: ‘If you agree, come and I will keep my eye on you,’ but he did not accept it, as it is stated at the end of the portion, until it was stated to him from the mouth of the Almighty. That is what is written: “This is the matter that was to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying” (see Jeremiah 40:1). What was that matter? He said to him: ‘Jeremiah, if you remain here, I will go with them, and if you go with them, I will remain here.’ He said before Him: ‘Master of the universe, if I go with them, in what way can I benefit them? Rather, let their King, their Creator go with them, as He can benefit them greatly.’ That is what is written: “After Nevuzaradan, captain of the guards, sent him …and he had been bound in chains” (Jeremiah 40:1). Rabbi Aḥa said: As it were, both he and Him were bound in chains. Similarly, it is written: “And I am in the midst of the exile” (Ezekiel 1:1).
Until where was Jeremiah’s prophecy? Rabbi Yaakov and Rabbi Aba, and some say Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Yoḥanan: one said: Until, “He who scattered Israel will gather them” (Jeremiah 31:9). The other says: Until, “there is hope for your future, the utterance of the Lord, and your children will return to their border” (Jeremiah 31:16).
Upon his return, he would find severed toes cast on the mountains. He would gather them, caress them, hug them, kiss them, and place them in his garment. He would say to them: ‘My children, did I not warn you of this and say to you: “Give honor to the Lord your God before it grows dark and before your feet will stumble on the mountains of the night” (Jeremiah 13:16)?’ Regarding that moment it is stated: “For the mountains I will take up weeping and wailing, and for the oases [neot] of the wilderness a lamentation” (Jeremiah 9:9) – for those beautiful and excellent mountains I will take up weeping and wailing, on the abodes [neot] of Jacob that have been transformed into a lamentation. “They did not hear the sound of livestock [mikneh]” (Jeremiah 9:9) – they did not hear the sound of words of Torah or the sound of the words of prophecy, but rather mikneh, the sound of words that arouse jealousy [mekaneh]. They aroused His zealotry with idol worship [avoda zara], just as it says: “They would arouse His jealousy with strangers [zarim]” (Deuteronomy 32:16). Therefore, “from the birds of the heavens to the animals, they have wandered and gone” (Jeremiah 9:9).
Rabbi Yosei bar Ḥalafta said: For fifty-two years, no bird was seen flying in the Land of Israel. What is the source? “From the birds of the heavens to the animals [behema], they have wandered and gone” (Jeremiah 9:9); the numerical value of behema is fifty-two.
Rabbi Ḥanina said: Forty years before, they would plant date palms in Babylon, indicating that sweet foods accustom the tongue to Torah. Rabbi Ḥanina son of Rabbi Abbahu said: There are seven hundred species of kosher fish, eight hundred species of kosher grasshoppers, and innumerable birds, and all of them were exiled with Israel to Babylon. When they returned, all of them returned with them with the exception of one fish whose name is shibuta. How were the fish exiled? Rabbi Huna said in the name of Rabbi Yosei: They were exiled via the depths, and they returned via the depths.
Rabbi Zeira said: Come and see how insolent is the Land of Israel, that it continues producing fruit. Why does it produce fruit? Rabbi Ḥanina and Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi: one said: Because they fertilize it. The other said: Because they overturn its soil.
Rabbi Yudan said: For seven years, [the curse] of sulfur and salt was fulfilled for them. Why to that extent? “He will promote a covenant with the multitudes for one period of seven years” (Daniel 9:27). What did the Cuthites among them do? They would sow it in small plots. They would sow here, and it would be burned, they would sow there and it would be burned. There was an incident involving an individual who was standing and plowing in the Beit Arava Valley, and his hand grasped his plowshare. Hot soil arose and burned his arm, to realize what is stated: “Sulfur and salt, its entire land is afire” (Deuteronomy 29:22).
Rabba bar Kahana said: They are neither an indication of forgiveness in the land nor an indication of desolation of the land, but rather it is from before Him, to realize what is stated: “Fear of you and dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, [and upon every bird of the heavens, and upon all that crawls on the ground, and upon all fish of the sea]” (Genesis 9:2). But in the future, everything will return. That is what is written: “The land that had been desolate will be tilled, instead of being desolation in the eyes of every passerby” (Ezekiel 36:34).
The prologue of the Sages to Midrash Eikha Rabati is complete.

Rabbi Simon had vineyard planters on King’s Mountain. He asked Rebbi Joḥanan who told him, let them lie fallow and do not lease them to a Gentile. He asked Rebbi Joshua [ben Levi], may one lease them to a Gentile? Rebbi Joshua [ben Levi] permitted it at a place where no Jews could be found as for example Syria. About Syria we can understand from the following: Rebbi Ḥaggai went to Homs. Those of Bar Ashtor came and asked him: Since we cannot find Jews we lease to Gentiles;l do we have to tithe through them? He sent and asked Rebbi Ze‘ira. Rebbi Ze‘ira asked Rebbi Immi (and said to him, rabbi, does one have to tithe?) He told him, one does not have to tithe because of them. From this you (Rebbi Simeon) [understand] to lease following Rebbi Yose. In addition, from what Rebbi Ḥanina (Rebbi Abbahu) the son of Rebbi Abbahu said, my father had a case. He sent and asked Rebbi Ḥiyya, Rebbi Yasa, Rebbi Immi, and they instructed him to lease following Rebbi Yose. Therefore one does not tithe through them.

Apropos relations between the Jews of Eretz Yisrael and Babylonia, the Gemara relates: Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba and Rabbi Asi were sitting before Rabbi Yoḥanan, and Rabbi Yoḥanan was sitting and dozing. In the meantime the two of them conversed. Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said to Rabbi Asi: For what reason are the fowl in Babylonia fatter than those in Eretz Yisrael? He said to him: This is not at all the case; go to the desert of Gaza in Eretz Yisrael, and I will show you fowl that are fatter than them. Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba then asked: For what reason are Festivals in Babylonia more joyous than those in Eretz Yisrael? Rabbi Asi answered him: Because in Babylonia they are poor, and it is only on Festivals that they have a lot to eat, which causes them to rejoice. Rabbi Ḥiyya then asked: For what reason are Torah scholars in Babylonia distinguished by their special rabbinic garb? Rabbi Asi answered: Because they are not well-versed in Torah. If they would not distinguish themselves by dressing differently, they would not be respected for their Torah knowledge. He then asked: For what reason are gentiles ethically contaminated? He answered: Because they eat abominable creatures and crawling things, and that causes bad character traits.

Similarly, it is taught in a baraita that Rav Yosef said: There was an incident which occurred in the village of Shiḥin, in Eretz Yisrael, involving one whose father had left him three branches of mustard, one of which broke. And they discovered on this one branch alone nine kav of mustard. And with the wood of its large branches they roofed a booth for artisans. Similarly, Rabbi Shimon ben Taḥlifa said: Father left us a cabbage stalk and we would go up and down on it with a ladder, due to its great height.

§ The Gemara relates further stories concerning the great bounty of Eretz Yisrael. Rav Ḥiyya bar Adda was a school teacher of Reish Lakish. On one occasion, Rav Ḥiyya bar Adda was delayed for three days and did not come to teach the children. When he finally came, Reish Lakish said to him: Why were you delayed? Rav Ḥiyya bar Adda said to him: Father left me one branch of a grape vine, and I harvested from it on the first day three hundred grape clusters, and each cluster yielded a quantity of wine enough to fill a jug. On the second day I harvested another three hundred grape clusters, and every two clusters yielded enough wine to fill a jug. On the third day I once again harvested three hundred grape clusters, and every three clusters yielded enough to fill a jug, and I declared ownerless more than half of it. Reish Lakish said to him: Had you not delayed and thereby disrupted the Torah study of children, each grape cluster would have produced more wine. Due to your cancellation of Torah study, each cluster yielded progressively less. § Rami bar Yeḥezkel happened to come to Benei Berak. He saw those goats that were grazing beneath a fig tree, and there was honey oozing from the figs and milk dripping from the goats, and the two liquids were mixing together. He said: This is the meaning of the verse “A land flowing with milk and honey” (Exodus 3:8). Rabbi Ya’akov ben Dostai said: There are three mil from Lud to Ono. Once I rose early in the morning and I walked in ankle-deep honey oozing from fig trees. Reish Lakish said: I myself saw a region called: The place flowing with milk and honey by Tzippori, and it was an area that covered sixteen by sixteen mil, 256 square mil. Rabba bar bar Ḥana said: I myself saw the region flowing with milk and honey of all Eretz Yisrael,

Having discussed the entrances to Gehenna, the Gemara also mentions the entrance to the Garden of Eden. Reish Lakish said: If it is in Eretz Yisrael, its entrance is Beit She’an, and if it is in Arabia, its entrance is Beit Garem, and if it is between the rivers of Babylonia, its entrance is Dumsekanin, for all these places feature a great abundance of vegetation and fertile land. The Gemara relates that Abaye would praise the fruits of the right bank of the Euphrates River, and Rava would praise the fruits of Harpanya.