“A bull, or a sheep, or a goat, when it is born, shall be seven days under its mother and from the eighth day on, it shall be accepted as a fire offering to the Lord” (Leviticus 22:27). “A bull, or a sheep, or a goat” – that is what is written: “Your righteousness is like mighty mountains” (Psalms 36:7). The mountains produce herbs and the righteous have good deeds. Alternatively, “Your righteousness is like mighty mountains” – just as mountains are fit to be sown and produce fruit, so, the righteous produce fruits for themselves and for others. To what is the matter comparable? To a golden bell whose clapper is of pearls;1The clapper is heard but is hidden from sight. So too, the reward of the righteous in the World to Come is not perceived or shared with others. However, all benefit from the righteous in this world, as all benefit from the beauty of the golden bell (Etz Yosef). so, the righteous benefit themselves and benefit others, as it is stated: “Tell the righteous that it is good, as they will eat the fruit of their actions” (Isaiah 3:10). “Your judgments are vast depths” (Psalms 36:7), these are the wicked. Just as the depths cannot be sown and do not produce fruits, so, the wicked do not have good deeds and they do not produce fruits. Rather, they distress themselves and others, as it is stated: “Woe to the wicked, that he is evil” (Isaiah 3:11), evil for himself and evil for others. “Your righteousness [tzidkatekha] is like mighty mountains; [Your judgments are vast depths].” Transpose the verse and expound it: Your righteousness over your judgments is like mighty mountains over vast depths. Just as these mountains suppress the depths so they do not inundate the world, so too, charity [tzedaka] suppresses punishment so it will not come to the world. “Your righteousness is like mighty mountains” – just as these mountains are endless, so too, there is no end to the reward given to the righteous. “Your judgments are vast depths” – just as the depths are unquantifiable, so the punishment of the wicked in the future is unquantifiable. Another matter, “Your righteousness is like mighty mountains.” Rabbi Yishmael says: The righteous, who fulfill the Torah that was given from the mighty mountains, the Holy One blessed be He performs with them charity like the mighty mountains. But the wicked, who do not fulfill the Torah that was given from the mighty mountains, the Holy One blessed be He is exacting with them to the vast depths. Rabbi Akiva says: He is exacting with these and those. From the righteous He collects payment in this world for the small number of wicked deeds that they performed in this world in order to give them a good reward in the future, and He bestows peace upon the wicked and repays them for the small number of good deeds that they performed in this world in order to exact retribution from them in the future. Rabbi Meir says: The righteous were likened to their abode, as it is stated: “In good grazing land I will herd them, and on the mountains of the height of Israel will be their pasture” (Ezekiel 34:14). The wicked were likened to their abode, as it is stated: “So said the Lord God: On the day that he descended to the netherworld I caused mourning; I covered the depths for him” (Ezekiel 31:15). Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi said: This is analogous to the fact that one crafts a cover for an earthenware vat neither of silver, nor of gold, nor of other metals, but rather, of earthenware, because it is of the same kind. So, the Holy One blessed be He said: Gehenna is darkness, as it is written: “Let their way be dark and slippery” (Psalms 35:6); the depths are darkness, as it is stated: “Darkness was upon the surface of the depths” (Genesis 1:2); and the wicked are darkness, as it is stated: “Their actions are in the darkness” (Isaiah 29:15). Let darkness come and cover darkness, as it is stated: “For he came in futility, and departs in darkness, and his name is covered in darkness” (Ecclesiastes 6:4). Another matter, “Your righteousness is like mighty mountains.” Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon said: The righteousness that you performed on behalf of Noah in the ark “is like the mighty mountains,” as it is stated: “The ark rested on the mountains of Ararat” (Genesis 8:4). Your judgments that You performed with his generation, You were exacting with them to “the vast depths,” as it is stated: “On that day all the wellsprings of the vast depths were breached” (Genesis 7:11). When You remembered him, you did not remember him alone, but rather, “God remembered Noah and every beast” (Genesis 8:1). When Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi went to Rome, he saw there marble pillars covered with tapestries so they would not crack in the heat or contract in the cold. He saw a certain poor man there with a reed mat beneath him and a reed mat on his back.2Such a mat was hard and uncomfortable to sit or lie on, but also did not provide good protection from the elements. Regarding the pillars he read: “Your righteousness is like mighty mountains.” Where You bestow, You bestow benevolently. Regarding the poor man he read: “Your judgments are vast depths.” Where You strike, You are very exacting. Alexander of Macedonia went to the king at the end of the earth, beyond the mountains of darkness. He went to a certain province named Carthage in which there were only women. They went out before him and said to him: ‘If you engage in battle with us and overcome us, your reputation will emerge to the world as one who destroyed a district of women. If we engage in battle with you and overcome you, your reputation will emerge to the world as one who was overcome by women, and you will no longer stand before kings.’ When he went out, he wrote on the gate of the city wall: ‘I, Alexander of Macedonia, was a fool until I came to the province of Carthage and learned counsel from women.’ He went to another province named Africa and they emerged before him with golden apples, golden pomegranates, and golden bread. He said: ‘What is this, is gold eaten in your land?’ They said to him: ‘Did you not have it in your land?’3Do you not have food in your land, that you came here for regular food? He said to them: ‘I did not come to see your products, I came to see your judicial system.’ While they were sitting, two men came for judgment before the king. One said: ‘My master the king: I purchased a ruin from this man, and I dug, and I found buried treasure in it. I said to him: Take your treasure, as I purchased a ruin, I did not purchase treasure.’ The other said: ‘Just as you fear the punishment for robbery, so do I fear it. When I sold it to you, I sold you the ruin and everything in it.’ The king addressed one of them and said to him: ‘Do you have a son?’ He said to him: ‘Yes.’ He addressed the other, he said to him: ‘Do you have a daughter?’ He said to him: ‘Yes.’ He said to them: ‘Go and marry one to the other, and both of them can partake of the treasure.’ Alexander of Macedonia became astonished. The king said to him: ‘Why are you astonished? Did I not judge well?’ He said to him: ‘Yes.’ He said to him: ‘If this case had been in your land, what would you have done?’ He said to him: ‘Beheaded this one and beheaded that one and the treasure would have gone to the king’s palace.’ [The king] said: ‘Does the sun shine in your land?’ He said to him: ‘Yes.’ ‘Does rain fall in your land?’ He said to him: ‘Yes.’ He said to him: ‘Are there, perhaps, small domesticated animals in your land?’ [He said: ‘Yes.’] He said to him: ‘May that man despair,4The king said to Alexander: That man, i.e., you, should despair. it is only thanks to the small domesticated animals that the sun shines upon you and the rain falls upon you. Due to the small domesticated animals you survive.’ That is what is written: “The Lord will save man and animal” (Psalms 36:7); man, thanks to animal, the Lord will save. Israel said: ‘Master of the universe, we are like man, save us like an animal,5Although we are human and sin with full knowledge of the consequences, save us like you would an animal, which cannot be held accountable for its actions. because we are drawn after You like an animal.’ That is what is written: “Draw me after you, we will run” (Song of Songs 1:4). To where are we drawn after you? To the Garden of Eden; that is what is written: “They are sated by the rich fare of Your House; You give them to drink from the stream of Your delights [adanekha]” (Psalms 36:9).6The midrash interprets the word adanekha to mean Your Edens. Rabbi Elazar ben Rabbi Menaḥem said: Your Eden [ednekha] is not written here, but rather, Your Edens [adanekha]. This teaches that each and every righteous person has an Eden of his own. “The Lord will save man and animal.” Rabbi Yitzḥak said: The law of man and the law of animal are equal. The law of man: “On the eighth day, the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised” (Leviticus 12:3). The law of animal: “From the eighth day on, it shall be accepted [as a fire offering to the Lord].”
Rabbi Tanḥuma began: “Who has given Me anything beforehand, that I shall pay? Everything beneath the heavens is Mine” (Job 41:3). This is an unmarried man who lives in the province and gives toward the salary of Bible teachers and Mishna teachers. The Holy One blessed be He says: ‘It is incumbent upon Me to pay his compensation and reward and to grant him a male offspring.’ Rabbi Yirmeya ben Rabbi Elazar said: A Divine Voice is destined to explode on the mountaintops and say: ‘Let anyone who acted with God come and take his reward.’ That is what is written: “Now, it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel [what God has wrought]” (Numbers 23:23). The Divine Spirit says: ‘“Who has given Me anything beforehand, that I shall pay?” Who lauded Me before I gave him a soul? Who spoke My name before I granted him a male offspring? Who constructed Me a fence before I gave him a roof? Who made a mezuza for My sake before I gave him a house? Who made a sukka for My sake before I gave him a place? Who made a lulav for My sake before I gave him money? Who made ritual fringes for My sake before I gave him a garment? Who separated the corner of his field [pe’a] for My sake before I gave him a field? Who separated teruma for My sake before I gave him a threshing floor? Who separated ḥalla for My sake before I gave him dough? Who separated an offering for My sake before I gave him an animal?’ That is what is written: “A bull, or a sheep, or a goat, [when it is born…from the eighth day and on it shall be accepted as a fire offering to the Lord].”7The only reason you are able to bring the offering is because “it is born” – because God gave it to you.
Rabbi Yaakov bar Zavdi began: “It will no longer be a guarantor for the house of Israel, evoking iniquity” (Ezekiel 29:16),8In context, the verse is stating that Egypt, which had been a mighty empire, would be lowered and unable to serve as a guarantor. The fact that the Israelite kingdoms looked to Egypt as a guarantor for their safety, rather than looking to God, would evoke Israel’s iniquity. and it is written: “Seraphim were standing above Him, six wings to each one; with two it would cover its face and with two it would cover its legs and with two it would fly” (Isaiah 6:2). “With two it would fly,” for lauding. “With two it would cover its face,” so as not to look at the Divine Presence. “With two it would cover its legs,” so that they would not be seen by the Divine Presence, as it is written: “Their feet were like the foot of a calf” (Ezekiel 1:7) and it is written: “They crafted for themselves a molten calf” (Exodus 32:8), in accordance with: “It will no longer be a guarantor for the house of Israel, evoking iniquity.”9The feet that look like those of a calf evoke iniquity by recalling the sin of the Golden Calf and therefore must be covered in front of the Divine Presence. We learned there: All shofarot are fit for use, except for the horn of a cow.10Mishna Rosh Hashana 3:2. Why except for the horn of a cow? It is only because it is the horn of a calf, and it is written: “They crafted for themselves a molten calf” (Exodus 32:8), in accordance with: “It will no longer be a guarantor for the house of Israel, evoking iniquity.” It is taught: Why does a sota not drink from the cup of her counterpart? It is so they will not say: So-and-so drank from this cup and died, in accordance with: “It will no longer be a guarantor for the house of Israel, evoking iniquity.”11A sota does not drink from a cup used by another sota to drink the bitter waters in order to avoid evoking the sin of the other sota, as she was already punished for her sin and was granted atonement. We learned:12See Mishna Sanhedrin 7:4. “[If a woman approaches any animal so that it will copulate with her] you shall kill the woman and the animal” (Leviticus 20:16). If the person sinned, what sin did the animal commit? Rather, because a calamity for a person came about by its means, the Torah said it shall be stoned, so that the animal would not pass in the street and they will be saying: ‘That is the animal because of which so-and-so was stoned,’ in accordance with: “It will no longer be a guarantor for the house of Israel, evoking iniquity.” “A bull, or a sheep, [or a goat, when it is born]” – is a bull born? Is it not a calf that is born? Rather, it is because: “They crafted for themselves a molten calf” – therefore the verse calls it a bull and not a calf.13The verse avoids mentioning the term calf in connection to an animal that will be used as an offering. That is what is written: “A bull, or a sheep, or a goat.”
Another matter, “a bull, or a sheep, or a goat” – that is what is written: “What was, already is” (Ecclesiastes 3:15). Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Neḥemya, Rabbi Yehuda says; Were a person to say to you: ‘Had Adam the first man not sinned and eaten from that tree, he would have lived and endured for eternity,’ you say to him: ‘There has already been Elijah, who did not sin, and he lives and endures for eternity.’ “What will be already was” (Ecclesiastes 3:15) – were a person to say to you: ‘The Holy One blessed be He is destined to revive the dead for us,’ you say to him: “It already was” – by means of Elijah, by means of Elisha, and by means of Ezekiel. Rav Aḥa said in the name of Rabbi Eliezer ben Ḥalafta: Everything that the Holy One blessed be He is destined to make and innovate in His world in the future, He has already made some of it by means of His righteous prophets in this world. The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘It is I who is destined to transform the sea into dry land. But did I not already do so by means of Moses? As it is written: “You, raise your staff…[and extend your staff over the sea and split it and the children of Israel will come into the sea on dry land]” (Exodus 14:16). It is I who is destined to remember the barren women. I have already done so: “The Lord remembered Sarah” (Genesis 21:1). It is I who am destined to cause kings to prostrate themselves to you, as it is stated: “Kings will be your caregivers, and their princesses, your wet nurses; [they will prostrate themselves before you]” (Isaiah 49:23). I have already done so by means of Daniel, as Nebuchadnezzar prostrated himself to Daniel, as it is stated: “Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, and he prostrated himself to Daniel” (Daniel 2:46). I open the eyes of the blind. I have already done so, as it is stated: “The Lord opened the eyes of the lad” (II Kings 6:17), of Elisha.’
“God seeks the persecuted” (Ecclesiastes 3:15). Rav Huna said in the name of Rav Yosef: God always seeks the persecuted. If you find a righteous person persecuting a righteous person, “God seeks the persecuted”; a wicked person persecuting a righteous person, “God seeks the persecuted”; a wicked person persecuting a righteous person, “God seeks the persecuted”; even if a righteous person is persecuting a wicked person, in any case, “God seeks the persecuted.” Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon said in the name of Rabbi Yosei ben Rabbi Nehorai: The Holy One blessed be He always demands the blood of the persecuted from the persecuters. Know that it is so, as Abel was persecuted by Cain and the Holy One blessed be He chose Abel, as it is stated: “The Lord turned to Abel and to his offering” (Genesis 4:4). Noah was persecuted by his generation and the Holy One blessed be He chose only Noah, as it is stated: “As I have seen you to be righteous before Me in this generation” (Genesis 7:1). Abraham was persecuted by Nimrod, and the Holy One blessed be He chose Abraham, as it is stated: “You are the Lord God who chose Abram” (Nehemiah 9:7). Isaac was persecuted by the Philistines, and the Holy One blessed be He chose Isaac, as it is stated: “We have seen that the Lord is with you” (Genesis 26:28). Jacob was persecuted by Esau, and the Holy One blessed be He chose Jacob, as it is stated: “For Jacob, the Lord chose him” (Psalms 135:4). Joseph was persecuted by his brothers, and the Holy One blessed be He chose Joseph, as it is stated: “He established it as testimony for Joseph” (Psalms 81:6). Moses was persecuted by Pharaoh, and the Holy One blessed be He chose Moses, as it is stated: “Were it not for Moses, His chosen one” (Psalms 106:23). David was persecuted by Saul, and the Holy One blessed be He chose David, as it is stated: “He chose David, His servant” (Psalms 78:70). Saul was persecuted by the Philistines, and the Holy One blessed be He chose Saul, as it is stated: “Have you seen the one whom the Lord has chosen?” (I Samuel 10:24). Israel is persecuted by the nations and the Holy One blessed be He has chosen Israel, as it is stated: “The Lord has chosen you to be His treasured people” (Deuteronomy 14:2). Rabbi Eliezer ben Rabbi Yosei ben Zimra said: It is so regarding offerings as well. The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘The bull is pursued by the lion, the goat by the leopard, the sheep by the wolf; do not sacrifice before Me from the pursuers, but rather, from the pursued.’ That is what is written: “A bull, or a sheep, or a goat, when it is born.”
Another matter, “a bull, or a sheep, or a goat” – that is what is written: “My people, what have I done to you, and how did I exhaust you? Testify against Me” (Micah 6:3). Rav Aḥa said: “Testify against Me” and receive a reward, but “you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” (Exodus 20:13) and [if you do, you will] receive for it a reckoning in the future. Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: On three occasions, the Holy One blessed be He entered into a dispute [nitvake’aḥ] with Israel, and the nations of the world rejoiced and said: ‘Are they able to enter into dispute their Creator? Now He will eradicate them from the world.’ [One occasion was] when [the prophet] said to them: “Let us go now and reason together [venivakheḥa], says the Lord” (Isaiah 1:18). When the Holy One blessed be He saw that the nations of the world were rejoicing, He transformed it in [Israel’s] favor, as it is stated: “If your sins will be like scarlet, they will be whitened as snow” (Isaiah 1:18). At that moment, the nations were astounded and said: ‘Is this a response? Is this a rebuke? He has come only to play with His children.’ When He said to them: “Hear, mountains, the Lord’s quarrel” (Micah 6:2), the nations of the world rejoiced and said: ‘How can these [people] enter into dispute with their Creator? Now He will eradicate them from the world.’ When the Holy One blessed be He saw that the nations of the world were rejoicing, he transformed it in their favor, as it is stated: “My people, what have I done to you?” (Micah 6:3), “My people, remember now what Balak king of Moav devised” (Micah 6:5). They were all astounded and said: ‘Is this a response? Is this a rebuke? He has come only to play with His children.’ When [the prophet] said:“The Lord has a grievance with Judah, and will reckon with Jacob” (Hosea 12:3), they rejoiced and said: ‘How can these [people] enter into dispute with their Creator? Now he will eradicate them from the world.’ Immediately, he transformed it in their favor, as it is stated: “In the womb, he was at his brother’s heels, [and with his strength he strove with God]” (Hosea 12:4). Rabbi Yudan ben Rabbi Shimon said: This is analogous to a widowed woman who complained about her son to a judge. When she saw that the judge was sitting and sentencing [people] to fire, tar, and rods, she said: ‘If I inform this judge about the misdeeds of this son of mine, he will kill him now.’ She waited until the judge finished [his previous cases]. When he finished, he said to her: ‘How has this son of yours mistreated you?’ She said to him: ‘Sir, when he was in my womb he would kick.’ He said to her: ‘Now has he done anything to you?’ She said to him: ‘No.’ He said to her: ‘Go, as that is no misdeed at all.’ So too, when the Holy One blessed be He saw that the nations of the world were rejoicing, He transformed it in their favor for them, as it is stated: “In the womb, he was at his brother’s heels.” Immediately, the nations of the world were astounded and said: ‘Is this a response? Is this a rebuke? This one after that one;14Does this sentence logically follow from the previous one? He has come only to play with His children.’ “How did I exhaust you? Testify against Me.” Rabbi Berekhya said: This is analogous to a king who dispatched emissaries to a province and the residents of the province stood and served them with reverence, awe, quaking, and trembling. So, the Holy One blessed be He said to Israel: ‘I dispatched three emissaries to you, Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. Have they, perhaps, eaten from yours? Have they, perhaps, drank from yours? Have they, perhaps, imposed upon you? Is it not only by their merit that you are sustained? The manna is due to the merit of Moses, the spring is due to the merit of Miriam, the clouds of glory are due to the merit of Aaron.’ Rabbi Yitzḥak said: This is analogous to a king who sent a royal edict to a province. What did the residents of the province do? They stood on their feet, bared their heads, and read it with reverence, awe, quaking, and trembling. So, the Holy One blessed be He said to Israel: ‘Regarding this royal edict of Mine, I did not impose upon you and I did not say to you that you should recite Shema while standing on your feet or baring your heads, but rather: “While you are sitting in your house, and while you are walking on the way, and while you are lying down, and while you are rising”’ (Deuteronomy 6:7). Rabbi Yehuda bar Rabbi Simon said: The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘I have given you ten types of animals, three in your domain and seven that are not in your domain. Three that are in your domain: “An ox, a sheep, and a goat” (Deuteronomy 14:4). Seven that are not in your domain: “A deer, a gazelle, a fallow deer, a wild goat, an oryx, an aurochs, and a wild sheep” (Deuteronomy 14:5). I did not impose upon you to exhaust yourselves on the mountains in order to bring an offering from those that are not in your domain but rather, from what is in your domain and is raised from your trough.’ That is what is written: “A bull, or a sheep, or a goat.”
Rabbi Levi began: “Behold, you are from nothing [me’ayin] and your actions are for naught [me’afa]” (Isaiah 41:24); me’ayin – from nothing, from a putrid drop. Me’afa – from the one hundred cries [pe’iyot] that a woman cries while she is seated on the birthing stool, ninety-nine for death and one for life.15She feels as though there is a ninety-nine percent chance she will die. “Abomination shall he choose among you” (Isaiah 41:24). Even though this baby emerges from his mother’s womb dirty and filthy, covered with mucus and blood, everyone hugs him and kisses him, especially if he is male. Another matter, “behold [hen], you are from nothing” – Rabbi Berekhya said: In Greek hen is one. The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘You are one nation for Me among the nations of the world.’ “From nothing,” from among those in whose regard He wrote: “All the nations are as nothing before Him” (Isaiah 40:17). “Your actions are for naught [me’afeh]” – Rabbi Levi said: All the good and comforting actions that the Holy One blessed be He is destined to perform on behalf of Israel are only due to the cry that you cried out before Me at Sinai: “Everything that God has spoken we will perform and we will heed” (Exodus 24:7). “Abomination shall he choose among you” – that abomination in whose regard it is written: “They crafted for themselves a molten calf” (Exodus 32:8), from that abomination, bring an offering before Me, as it is stated: “A bull or a sheep.”
“With their evildoing they gladden a king” (Hosea 7:3). What did He see that led Him to make the bull first of all the offerings? Rabbi Levi said: This is analogous to a queen in whose regard a bad rumor spread in connection with one of the prominent members of the royal court. The king investigated the matters and did not find them substantive. What did the king do? He made a banquet and seated that man at the head of those dining. Why to that extent? It was to make it known that the king had investigated the matters and did not find them substantive. So, the nations of the world antagonize Israel and say to them: ‘You crafted the calf.’ The Holy One blessed be He investigated the matters and did not find them substantive. That is why the bull became first of all the offerings. That is what is written: “A bull, or a sheep, or a goat.” Rabbi Huna and Rabbi Aivu in the name of Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman: Israel took no part in that action, as, had Israel crafted the calf, they would have said: “This is our God.” Rather, it was the proselytes who ascended with them from Egypt that crafted it, and they were taunting Israel and saying: “This is your God, Israel” (Exodus 32:4). Rabbi Yehuda bar Rabbi Simon said: It is written: “An ox knows its owner” (Isaiah 1:3), but they did not know? It is rather, that they trampled with the heel.16They related to their owner, God, as though He were insignificant. Similarly, “for My people are stupid, they do not know Me” (Jeremiah 4:22). Did they not know? It is, rather, that they trampled with a heel. Similarly, “she did not know that I gave her” (Hosea 2:10). Did she not know? It is, rather, that she trampled with a heel.
Another matter, “a bull, or a sheep, or a goat” – “a bull,” due to the merit of Abraham, as it is stated: “Abraham ran to the cattle” (Genesis 18:7); “a sheep,” due to the merit of Isaac, as it is written: “He saw, and behold, a ram” (Genesis 22:13); “a goat,” due to the merit of Jacob, as it is written: “Go to the flock and take for me from there two good goat kids” (Genesis 27:9). What is [implied by the word] “good”? Rabbi Berekhya said in the name of Rabbi Ḥelbo: It is good for you and good for your descendants. Good for you, as by their means you will receive a variety of blessings. Good for your descendants, as by their means [their sins] will be atoned for on Yom Kippur. That is what is written: “For on this day it will be atoned for you” (Leviticus 16:30).17Significant aspects of the atonement process in the Temple on Yom Kippur involved goats; see Leviticus chapter 16.
“[A bull, a sheep, or a goat, when it is born,] shall be seven days under its mother.” Why seven days? So it can be examined, as if its mother gored it or if a blemish is found in it, it is unfit and it will not be fit for an offering, as we learned there: After the birth of an offspring by caesarean section, [the mother] does not observe days of impurity and days of purity, and she is not obligated to bring for it the offering. Rabbi Shimon said: It is considered naturally born.18Mishna Nidda 5:1. According to the first tanna, a child born through caesarean section is not considered to have come into the world through a normal birth process, such that the laws that normally apply to a woman who has given birth would apply. Similarly, when the verse states that a bull, sheep, or goat was “born,” the implication is that they were born naturally and not through caesarean section. Since the normal birth process can lead to injury, the animal is given seven days so that it can be certain it has suffered no blemishes before bringing it as an offering. Another matter, “it…shall be seven days under its mother.” Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin said in the name of Rabbi Levi: This is analogous to a king who entered a province and issued an edict: ‘All the guests who are here shall not have an audience with me until they have an audience with the queen first.’ So, the Holy One blessed be He said: ‘Do not bring an offering before Me until Shabbat will pass for it, as there are no seven days without Shabbat, and there is no circumcision without Shabbat.’ That is what is written: “From the eighth day on, it shall be accepted.” Rabbi Yitzḥak said: The law of man and the law of animal are the same. The law of man: On the eighth day, the flesh of its foreskin shall be circumcised” (Leviticus 12:3). The law of animals: “From the eighth day on, it shall be accepted.” In other words, if you brought an offering before Me of your own volition and with good will, it is My offering. If it is by force and against your will, I will not ascribe to you as though you sacrificed before Me, but rather, as a “fire offering to the Lord” (Leviticus 22:27).19By using the term fire offering [isheh] rather than offering [korban] or My offering [korbani], the implication is that the individual views it as a waste that the animal is burned in fire. Similarly, “Command the children of Israel, and say to them: My offering, My food, for My fires” (Numbers 28:2) – if you brought an offering before Me of your own volition and with good will, it is “My offering.” If it is by force, it is to “My fires” and not to the Name.
“A bull or a sheep, it and its offspring you shall not slaughter on one day” (Leviticus 22:28). “A bull or a sheep, it and its offspring you shall not slaughter on one day.” Rabbi Berekhya said in the name of Rabbi Levi: “The righteous one knows the nature of his animal” (Proverbs 12:10), this is the Holy One blessed be He, as it is written in His Torah: “Do not take the mother with the fledglings” (Deuteronomy 22:6). “The mercy of the wicked is cruel” (Proverbs 12:10), this is Sennacherib, in whose regard it is written: “Mother and children were torn asunder” (Hosea 10:14). Alternatively, “the righteous one knows,” this is the Holy One blessed be He, in whose Torah it is written: “a bull, or a sheep, or a goat.”20Some suggest that the text should read: “A bull or a sheep, it and its offspring you shall not slaughter on one day” (see Rabbi David Luria). “The mercy of the wicked is cruel,” this is the wicked Haman, as it is written: “To destroy, to kill, and to eliminate [all the Jews, from lad to elder, women and children, on one day]” (Esther 3:13). Rabbi Levi said: Woe unto the wicked, who engage themselves in counsel against Israel and each and every one says: ‘My counsel is superior to yours.’ Esau said: ‘Cain was a fool that he killed his brother during his father’s lifetime, and he did not realize that his father would procreate [again]. I will not do so; rather, “Let the days of mourning for my father approach [and I will kill my brother Jacob]”’ (Genesis 27:41). Pharaoh said: ‘Esau was a fool, as he said: “Let the days of mourning for my father approach,” but he did not realize that his brother would procreate during his father’s lifetime. I will not do so; rather, when they are small, beneath their mothers’ birthing stools, I will strangle them.’ That is what is written: “When you see upon the birthing stool…every son that is born you shall cast him into the Nile” (Exodus 1:16, 22). Haman said: ‘Pharaoh was a fool, as he said: “Every son that is born you shall cast him into the Nile,” but he did not realize that the daughters would marry men and procreate from them. I will not do so, but rather, “to destroy, to kill, and to eliminate [all the Jews].”’ Rabbi Levi said: Gog and Magog, too, are destined to say so in the future: ‘The ancients were fools, as they engaged themselves in counsel against Israel, but they did not realize that they have a Patron in Heaven. I will not do that; rather, I will first confront their Patron and then them.’ That is what is written: “The kings of the earth will mobilize” (Psalms 2:2). The Holy One blessed be He says to him: ‘Wicked one, is it Me that you have come to confront? As you live, I will wage war against you.’ That is what is written: “The Lord will emerge like a warrior, He will arouse zealotry like a man of war” (Isaiah 42:13), and it is written: “The Lord will emerge and wage war against those nations” (Zechariah 14:3). What is written there? “The Lord will be King over all the earth” (Zechariah 14:9).
“When you slaughter a thanks offering to the Lord, you shall slaughter it to garner favor for yourselves” (Leviticus 22:29). “When you slaughter a thanks offering to the Lord,” Rabbi Pinḥas, Rabbi Levi, and Rabbi Yoḥanan in the name of Rabbi Menaḥem of Gaul: In the future, all the offerings will be abolished, but the thanks offering will never be abolished. All forms of thanksgiving will be abolished, but thanksgiving through the thanks offering will never be abolished. That is what is written: “The sound of gladness and the sound of joy, the sound of a groom and the sound of a bride, the sound of those who say: Give thanks to the Lord of hosts, for the Lord is good” (Jeremiah 33:11); these are the forms of thanksgiving. “Bringing thanks offerings to the House of the Lord” (Jeremiah 33:11); this is the thanks offering. Likewise, David said: “I will fulfill the vows I made to You; I will offer thanks offerings [todot] to You” (Psalms 56:13). It does not say toda,21Singular. but rather todot22Plural. – thanksgiving and a thanks offering.
שׁוֹר אוֹ כֶשֶׂב אוֹ עֵז (ויקרא כב, כז), הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב (תהלים לו, ז): צִדְקָתְךָ כְּהַרְרֵי אֵל, הֶהָרִים מַעֲלִין עֲשָׂבִים וְהַצַּדִּיקִים יֵשׁ לָהֶם מַעֲשִׂים טוֹבִים. דָּבָר אַחֵר, צִדְקָתְךָ כְּהַרְרֵי אֵל, מָה הֶהָרִים רְאוּיִים לְהִזָּרַע וְעוֹשִׂים פֵּרוֹת, כָּךְ הַצַּדִּיקִים עוֹשִׂים פֵּרוֹת וּמֵיטִיבִין לְעַצְמָם וְלַאֲחֵרִים, לְמָה הַדָּבָר דּוֹמֶה לְפַעֲמוֹן זָהָב וְהַגִּיל שֶׁלּוֹ מִן מַרְגָּלִיּוֹת, כָּךְ הַצַּדִּיקִים מֵיטִיבִין לְעַצְמָן וְלַאֲחֵרִים, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ישעיה ג, י): אִמְרוּ צַדִּיק כִּי טוֹב כִּי פְרִי מַעַלְלֵיהֶם יֹאכֵלוּ, (תהלים לו, ז): מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ תְּהוֹם רַבָּה, אֵלּוּ הָרְשָׁעִים, מַה תְּהוֹם אֵינוֹ יָכוֹל לְהִזָּרַע וְאֵינוֹ עוֹשֶׂה פֵּרוֹת אַף הָרְשָׁעִים אֵין לָהֶם מַעֲשִׂים טוֹבִים וְאֵין עוֹשִׂים פֵּרוֹת, אֶלָּא מְצֵרִין לְעַצְמָן וְלַאֲחֵרִים, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ישעיה ג, יא): אוֹי לְרָשָׁע רָע, רַע לְעַצְמוֹ וְרַע לַאֲחֵרִים. צִדְקָתְךָ כְּהַרְרֵי אֵל, סַרֵס הַמִּקְרָא וְדָרְשֵׁהוּ, צִדְקָתְךָ עַל מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ כְּהַרְרֵי אֵל עַל תְּהוֹם רַבָּה, מָה הֶהָרִים הַלָּלוּ כּוֹבְשִׁין עַל תְּהוֹם שֶׁלֹּא יַצִּיף הָעוֹלָם, כָּךְ הַצְּדָקָה כּוֹבֶשֶׁת אֶת הַפֻּרְעָנוּת שֶׁלֹּא תָבוֹא לָעוֹלָם. צִדְקָתְךָ כְּהַרְרֵי אֵל, מָה הֶהָרִים הַלָּלוּ אֵין לָהֶם סוֹף כָּךְ אֵין סוֹף לְמַתַּן שְׂכָרָן שֶׁל צַדִּיקִים. מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ תְּהוֹם רַבָּה, מַה תְּהוֹם אֵין לוֹ חֵקֶר, כָּךְ אֵין חֵקֶר לְפֻרְעָנוּתָן שֶׁל רְשָׁעִים לֶעָתִיד לָבוֹא. דָּבָר אַחֵר, צִדְקָתְךָ כְּהַרְרֵי אֵל, רַבִּי יִשְׁמָעֵאל אוֹמֵר הַצַּדִּיקִים שֶׁעוֹשִׂין הַתּוֹרָה שֶׁנִּתְּנָה מֵהַרְרֵי אֵל הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא עוֹשֶׂה עִמָּהֶן צְדָקָה כְּהַרְרֵי אֵל, אֲבָל רְשָׁעִים שֶׁאֵין עוֹשִׂים הַתּוֹרָה שֶׁנִּתְּנָה מֵהַרְרֵי אֵל, הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מְדַקְדֵּק עִמָּהֶן עַד תְּהוֹם רַבָּה. רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא אוֹמֵר אֵלּוּ וָאֵלּוּ מְדַקְדֵּק עִמָּהֶן, הַצַּדִּיקִים גּוֹבֶה מֵהֶם מִעוּט מַעֲשִׂים רָעִים שֶׁעָשׂוּ בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה בִּשְׁבִיל לִתֵּן לָהֶם שָׂכָר טוֹב לֶעָתִיד לָבוֹא, וּמַשְׁפִּיעַ שָׁלוֹם לָרְשָׁעִים וּמְשַׁלֵּם לָהֶם מִעוּט מַעֲשִׂים טוֹבִים שֶׁעָשׂוּ בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה כְּדֵי לִפָּרַע מֵהֶם לֶעָתִיד לָבוֹא. רַבִּי מֵאִיר אוֹמֵר מָשַׁל הַצַדִּיקִים בְּדִירָתָן, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (יחזקאל לד, יד): בְּמִרְעֶה טּוֹב אֶרְעֶה אֹתָם וּבְהָרֵי מְרוֹם יִשְׂרָאֵל יִהְיֶה נְוֵהֶם, וּמָשַׁל הָרְשָׁעִים בְּדִירָתָן, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (יחזקאל לא, טו): בְּיוֹם רִדְתּוֹ שְׁאֹלָה הֶאֱבַלְתִּי כִּסֵּתִי עָלָיו אֶת תְּהוֹם, רַבִּי יְהוּדָה בֶּן רַבִּי אָמַר מָשָׁל אֵין עוֹשִׂין כִּסּוּי לְגִיגִית לֹא מִכֶּסֶף וְזָהָב וְלֹא מִשְּׁאָר מַתָּכוֹת אֶלָּא מֵחֶרֶס, מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהוּא מִין בְּמִינוֹ, כָּךְ אָמַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא גֵּיהִנֹּם חשֶׁךְ, דִּכְתִיב (תהלים לה, ו): יְהִי דַרְכָּם חשֶׁךְ וְחַלַקְלַקֹּת, וּתְהוֹם חשֶׁךְ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (בראשית א, ב): וְחשֶׁךְ עַל פְּנֵי תְהוֹם, וְהָרְשָׁעִים חשֶׁךְ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ישעיה כט, טו): וְהָיָה בְמַחְשָׁךְ מַעֲשֵׂיהֶם, יָבוֹא חשֶׁךְ וִיכַסֶּה חשֶׁךְ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (קהלת ו, ד): כִּי בַהֶבֶל בָּא וּבַחשֶׁךְ יֵלֵךְ וּבַחשֶׁךְ שְׁמוֹ יְכֻסֶּה. דָּבָר אַחֵר, צִדְקָתְךָ כְּהַרְרֵי אֵל, רַבִּי יְהוּדָה בֶּן רַבִּי סִימוֹן אָמַר צְדָקָה שֶׁעָשִׂיתָ עִם נֹחַ בַּתֵּבָה כְּהַרְרֵי אֵל, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (בראשית ח, ד): וַתָּנַח הַתֵּבָה עַל הָרֵי אֲרָרָט, וּמִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ שֶׁעָשִׂיתָ עִם דּוֹרוֹ דִּקְדַּקְתָּ עִמָּהֶם עַד תְּהוֹם רַבָּה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (בראשית ז, יא): בַּיּוֹם הַזֶּה נִבְקְעוּ כָּל מַעְיְנוֹת תְּהוֹם רַבָּה, וּכְשֶׁזְּכַרְתּוֹ לֹא לְבַדּוֹ זְכַרְתּוֹ, אֶלָּא וַיִּזְכֹּר אֱלֹהִים אֶת נֹחַ וְאֶת כָּל הַחַיָּה. רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן לֵוִי כִּי סָלֵיק לְרוֹמִי רָאָה שָׁם עַמּוּדִים שֶׁל שַׁיִּשׁ מְכֻסִּים בְּטִיפְּטֵיאוֹת, בַּשָּׁרָב שֶׁלֹּא יִפָּקְעוּ וּבַצִּנָה שֶׁלֹּא יִקְרְשׁוּ, רָאָה שָׁם עָנִי אֶחָד וּמַחְצֶלֶת קַנִּים תַּחְתָּיו וּמַחְצֶלֶת קַנִּים עַל גַּבָּיו, עַל הָעַמּוּדִים קָרָא: צִדְקָתְךָ כְּהַרְרֵי אֵל, אָן דְּאַתְּ יָהֵב אַתְּ מַשְׁפַּע, וְעַל הֶעָנִי קָרָא: מִשְׁפָּטֶיךָ תְּהוֹם רַבָּה, אָן דְּאַתְּ מָחֵי אַתְּ מְדַקְדֵּק. אֲלֶכְּסַנְדְּרוֹס מוֹקְדוֹן אֲזַל לְגַבֵּי מַלְכָּא קַצְיָא לַאֲחוֹרֵי הָרֵי חשֶׁךְ, אֲזַל לַהֲדָא מְדִינְתָּא דִשְׁמָהּ קַרְטָגִינָא וַהֲוַת כֻּלָּהּ דִּנְשֵׁי, נָפְקִין קֳדָמוֹי אָמְרֵי לֵיהּ אִי אַתְּ עָבֵיד עִמָּנָא קְרָבָא, וְנָצַחְתְּ לָן שְׁמָךְ נָפֵיק לְעַלְמָא דִמְחוֹזָא דִּנְשֵׁי אִחֲרַבְתְּ, וְאִי אֲנַן עָבְדִינַן עִמָּךְ קְרָבָא וְנַצְחִינָךְ שְׁמָךְ נָפֵיק בְּעַלְמָא דִּנְשַׁיָּא נִצְחוּךְ, וְתוּ לֵית אַתְּ קָאֵים קֳדָם מַלְכוּ. כִּי נָפַק כָּתַב עַל תְּרַע פִּילֵי אֲנָא אֲלֶכְּסַנְדְּרוֹס מוֹקְדוֹן שָׁטֵי הֲוֵינָא עַד דְּאָתֵי לְקַרְטָגִינָא מְדִינְתָּא וַאֲלַפִית עֵצָה מִנְּשַׁיָּא. אֲזַל לִמְדִינְתָּא אָחֲרֵי דִּשְׁמָהּ אַפְרִיקֵי נָפְקִין קֳדָמוֹנֵיהּ בְּחִזּוּרִין דִּדְהַב וּבְרִמּוֹנִין דִּדְהַב וּבִלְחֵם דְּדַהֲבָא, אֲמַר וּמַה זֶּה, דַּהֲבָא מִתְאָכֵיל בְּאַרְעֲכוֹן, אֲמָרוּ לֵיהּ וְלָא הֲוָה כֵן בְּאַרְעָא. אֲמַר לְהוֹן לָא עֲבִידְתֵיכוֹן אָתֵיתִי לְמֶחֱמֵי אֶלָּא דִינְכוֹן אֲתֵיתִי לְמֶחֱמֵי, עַד דְּאִינוּן יָתְבִין אָתוֹ תְּרֵי גַבְרֵי לְדִינָא קֳדָם מַלְכָּא, חַד אֲמַר מָרֵי מַלְכָּא חָרוּבָא זְבִינִית מֵהַאי גַבְרָא וּגְרִיפָתָא וְאַשְׁכְּחֵי בָּהּ סִימָא, וַאֲמָרִית לֵיהּ סַב סִימָתִיךְ דְּחָרוּבָא זְבִינִית וְסִימָא לָא זְבִינִית, וְאַחֲרִינָא אֲמַר כְּמָה דְאַתְּ מִסְתְּפֵי מֵעֹנֶשׁ גֶּזֶל כָּךְ מִסְתָּפֵינָא אֲנָא, כַּד זַבִּינִית לָךְ חָרוּבְתָּא וְכָל דְּאִיהוּ בָּהּ זַבִּינִית לָךְ. קָרָא מַלְכָּא לְחַד מִנְהוֹן אֲמַר לֵיהּ אִית לָךְ בְּרָא, אֲמַר לֵיהּ הֵן. קָרָא לְאַחֲרִינָא אֲמַר לֵיהּ אִית לָךְ בְּרַתָּא, אֲמַר לֵיהּ הֵן. אֲמַר לְהוֹ זִילוּן וִינָסְבוּן דֵּין לְדֵין וְיֵכְלוּן תַּרְוֵיהוֹן סִימָא. שָׁרֵי אֲלֶכְּסַנְדְּרוֹס מוֹקְדוֹן תָּמַהּ, אֲמַר לֵיהּ מַלְכָּא מָה אַתְּ תָּמַהּ, לָא דַנְתִּי טָבוּת, אֲמַר לֵיהּ הֵן, אֲמַר לֵיהּ אִלּוּ הֲוָה הָדֵין דִּינָא בְּאַרְעֲכוֹן מָה הֲוֵיתוּן עָבְדִין, אֲמַר לֵיהּ מֵרִים רֵישָׁא דְדֵין וְרֵישָׁא דְּדֵין וְסִימָא סָלְקָא לְבֵי מַלְכָּא. אֲמַר וְשִׁמְשָׁא דַנְחָא בְּאַרְעֲכוֹן, אֲמַר לֵיהּ הֵן, וּמִטְרָא נָחֵית בְּאַרְעֲכוֹן, אֲמַר לֵיהּ הֵן, אֲמַר לֵיהּ דִּלְמָא אִית בְּאַרְעֲכוֹן בְּעִיר דַּקִּיק, אֲמַר לֵיהּ תִּפַּח רוּחֵיהּ דְּהַהוּא גַבְרָא, בִּזְכוּת בְּעִירָא דַּקִּיקָא שִׁמְשָׁא דַּנְחָה עֲלֵיכוֹן וּמִטְרָא דְּנָחֵית עֲלֵיכוֹן אַמְטוּ בְּעִירָא דַקִּיקָא אַתּוּן מִשְׁתֵּזְבִין, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב (תהלים לו, ז): אָדָם וּבְהֵמָה תוֹשִׁיעַ ה', אָדָם בִּזְכוּת בְּהֵמָה תּוֹשִׁיעַ ה'. אָמְרוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל רִבּוֹנוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם, כְּאָדָם אֲנַחְנוּ כִּבְהֵמָה תּוֹשִׁיעֵנוּ, לְפִי שֶׁאָנוּ נִמְשָׁכִין אַחֲרֶיךָ כַּבְּהֵמָה, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב (שיר השירים א, ד): מָשְׁכֵנִי אַחֲרֶיךָ נָרוּצָה, לְהֵיכָן אָנוּ נִמְשָׁכִין אַחֲרֶיךָ, לְגַן עֵדֶן, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב (תהלים לו, ט): יִרְוְיֻן מִדֶּשֶׁן בֵּיתֶךָ וְנַחַל עֲדָנֶיךָ תַשְׁקֵם, אָמַר רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר בֶּן רַבִּי מְנַחֵם, עֶדְנְךָ אֵין כְּתִיב כָּאן אֶלָּא עֲדָנֶיךָ, מְלַמֵּד שֶׁכָּל צַדִּיק וְצַדִּיק יֵשׁ לוֹ עֵדֶן בִּפְנֵי עַצְמוֹ. אָדָם וּבְהֵמָה תוֹשִׁיעַ ה', אָמַר רַבִּי יִצְחָק מִשְׁפַּט אָדָם וּמִשְׁפַּט בְּהֵמָה שָׁוִין, מִשְׁפַּט אָדָם (ויקרא יב, ג): וּבַיּוֹם הַשְּׁמִינִי יִמּוֹל בְּשַׂר עָרְלָתוֹ. מִשְׁפַּט בְּהֵמָה, (ויקרא כב, כז): וּמִיּוֹם הַשְּׁמִינִי וָהָלְאָה יֵרָצֶה וגו'.
“A bull, or a sheep, or a goat, when it is born, shall be seven days under its mother and from the eighth day on, it shall be accepted as a fire offering to the Lord” (Leviticus 22:27).
“A bull, or a sheep, or a goat” – that is what is written: “Your righteousness is like mighty mountains” (Psalms 36:7). The mountains produce herbs and the righteous have good deeds. Alternatively, “Your righteousness is like mighty mountains” – just as mountains are fit to be sown and produce fruit, so, the righteous produce fruits for themselves and for others. To what is the matter comparable? To a golden bell whose clapper is of pearls;1The clapper is heard but is hidden from sight. So too, the reward of the righteous in the World to Come is not perceived or shared with others. However, all benefit from the righteous in this world, as all benefit from the beauty of the golden bell (Etz Yosef). so, the righteous benefit themselves and benefit others, as it is stated: “Tell the righteous that it is good, as they will eat the fruit of their actions” (Isaiah 3:10). “Your judgments are vast depths” (Psalms 36:7), these are the wicked. Just as the depths cannot be sown and do not produce fruits, so, the wicked do not have good deeds and they do not produce fruits. Rather, they distress themselves and others, as it is stated: “Woe to the wicked, that he is evil” (Isaiah 3:11), evil for himself and evil for others.
“Your righteousness [tzidkatekha] is like mighty mountains; [Your judgments are vast depths].” Transpose the verse and expound it: Your righteousness over your judgments is like mighty mountains over vast depths. Just as these mountains suppress the depths so they do not inundate the world, so too, charity [tzedaka] suppresses punishment so it will not come to the world. “Your righteousness is like mighty mountains” – just as these mountains are endless, so too, there is no end to the reward given to the righteous. “Your judgments are vast depths” – just as the depths are unquantifiable, so the punishment of the wicked in the future is unquantifiable.
Another matter, “Your righteousness is like mighty mountains.” Rabbi Yishmael says: The righteous, who fulfill the Torah that was given from the mighty mountains, the Holy One blessed be He performs with them charity like the mighty mountains. But the wicked, who do not fulfill the Torah that was given from the mighty mountains, the Holy One blessed be He is exacting with them to the vast depths. Rabbi Akiva says: He is exacting with these and those. From the righteous He collects payment in this world for the small number of wicked deeds that they performed in this world in order to give them a good reward in the future, and He bestows peace upon the wicked and repays them for the small number of good deeds that they performed in this world in order to exact retribution from them in the future.
Rabbi Meir says: The righteous were likened to their abode, as it is stated: “In good grazing land I will herd them, and on the mountains of the height of Israel will be their pasture” (Ezekiel 34:14). The wicked were likened to their abode, as it is stated: “So said the Lord God: On the day that he descended to the netherworld I caused mourning; I covered the depths for him” (Ezekiel 31:15). Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi said: This is analogous to the fact that one crafts a cover for an earthenware vat neither of silver, nor of gold, nor of other metals, but rather, of earthenware, because it is of the same kind. So, the Holy One blessed be He said: Gehenna is darkness, as it is written: “Let their way be dark and slippery” (Psalms 35:6); the depths are darkness, as it is stated: “Darkness was upon the surface of the depths” (Genesis 1:2); and the wicked are darkness, as it is stated: “Their actions are in the darkness” (Isaiah 29:15). Let darkness come and cover darkness, as it is stated: “For he came in futility, and departs in darkness, and his name is covered in darkness” (Ecclesiastes 6:4).
Another matter, “Your righteousness is like mighty mountains.” Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon said: The righteousness that you performed on behalf of Noah in the ark “is like the mighty mountains,” as it is stated: “The ark rested on the mountains of Ararat” (Genesis 8:4). Your judgments that You performed with his generation, You were exacting with them to “the vast depths,” as it is stated: “On that day all the wellsprings of the vast depths were breached” (Genesis 7:11). When You remembered him, you did not remember him alone, but rather, “God remembered Noah and every beast” (Genesis 8:1).
When Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi went to Rome, he saw there marble pillars covered with tapestries so they would not crack in the heat or contract in the cold. He saw a certain poor man there with a reed mat beneath him and a reed mat on his back.2Such a mat was hard and uncomfortable to sit or lie on, but also did not provide good protection from the elements. Regarding the pillars he read: “Your righteousness is like mighty mountains.” Where You bestow, You bestow benevolently. Regarding the poor man he read: “Your judgments are vast depths.” Where You strike, You are very exacting.
Alexander of Macedonia went to the king at the end of the earth, beyond the mountains of darkness. He went to a certain province named Carthage in which there were only women. They went out before him and said to him: ‘If you engage in battle with us and overcome us, your reputation will emerge to the world as one who destroyed a district of women. If we engage in battle with you and overcome you, your reputation will emerge to the world as one who was overcome by women, and you will no longer stand before kings.’ When he went out, he wrote on the gate of the city wall: ‘I, Alexander of Macedonia, was a fool until I came to the province of Carthage and learned counsel from women.’
He went to another province named Africa and they emerged before him with golden apples, golden pomegranates, and golden bread. He said: ‘What is this, is gold eaten in your land?’ They said to him: ‘Did you not have it in your land?’3Do you not have food in your land, that you came here for regular food? He said to them: ‘I did not come to see your products, I came to see your judicial system.’ While they were sitting, two men came for judgment before the king. One said: ‘My master the king: I purchased a ruin from this man, and I dug, and I found buried treasure in it. I said to him: Take your treasure, as I purchased a ruin, I did not purchase treasure.’ The other said: ‘Just as you fear the punishment for robbery, so do I fear it. When I sold it to you, I sold you the ruin and everything in it.’ The king addressed one of them and said to him: ‘Do you have a son?’ He said to him: ‘Yes.’ He addressed the other, he said to him: ‘Do you have a daughter?’ He said to him: ‘Yes.’ He said to them: ‘Go and marry one to the other, and both of them can partake of the treasure.’ Alexander of Macedonia became astonished. The king said to him: ‘Why are you astonished? Did I not judge well?’ He said to him: ‘Yes.’ He said to him: ‘If this case had been in your land, what would you have done?’ He said to him: ‘Beheaded this one and beheaded that one and the treasure would have gone to the king’s palace.’ [The king] said: ‘Does the sun shine in your land?’ He said to him: ‘Yes.’ ‘Does rain fall in your land?’ He said to him: ‘Yes.’ He said to him: ‘Are there, perhaps, small domesticated animals in your land?’ [He said: ‘Yes.’] He said to him: ‘May that man despair,4The king said to Alexander: That man, i.e., you, should despair. it is only thanks to the small domesticated animals that the sun shines upon you and the rain falls upon you. Due to the small domesticated animals you survive.’ That is what is written: “The Lord will save man and animal” (Psalms 36:7); man, thanks to animal, the Lord will save.
Israel said: ‘Master of the universe, we are like man, save us like an animal,5Although we are human and sin with full knowledge of the consequences, save us like you would an animal, which cannot be held accountable for its actions. because we are drawn after You like an animal.’ That is what is written: “Draw me after you, we will run” (Song of Songs 1:4). To where are we drawn after you? To the Garden of Eden; that is what is written: “They are sated by the rich fare of Your House; You give them to drink from the stream of Your delights [adanekha]” (Psalms 36:9).6The midrash interprets the word adanekha to mean Your Edens. Rabbi Elazar ben Rabbi Menaḥem said: Your Eden [ednekha] is not written here, but rather, Your Edens [adanekha]. This teaches that each and every righteous person has an Eden of his own.
“The Lord will save man and animal.” Rabbi Yitzḥak said: The law of man and the law of animal are equal. The law of man: “On the eighth day, the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised” (Leviticus 12:3). The law of animal: “From the eighth day on, it shall be accepted [as a fire offering to the Lord].”
רַבִּי תַּנְחוּמָא פָּתַח (איוב מא, ג): מִי הִקְדִּימַנִי וַאֲשַׁלֵּם תַּחַת כָּל הַשָּׁמַיִם לִי הוּא, זֶה רַוָּק הַדָּר בַּמְדִינָה וְנוֹתֵן שְׂכַר סוֹפְרִים וּמַשְׁנִים, אָמַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא עָלַי לְשַׁלֵּם גְּמוּלוֹ וּשְׂכָרוֹ וְלִתֵּן לוֹ בֵּן זָכָר. אָמַר רַבִּי יִרְמְיָה בֶּן רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר עֲתִידָה בַּת קוֹל לִהְיוֹת מְפוֹצֶצֶת בְּרֹאשׁ הֶהָרִים וְאוֹמֵר כָּל מִי שֶׁפָּעַל עִם אֵל יָבוֹא וְיִטֹּל שְׂכָרוֹ, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב (במדבר כג, כג): כָּעֵת יֵאָמֵר לְיַעֲקֹב וּלְיִשְׂרָאֵל וגו', וְרוּחַ הַקֹּדֶשׁ אוֹמֶרֶת: מִי הִקְדִּימַנִי וַאֲשַׁלֵּם, מִי קִלֵּס לְפָנַי עַד שֶׁלֹּא נָתַתִּי לוֹ נְשָׁמָה, מִי מִלֵּל לִשְׁמִי עַד שֶׁלֹּא נָתַתִּי לוֹ בֵּן זָכָר, מִי עָשָׂה לִי מַעֲקֶה עַד שֶׁלֹּא נָתַתִּי לוֹ גַּג, מִי עָשָׂה לִי מְזוּזָה עַד שֶׁלֹּא נָתַתִּי לוֹ בַּיִת, מִי עָשָׂה לִי סֻכָּה עַד שֶׁלֹּא נָתַתִּי לוֹ מָקוֹם, מִי עָשָׂה לִי לוּלָב עַד שֶׁלֹּא נָתַתִּי לוֹ דָּמִים, מִי עָשָׂה לִי צִיצִית עַד שֶׁלֹּא נָתַתִּי לוֹ טַלִּית, מִי הִפְרִישׁ לְפָנַי פֵּאָה עַד שֶׁלֹּא נָתַתִּי לוֹ שָׂדֶה, מִי הִפְרִישׁ לִי תְּרוּמָה עַד שֶׁלֹּא נָתַתִּי לוֹ גֹּרֶן, מִי הִפְרִישׁ לְפָנַי חַלָּה עַד שֶׁלֹּא נָתַתִּי לוֹ עִסָּה, מִי הִפְרִישׁ לְפָנַי קָרְבָּן עַד שֶׁלֹּא נָתַתִּי לוֹ בְּהֵמָה, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב: שׁוֹר אוֹ כֶשֶׂב אוֹ עֵז.
Rabbi Tanḥuma began: “Who has given Me anything beforehand, that I shall pay? Everything beneath the heavens is Mine” (Job 41:3). This is an unmarried man who lives in the province and gives toward the salary of Bible teachers and Mishna teachers. The Holy One blessed be He says: ‘It is incumbent upon Me to pay his compensation and reward and to grant him a male offspring.’
Rabbi Yirmeya ben Rabbi Elazar said: A Divine Voice is destined to explode on the mountaintops and say: ‘Let anyone who acted with God come and take his reward.’ That is what is written: “Now, it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel [what God has wrought]” (Numbers 23:23).
The Divine Spirit says: ‘“Who has given Me anything beforehand, that I shall pay?” Who lauded Me before I gave him a soul? Who spoke My name before I granted him a male offspring? Who constructed Me a fence before I gave him a roof? Who made a mezuza for My sake before I gave him a house? Who made a sukka for My sake before I gave him a place? Who made a lulav for My sake before I gave him money? Who made ritual fringes for My sake before I gave him a garment? Who separated the corner of his field [pe’a] for My sake before I gave him a field? Who separated teruma for My sake before I gave him a threshing floor? Who separated ḥalla for My sake before I gave him dough? Who separated an offering for My sake before I gave him an animal?’ That is what is written: “A bull, or a sheep, or a goat, [when it is born…from the eighth day and on it shall be accepted as a fire offering to the Lord].”7The only reason you are able to bring the offering is because “it is born” – because God gave it to you.
רַבִּי יַעֲקֹב בַּר זַבְדִּי פָּתַח (יחזקאל כט, טז): וְלֹא יִהְיֶה עוֹד לְבֵית יִשְׂרָאֵל לְמִבְטָח מַזְכִּיר עָוֹן, וּכְתִיב (ישעיה ו, ב): שְׂרָפִים עֹמְדִים מִמַּעַל לוֹ שֵׁשׁ כְּנָפַיִם שֵׁשׁ כְּנָפַיִם לְאֶחָד בִּשְׁתַּיִם יְכַסֶּה פָנָיו וּבִשְׁתַּיִם יְכַסֶּה רַגְלָיו וּבִשְׁתַּיִם יְעוֹפֵף, בִּשְׁתַּיִם יְעוֹפֵף, לְקִלּוּס, וּבִשְׁתַּיִם יְכַסֶּה פָנָיו, שֶׁלֹּא לְהַבִּיט בַּשְּׁכִינָה, וּבִשְׁתַּיִם יְכַסֶּה רַגְלָיו, שֶׁלֹּא יִרְאוּ פְּנֵי שְׁכִינָה, דִּכְתִיב (יחזקאל א, ז): וְכַף רַגְלֵיהֶם כְּכַף רֶגֶל עֵגֶל, וּכְתִיב (שמות לב, ח): עָשׂוּ לָהֶם עֵגֶל מַסֵּכָה, עַל שֵׁם וְלֹא יִהְיֶה עוֹד לְבֵית יִשְׂרָאֵל לְמִבְטָח מַזְכִּיר עָוֹן, תַּמָּן תְּנִינַן כָּל הַשּׁוֹפָרוֹת כֻּלָּן כְּשֵׁרִין חוּץ מִשֶּׁל פָּרָה, וְלָמָּה חוּץ מִשֶּׁל פָּרָה, אֶלָּא מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהוּא קֶרֶן שֶׁל עֵגֶל, וּכְתִיב: עָשׂוּ לָהֶם עֵגֶל מַסֵּכָה, עַל שׁוּם וְלֹא יִהְיֶה עוֹד לְבֵית יִשְׂרָאֵל לְמִבְטָח מַזְכִּיר עָוֹן. תָּנָא מִפְּנֵי מָה סוֹטָה אֵינָהּ שׁוֹתָה בְּכוֹס שֶׁל חֲבֶרְתָּהּ, שֶׁלֹּא יֹאמְרוּ בְּכוֹס זֶה שָׁתַת פְּלוֹנִית וָמֵתָה, עַל שׁוּם וְלֹא יִהְיֶה עוֹד לְבֵית יִשְׂרָאֵל לְמִבְטָח מַזְכִּיר עָוֹן. תְּנִינַן (ויקרא כ, טז): וְהָרַגְתָּ אֶת הָאִשָּׁה וְאֶת הַבְּהֵמָה, אִם אָדָם חָטָא בְּהֵמָה מָה חָטָאת, אֶלָּא מִפְּנֵי שֶׁבָּאָה תַּקָּלָה עַל יָדָהּ לְאָדָם, אָמְרָה תּוֹרָה תִּסָּקֵל שֶׁלֹּא תְהֵא בְּהֵמָה עוֹבֶרֶת בַּשּׁוּק וְיִהְיוּ אוֹמְרִים זוֹ בְּהֵמָה שֶׁנִּסְקַל פְּלוֹנִי עַל יָדָהּ, עַל שׁוּם וְלֹא יִהְיֶה עוֹד לְבֵית יִשְׂרָאֵל לְמִבְטָח מַזְכִּיר עָוֹן. שׁוֹר אוֹ כֶשֶׂב, וְכִי שׁוֹר נוֹלָד וַהֲלֹא עֵגֶל נוֹלָד, אֶלָּא מִשּׁוּם עָשׂוּ לָהֶם עֵגֶל מַסֵּכָה, לְפִיכָךְ קְרָאוֹ הַכָּתוּב שׁוֹר וְלֹא עֵגֶל, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב: שׁוֹר אוֹ כֶשֶׂב אוֹ עֵז.
Rabbi Yaakov bar Zavdi began: “It will no longer be a guarantor for the house of Israel, evoking iniquity” (Ezekiel 29:16),8In context, the verse is stating that Egypt, which had been a mighty empire, would be lowered and unable to serve as a guarantor. The fact that the Israelite kingdoms looked to Egypt as a guarantor for their safety, rather than looking to God, would evoke Israel’s iniquity. and it is written: “Seraphim were standing above Him, six wings to each one; with two it would cover its face and with two it would cover its legs and with two it would fly” (Isaiah 6:2). “With two it would fly,” for lauding. “With two it would cover its face,” so as not to look at the Divine Presence. “With two it would cover its legs,” so that they would not be seen by the Divine Presence, as it is written: “Their feet were like the foot of a calf” (Ezekiel 1:7) and it is written: “They crafted for themselves a molten calf” (Exodus 32:8), in accordance with: “It will no longer be a guarantor for the house of Israel, evoking iniquity.”9The feet that look like those of a calf evoke iniquity by recalling the sin of the Golden Calf and therefore must be covered in front of the Divine Presence.
We learned there: All shofarot are fit for use, except for the horn of a cow.10Mishna Rosh Hashana 3:2. Why except for the horn of a cow? It is only because it is the horn of a calf, and it is written: “They crafted for themselves a molten calf” (Exodus 32:8), in accordance with: “It will no longer be a guarantor for the house of Israel, evoking iniquity.”
It is taught: Why does a sota not drink from the cup of her counterpart? It is so they will not say: So-and-so drank from this cup and died, in accordance with: “It will no longer be a guarantor for the house of Israel, evoking iniquity.”11A sota does not drink from a cup used by another sota to drink the bitter waters in order to avoid evoking the sin of the other sota, as she was already punished for her sin and was granted atonement.
We learned:12See Mishna Sanhedrin 7:4. “[If a woman approaches any animal so that it will copulate with her] you shall kill the woman and the animal” (Leviticus 20:16). If the person sinned, what sin did the animal commit? Rather, because a calamity for a person came about by its means, the Torah said it shall be stoned, so that the animal would not pass in the street and they will be saying: ‘That is the animal because of which so-and-so was stoned,’ in accordance with: “It will no longer be a guarantor for the house of Israel, evoking iniquity.”
“A bull, or a sheep, [or a goat, when it is born]” – is a bull born? Is it not a calf that is born? Rather, it is because: “They crafted for themselves a molten calf” – therefore the verse calls it a bull and not a calf.13The verse avoids mentioning the term calf in connection to an animal that will be used as an offering. That is what is written: “A bull, or a sheep, or a goat.”
דָּבָר אַחֵר, שׁוֹר אוֹ כֶשֶׂב אוֹ עֵז, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב (קהלת ג, טו): מַה שֶּׁהָיָה כְּבָר הוּא, רַבִּי יְהוּדָה וְרַבִּי נְחֶמְיָה, רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר אִם יֹאמַר לְךָ אָדָם שֶׁאִלּוּ לֹא חָטָא אָדָם הָרִאשׁוֹן וְאָכַל מֵאוֹתוֹ הָעֵץ הָיָה חַי וְקַיָּם לְעוֹלָם, אֱמֹר לוֹ אַתָּה, כְּבָר הָיָה אֵלִיָּהוּ שֶׁלֹּא חָטָא הוּא חַי וְקַיָּם לְעוֹלָם. וַאֲשֶׁר לִהְיוֹת כְּבָר הָיָה, אִם יֹאמַר לְךָ אָדָם שֶׁהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא עָתִיד לְהַחֲיוֹת לָנוּ מֵתִים, אֱמֹר לוֹ כְּבָר הָיָה עַל יְדֵי אֵלִיָּהוּ וְעַל יְדֵי אֱלִישָׁע וְעַל יְדֵי יְחֶזְקֵאל. רַב אַחָא אָמַר בְּשֵׁם רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר בֶּן חֲלַפְתָּא כָּל מַה שֶּׁהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא עָתִיד לַעֲשׂוֹת וּלְחַדֵּשׁ בְּעוֹלָמוֹ לֶעָתִיד לָבוֹא כְּבָר הִקְדִּים וְעָשָׂה מִקְצָתוֹ עַל יְדֵי נְבִיאָיו הַצַּדִּיקִים בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה, אָמַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אֲנִי הוּא שֶׁאֲנִי עָתִיד לַעֲשׂוֹת יָם יַבָּשָׁה, וְלֹא כְבָר עָשִׂיתִי עַל יְדֵי משֶׁה, דִּכְתִיב (שמות יד, טז): וְאַתָּה הָרֵם אֶת מַטְךָ וגו', אֲנִי הוּא שֶׁעָתִיד לִפְקֹד עֲקָרוֹת, כְּבָר עָשִׂיתִי, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (בראשית כא, א): וַה' פָּקַד אֶת שָׂרָה. אֲנִי הוּא שֶׁעָתִיד לַעֲשׂוֹת מְלָכִים שֶׁיִּשְׁתַּחֲוּ לָכֶם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ישעיה מט, כג): וְהָיוּ מְלָכִים אֹמְנַיִךְ וְשָׂרוֹתֵיהֶם מֵינִיקֹתַיִךְ, כְּבָר עָשִׂיתִי עַל יְדֵי דָנִיֵּאל שֶׁהִשְׁתַּחֲוָה נְבוּכַדְנֶצַּר לְדָנִיֵּאל, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (דניאל ב, מו): בֵּאדַיִן מַלְכָּא נְבוּכַדְנֶצַּר נְפַל עַל אַנְפּוֹהִי וּלְדָנִיֵּאל סְגִד. אֲנִי פּוֹקֵחַ עִוְרִים לֶעָתִיד לָבוֹא, כְּבָר עָשִׂיתִי, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (מלכים ב ו, יז): וַיִּפְקַח ה' אֶת עֵינֵי הַנַּעַר, שֶׁל אֱלִישָׁע.
Another matter, “a bull, or a sheep, or a goat” – that is what is written: “What was, already is” (Ecclesiastes 3:15). Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Neḥemya, Rabbi Yehuda says; Were a person to say to you: ‘Had Adam the first man not sinned and eaten from that tree, he would have lived and endured for eternity,’ you say to him: ‘There has already been Elijah, who did not sin, and he lives and endures for eternity.’
“What will be already was” (Ecclesiastes 3:15) – were a person to say to you: ‘The Holy One blessed be He is destined to revive the dead for us,’ you say to him: “It already was” – by means of Elijah, by means of Elisha, and by means of Ezekiel.
Rav Aḥa said in the name of Rabbi Eliezer ben Ḥalafta: Everything that the Holy One blessed be He is destined to make and innovate in His world in the future, He has already made some of it by means of His righteous prophets in this world. The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘It is I who is destined to transform the sea into dry land. But did I not already do so by means of Moses? As it is written: “You, raise your staff…[and extend your staff over the sea and split it and the children of Israel will come into the sea on dry land]” (Exodus 14:16). It is I who is destined to remember the barren women. I have already done so: “The Lord remembered Sarah” (Genesis 21:1). It is I who am destined to cause kings to prostrate themselves to you, as it is stated: “Kings will be your caregivers, and their princesses, your wet nurses; [they will prostrate themselves before you]” (Isaiah 49:23). I have already done so by means of Daniel, as Nebuchadnezzar prostrated himself to Daniel, as it is stated: “Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, and he prostrated himself to Daniel” (Daniel 2:46). I open the eyes of the blind. I have already done so, as it is stated: “The Lord opened the eyes of the lad” (II Kings 6:17), of Elisha.’
וְהָאֱלֹהִים יְבַקֵּשׁ אֶת נִרְדָּף (קהלת ג, טו), רַב הוּנָא בְּשֵׁם רַב יוֹסֵף אָמַר, לְעוֹלָם וְהָאֱלֹהִים יְבַקֵּשׁ אֶת נִרְדָּף, אַתָּה מוֹצֵא צַדִּיק רוֹדֵף צַדִּיק וְהָאֱלֹהִים יְבַקֵּשׁ אֶת נִרְדָּף, רָשָׁע רוֹדֵף צַדִּיק וְהָאֱלֹהִים יְבַקֵּשׁ אֶת נִרְדָּף, רָשָׁע רוֹדֵף רָשָׁע וְהָאֱלֹהִים יְבַקֵּשׁ אֶת נִרְדָּף, אֲפִלּוּ צַדִּיק רוֹדֵף רָשָׁע וְהָאֱלֹהִים יְבַקֵּשׁ אֶת נִרְדָּף, מִכָּל מָקוֹם וְהָאֱלֹהִים יְבַקֵּשׁ אֶת נִרְדָּף, רַבִּי יְהוּדָה בֶּן רַבִּי סִימוֹן אָמַר בְּשֵׁם רַבִּי יוֹסֵי בֶּן רַבִּי נְהוֹרָאי, לְעוֹלָם הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא תּוֹבֵעַ דָּמָן שֶׁל נִרְדָּפִין מִן הָרוֹדְפִין, תֵּדַע לָךְ שֶׁכֵּן הוּא שֶׁכֵּן הֶבֶל נִרְדָּף מִפְּנֵי קַיִן וּבָחַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא בְּהֶבֶל, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (בראשית ד, ד): וַיִּשַּׁע ה' אֶל הֶבֶל וְאֶל מִנְחָתוֹ. נֹחַ נִרְדָּף מִפְּנֵי דוֹרוֹ וְלֹא בָחַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אֶלָּא בְּנֹחַ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (בראשית ז, א): כִּי אֹתְךָ רָאִיתִי צַדִּיק לְפָנַי בַּדּוֹר הַזֶּה. אַבְרָהָם נִרְדַּף מִפְּנֵי נִמְרוֹד וּבָחַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא בְּאַבְרָהָם, שֶׁנֶאֱמַר (נחמיה ט, ז): אַתָּה הוּא ה' הָאֱלֹהִים אֲשֶׁר בָּחַרְתָּ בְּאַבְרָם. יִצְחָק נִרְדַּף מִפְּנֵי פְּלִשְׁתִּים וּבָחַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא בְּיִצְחָק, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (בראשית כו, כח): רָאוֹ רָאִינוּ כִּי הָיָה ה' עִמָּךְ, יַעֲקֹב נִרְדַּף מִפְּנֵי עֵשָׂו וּבָחַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא בְּיַעֲקֹב, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (תהלים קלה, ד): כִּי יַעֲקֹב בָּחַר לוֹ יָהּ. יוֹסֵף נִרְדַּף מִפְנֵי אֶחָיו וּבָחַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא בְּיוֹסֵף, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (תהלים פא, ו): עֵדוּת בִּיהוֹסֵף שָׂמוֹ. משֶׁה נִרְדַּף מִפְּנֵי פַּרְעֹה וּבָחַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא בְּמשֶׁה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (תהלים קו, כג): לוּלֵי משֶׁה בְחִירוֹ. דָּוִד נִרְדַּף מִפְּנֵי שָׁאוּל וּבָחַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא בְּדָוִד, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (תהלים עח, ע): וַיִּבְחַר בְּדָוִד עַבְדּוֹ. שָׁאוּל נִרְדַּף מִפְּנֵי פְּלִשְׁתִּים וּבָחַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא בְּשָׁאוּל, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שמואל א י, כד): הַרְאִיתֶם אֲשֶׁר בָּחַר בּוֹ ה'. יִשְׂרָאֵל נִרְדָּפִין מִפְּנֵי הָאֻמּוֹת וּבָחַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (דברים יד, ב): וּבְךָ בָּחַר ה' לִהְיוֹת לוֹ לְעַם סְגֻלָּה. רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר בֶּן רַבִּי יוֹסֵי בֶּן זִמְרָא אָמַר אַף בַּקָּרְבָּנוֹת כָּךְ, אָמַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא שׁוֹר נִרְדַּף מִפְּנֵי אֲרִי, עֵז מִפְּנֵי נָמֵר, כֶּבֶשׂ מִפְּנֵי זְאֵב, לֹא תַקְרִיבוּ לְפָנַי מִן הָרוֹדְפִים, אֶלָּא מִן הַנִּרְדָּפִין, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב (ויקרא כב, כז): שׁוֹר אוֹ כֶשֶׂב אוֹ עֵז כִּי יִוָּלֵד.
“God seeks the persecuted” (Ecclesiastes 3:15). Rav Huna said in the name of Rav Yosef: God always seeks the persecuted. If you find a righteous person persecuting a righteous person, “God seeks the persecuted”; a wicked person persecuting a righteous person, “God seeks the persecuted”; a wicked person persecuting a righteous person, “God seeks the persecuted”; even if a righteous person is persecuting a wicked person, in any case, “God seeks the persecuted.”
Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon said in the name of Rabbi Yosei ben Rabbi Nehorai: The Holy One blessed be He always demands the blood of the persecuted from the persecuters. Know that it is so, as Abel was persecuted by Cain and the Holy One blessed be He chose Abel, as it is stated: “The Lord turned to Abel and to his offering” (Genesis 4:4). Noah was persecuted by his generation and the Holy One blessed be He chose only Noah, as it is stated: “As I have seen you to be righteous before Me in this generation” (Genesis 7:1). Abraham was persecuted by Nimrod, and the Holy One blessed be He chose Abraham, as it is stated: “You are the Lord God who chose Abram” (Nehemiah 9:7). Isaac was persecuted by the Philistines, and the Holy One blessed be He chose Isaac, as it is stated: “We have seen that the Lord is with you” (Genesis 26:28). Jacob was persecuted by Esau, and the Holy One blessed be He chose Jacob, as it is stated: “For Jacob, the Lord chose him” (Psalms 135:4). Joseph was persecuted by his brothers, and the Holy One blessed be He chose Joseph, as it is stated: “He established it as testimony for Joseph” (Psalms 81:6). Moses was persecuted by Pharaoh, and the Holy One blessed be He chose Moses, as it is stated: “Were it not for Moses, His chosen one” (Psalms 106:23). David was persecuted by Saul, and the Holy One blessed be He chose David, as it is stated: “He chose David, His servant” (Psalms 78:70). Saul was persecuted by the Philistines, and the Holy One blessed be He chose Saul, as it is stated: “Have you seen the one whom the Lord has chosen?” (I Samuel 10:24). Israel is persecuted by the nations and the Holy One blessed be He has chosen Israel, as it is stated: “The Lord has chosen you to be His treasured people” (Deuteronomy 14:2).
Rabbi Eliezer ben Rabbi Yosei ben Zimra said: It is so regarding offerings as well. The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘The bull is pursued by the lion, the goat by the leopard, the sheep by the wolf; do not sacrifice before Me from the pursuers, but rather, from the pursued.’ That is what is written: “A bull, or a sheep, or a goat, when it is born.”
דָּבָר אַחֵר, שׁוֹר אוֹ כֶשֶׂב אוֹ עֵז, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב (מיכה ו, ג): עַמִּי מֶה עָשִׂיתִי לְךָ וּמָה הֶלְאֵתִיךָ עֲנֵה בִי, אָמַר רַב אַחָא עֲנֵה בִי וְקַבֵּל שָׂכָר וְלֹא תַעֲנֶה בְרֵעֲךָ עֵד שֶׁקֶר, וּתְקַבֵּל עָלָיו דִּין וְחֶשְׁבּוֹן לֶעָתִיד לָבוֹא. אָמַר רַבִּי שְׁמוּאֵל בַּר נַחְמָן, בִּשְׁלשָׁה מְקוֹמוֹת בָּא הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לְהִתְוַכֵּחַ עִם יִשְׂרָאֵל, וְשָׂמְחוּ אֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם וְאָמְרוּ כְּלוּם אִינוּן יְכוֹלִים לְהִתְוַכֵּחַ עִם בּוֹרְאָן, עַכְשָׁיו הוּא מְכַלָּן מִן הָעוֹלָם, בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁאָמַר לָהֶם (ישעיה א, יח): לְכוּ נָא וְנִוָּכְחָה יֹאמַר ה', כֵּיוָן שֶׁרָאָה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא שֶׁשָּׂמְחוּ אֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם הֲפָכָהּ לָהֶם לְטוֹבָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ישעיה א, יח): אִם יִהְיוּ חֲטָאֵיכֶם כַּשָּׁנִים כַּשֶּׁלֶג יַלְבִּינוּ, בְּאוֹתָהּ שָׁעָה תָּמְהוּ הָאֻמּוֹת וְאָמְרוּ זוֹ תְּשׁוּבָה וְזוֹ תּוֹכָחָה, לָא אֲתָא אֶלָּא לְאִתְפּוֹגְגָא עִם בְּנוֹי, וּבְשָׁעָה שֶׁאָמַר לָהֶם (מיכה ו, ב): שִׁמְעוּ הָרִים אֶת רִיב ה', שָׂמְחוּ אֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם וְאָמְרוּ הֵיאַךְ אֵלּוּ יְכוֹלִין לְהִתְוַכֵּחַ עִם בּוֹרְאָן, עַכְשָׁיו הוּא מְכַלָּן מִן הָעוֹלָם, כֵּיוָן שֶׁרָאָה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא שֶׁאֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם שְׂמֵחִין הֲפָכָהּ לָהֶן לְטוֹבָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (מיכה ו, ג): עַמִּי מֶה עָשִׂיתִי לְךָ, (מיכה ו, ה): עַמִּי זְכָר נָא מַה יָּעַץ בָּלָק מֶלֶךְ מוֹאָב, תָּמְהוּ כֻלָּם וְאָמְרוּ זוֹ תְּשׁוּבָה וְזוֹ תּוֹכָחָה זוֹ אַחַר זוֹ, לָא אֲתָא אֶלָּא מִתְפּוֹגְגָא עִם בְּנוֹי. וּבְשָׁעָה שֶׁאָמַר (הושע יב, ג): וְרִיב לַה' עִם יְהוּדָה וְלִפְקֹד עַל יַעֲקֹב, שָׂמְחוּ וְאָמְרוּ הֵיאַךְ אֵלּוּ יְכוֹלִין לְהִתְוַכֵּחַ עִם בּוֹרְאָן, עַכְשָׁיו הוּא מְכַלָּן מִן הָעוֹלָם, מִיָּד הֲפָכָהּ לָהֶם לְטוֹבָה, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב (הושע יב, ד): בַּבֶּטֶן עָקַב אֶת אָחִיו. אָמַר רַבִּי יוּדָן בֶּן רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן מָשָׁל לְאִשָּׁה אַלְמָנָה שֶׁקָּבְלָה עַל בְּנָהּ לַדַּיָּן, כֵּיוָן דְּחָמַת דַּיָּנָא דְּיָתֵיב וְדַיָּן בְּנוּר וּבְזֶפֶת וּבְמַגְלְבִין, אֲמָרָה אִין אֲנָא מוֹדַעְנָא סוּרְחָנָא דְּהָדֵין בְּרִי לְהָדֵין דַּיָּנָא כַּדּוּן הוּא קָטֵל לֵיהּ, דְּרָכַת עַד דַּחֲסֵיל דַּיָּנָא, כֵּיוָן דַּחֲסַל אֲמַר לָהּ הָדֵין בְּרִיךְ מַה סָּרַח עֲלָיךְ, אֲמָרָה לֵיהּ מָרֵי כַּד הֲוָה בְּמֵעַי הֲוָה מְבַעֵט, אֲמַר לָהּ כְּדֵין הוּא עֲבֵד לָךְ כְּלוּם, אָמְרָה לֵיהּ לָא, אֲמַר לָהּ זִיל לִיךְ דְּלֵית בַּהֲדָא מִלְּתָא סוֹרְחָן כְּלוּם, כָּךְ כֵּיוָן שֶׁרָאָה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא שֶׁאֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם שְׂמֵחִים, הֲפָכָהּ לָהֶם לְטוֹבָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: בַּבֶּטֶן עָקַב אֶת אָחִיו, מִיָּד תָּמְהוּ אֻמוֹת הָעוֹלָם וְאָמְרוּ זוֹ תְּשׁוּבָה וְזוֹ תּוֹכָחָה זוֹ אַחַר זוֹ, לָא אֲתָא אֶלָא לְאִתְפּוֹגְגָא עִם בְּנוֹי. וּמָה הֶלְאֵיתִיךָ עֲנֵה בִי, אָמַר רַבִּי בֶּרֶכְיָה מָשָׁל לְמֶלֶךְ שֶׁשָּׁלַח שְׁלוּחִין שֶׁלוֹ לִמְדִינָה וְעָמְדוּ בְּנֵי הַמְדִינָה וְשִׁמְשׁוּ לִפְנֵיהֶם בְּאֵימָה וּבְיִרְאָה וּבִרְתֵת וּבְזִיעַ, כָּךְ אָמַר לָהֶם הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לְיִשְׂרָאֵל שָׁלַחְתִּי לָכֶם שְׁלשָׁה שְׁלוּחִין, משֶׁה אַהֲרֹן וּמִרְיָם, שֶׁמָּא אָכְלוּ מִכֶּם, שֶׁמָּא שָׁתוּ מִכֶּם, שֶׁמָּא הִטְרִיחוּ עֲלֵיכֶם, כְּלוּם לֹא מִזְכוּתָן אַתֶּם מִתְפַּרְנְסִין, הַמָּן בִּזְכוּת משֶׁה, הַבְּאֵר בִּזְכוּת מִרְיָם, עַנְנֵי כָּבוֹד בִּזְכוּת אַהֲרֹן. אָמַר רַבִּי יִצְחָק מָשָׁל לְמֶלֶךְ שֶׁשָּׁלַח פְּרוֹזְדוֹגְמָא שֶׁלּוֹ לִמְדִינָה, מֶה עָשׂוּ בְּנֵי הַמְדִינָה עָמְדוּ עַל רַגְלֵיהֶם וּפָרְעוּ אֶת רָאשֵׁיהֶם וּקְרָאוּהָ בְּאֵימָה וּבְיִרְאָה בִּרְתֵת וּבְזִיעַ, כָּךְ אָמַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לְיִשְׂרָאֵל הֲדָא פְּרוֹזְדוֹגְמָא דִידִי לֹא הִטְרַחְתִּי עֲלֵיכֶם וְלֹא אָמַרְתִּי אֲלֵיכֶם שֶׁתְּהֵא קוֹרִין קְרִיאַת שְׁמַע לֹא עוֹמְדִין עַל רַגְלֵיכֶם וְלֹא פּוֹרְעִין אֶת רָאשֵׁיכֶם, אֶלָּא (דברים ו, ז): בְּשִׁבְתְּךָ בְּבֵיתֶךָ וּבְלֶכְתְּךָ בַדֶּרֶךְ וּבְשָׁכְבְּךָ וּבְקוּמֶךָ, אָמַר רַבִּי יְהוּדָה בַּר רַבִּי סִימוֹן, אָמַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא עֲשָׂרָה מִינֵי בְּהֵמוֹת מָסַרְתִּי לְךָ, שְׁלשָׁה בִּרְשׁוּתְךָ וְשִׁבְעָה אֵינָן בִּרְשׁוּתְךָ, שְׁלשָׁה בִּרְשׁוּתְךָ (דברים יד, ד): שׁוֹר שֵׂה כְשָׂבִים וְשֵׂה עִזִּים, וְשִׁבְעָה אֵינָן בִּרְשׁוּתְךָ (דברים יד, ה): אַיָּל צְבִי וְיַחְמוּר וְאַקּוֹ וְדִישֹׁן וּתְאוֹ וָזָמֶר, לֹא הִטְרַחְתִּי עֲלֵיכֶם וְלֹא אָמַרְתִּי אֲלֵיכֶם לְהִתְיַגֵּעַ בֶּהָרִים לְהָבִיא לְפָנַי קָרְבָּן מֵאֵלּוּ שֶׁאֵינָן בִּרְשׁוּתְךָ, אֶלָּא מִמַּה שֶּׁבִּרְשׁוּתְךָ מִן הַגָּדֵל עַל אֲבוּסֶךָ, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב: שׁוֹר אוֹ כֶשֶׂב אוֹ עֵז.
Another matter, “a bull, or a sheep, or a goat” – that is what is written: “My people, what have I done to you, and how did I exhaust you? Testify against Me” (Micah 6:3). Rav Aḥa said: “Testify against Me” and receive a reward, but “you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” (Exodus 20:13) and [if you do, you will] receive for it a reckoning in the future.
Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: On three occasions, the Holy One blessed be He entered into a dispute [nitvake’aḥ] with Israel, and the nations of the world rejoiced and said: ‘Are they able to enter into dispute their Creator? Now He will eradicate them from the world.’ [One occasion was] when [the prophet] said to them: “Let us go now and reason together [venivakheḥa], says the Lord” (Isaiah 1:18). When the Holy One blessed be He saw that the nations of the world were rejoicing, He transformed it in [Israel’s] favor, as it is stated: “If your sins will be like scarlet, they will be whitened as snow” (Isaiah 1:18). At that moment, the nations were astounded and said: ‘Is this a response? Is this a rebuke? He has come only to play with His children.’
When He said to them: “Hear, mountains, the Lord’s quarrel” (Micah 6:2), the nations of the world rejoiced and said: ‘How can these [people] enter into dispute with their Creator? Now He will eradicate them from the world.’ When the Holy One blessed be He saw that the nations of the world were rejoicing, he transformed it in their favor, as it is stated: “My people, what have I done to you?” (Micah 6:3), “My people, remember now what Balak king of Moav devised” (Micah 6:5). They were all astounded and said: ‘Is this a response? Is this a rebuke? He has come only to play with His children.’
When [the prophet] said: “The Lord has a grievance with Judah, and will reckon with Jacob” (Hosea 12:3), they rejoiced and said: ‘How can these [people] enter into dispute with their Creator? Now he will eradicate them from the world.’ Immediately, he transformed it in their favor, as it is stated: “In the womb, he was at his brother’s heels, [and with his strength he strove with God]” (Hosea 12:4). Rabbi Yudan ben Rabbi Shimon said: This is analogous to a widowed woman who complained about her son to a judge. When she saw that the judge was sitting and sentencing [people] to fire, tar, and rods, she said: ‘If I inform this judge about the misdeeds of this son of mine, he will kill him now.’ She waited until the judge finished [his previous cases]. When he finished, he said to her: ‘How has this son of yours mistreated you?’ She said to him: ‘Sir, when he was in my womb he would kick.’ He said to her: ‘Now has he done anything to you?’ She said to him: ‘No.’ He said to her: ‘Go, as that is no misdeed at all.’ So too, when the Holy One blessed be He saw that the nations of the world were rejoicing, He transformed it in their favor for them, as it is stated: “In the womb, he was at his brother’s heels.” Immediately, the nations of the world were astounded and said: ‘Is this a response? Is this a rebuke? This one after that one;14Does this sentence logically follow from the previous one? He has come only to play with His children.’
“How did I exhaust you? Testify against Me.” Rabbi Berekhya said: This is analogous to a king who dispatched emissaries to a province and the residents of the province stood and served them with reverence, awe, quaking, and trembling. So, the Holy One blessed be He said to Israel: ‘I dispatched three emissaries to you, Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. Have they, perhaps, eaten from yours? Have they, perhaps, drank from yours? Have they, perhaps, imposed upon you? Is it not only by their merit that you are sustained? The manna is due to the merit of Moses, the spring is due to the merit of Miriam, the clouds of glory are due to the merit of Aaron.’
Rabbi Yitzḥak said: This is analogous to a king who sent a royal edict to a province. What did the residents of the province do? They stood on their feet, bared their heads, and read it with reverence, awe, quaking, and trembling. So, the Holy One blessed be He said to Israel: ‘Regarding this royal edict of Mine, I did not impose upon you and I did not say to you that you should recite Shema while standing on your feet or baring your heads, but rather: “While you are sitting in your house, and while you are walking on the way, and while you are lying down, and while you are rising”’ (Deuteronomy 6:7).
Rabbi Yehuda bar Rabbi Simon said: The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘I have given you ten types of animals, three in your domain and seven that are not in your domain. Three that are in your domain: “An ox, a sheep, and a goat” (Deuteronomy 14:4). Seven that are not in your domain: “A deer, a gazelle, a fallow deer, a wild goat, an oryx, an aurochs, and a wild sheep” (Deuteronomy 14:5). I did not impose upon you to exhaust yourselves on the mountains in order to bring an offering from those that are not in your domain but rather, from what is in your domain and is raised from your trough.’ That is what is written: “A bull, or a sheep, or a goat.”
רַבִּי לֵוִי פָּתַח (ישעיה מא, כד): הֵן אַתֶּם מֵאַיִן וּפָעָלְכֶם מֵאָפַע, מֵאַיִן מִלֹּא כְלוּם וּמִלֵּחָה סְרוּחָה. מֵאָפַע, מִמֵּאָה פְּעִיּוֹת שֶׁהָאִשָּׁה פּוֹעָה בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁיּוֹשֶׁבֶת עַל הַמַּשְׁבֵּר, תִּשְׁעִים וְתִשְׁעָה לְמִיתָה וְאַחַת לְחַיִּים. (ישעיה מא, כד): תּוֹעֵבָה יִבְחַר בָּכֶם, אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁהַתִּינוֹק הַזֶּה יוֹצֵא מִתּוֹךְ מְעֵי אִמּוֹ מְלֻכְלָךְ וּמְטֻנָּף מָלֵא רִירִין וְדָם, הַכֹּל מְחַבְּקִין אוֹתוֹ וּמְנַשְׁקִין אוֹתוֹ וּבְיוֹתֵר כְּשֶׁהוּא זָכָר. דָּבָר אַחֵר, הֵן אַתֶּם מֵאַיִן, אָמַר רַבִּי בֶּרֶכְיָה הֵן לָשׁוֹן יְוָנִי הוּא אֶחָד, אָמַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אֻמָּה אַחַת אַתֶּם לִי מֵאֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם, מֵאַיִן, מֵאוֹתָן שֶׁכָּתַב בָּהֶם (ישעיה מ, יז): כָּל הַגּוֹיִם כְּאַיִן נֶגְדּוֹ. וּפָעָלְכֶם מֵאָפַע, אָמַר רַבִּי לֵוִי כָּל פְּעֻלּוֹת טוֹבוֹת וְנֶחָמוֹת שֶׁהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא עָתִיד לַעֲשׂוֹת עִם יִשְׂרָאֵל אֵינָם אֶלָּא בִּשְׁבִיל פּוּעָה שֶׁפְּעִיתֶם לְפָנַי בְּסִינַי וַאֲמַרְתֶּם (שמות כד, ז): כֹּל אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר ה' נַעֲשֶׂה וְנִשְׁמָע, תּוֹעֵבָה יִבְחַר בָּכֶם, אוֹתָהּ תּוֹעֵבָה שֶׁכָּתוּב בָּהּ (שמות לב, ח): עָשׂוּ לָהֶם עֵגֶל מַסֵּכָה, מֵאוֹתָהּ הַתּוֹעֵבָה הָבִיאוּ לְפָנַי קָרְבָּן, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: שׁוֹר אוֹ כֶשֶׂב.
Rabbi Levi began: “Behold, you are from nothing [me’ayin] and your actions are for naught [me’afa]” (Isaiah 41:24); me’ayin – from nothing, from a putrid drop. Me’afa – from the one hundred cries [pe’iyot] that a woman cries while she is seated on the birthing stool, ninety-nine for death and one for life.15She feels as though there is a ninety-nine percent chance she will die. “Abomination shall he choose among you” (Isaiah 41:24). Even though this baby emerges from his mother’s womb dirty and filthy, covered with mucus and blood, everyone hugs him and kisses him, especially if he is male.
Another matter, “behold [hen], you are from nothing” – Rabbi Berekhya said: In Greek hen is one. The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘You are one nation for Me among the nations of the world.’ “From nothing,” from among those in whose regard He wrote: “All the nations are as nothing before Him” (Isaiah 40:17). “Your actions are for naught [me’afeh]” – Rabbi Levi said: All the good and comforting actions that the Holy One blessed be He is destined to perform on behalf of Israel are only due to the cry that you cried out before Me at Sinai: “Everything that God has spoken we will perform and we will heed” (Exodus 24:7). “Abomination shall he choose among you” – that abomination in whose regard it is written: “They crafted for themselves a molten calf” (Exodus 32:8), from that abomination, bring an offering before Me, as it is stated: “A bull or a sheep.”
בְּרָעָתָם יְשַׂמְּחוּ מֶלֶךְ (הושע ז, ג), וְכִי מָה רָאָה לֵעָשׂוֹת שׁוֹר רֹאשׁ לְכָל הַקָּרְבָּנוֹת, אָמַר רַבִּי לֵוִי מָשָׁל לְמַטְרוֹנָה שֶׁיָּצָא עָלֶיהָ שֵׁם רָע עִם אֶחָד מִגְּדוֹלֵי מַלְכוּת, וּבָדַק הַמֶּלֶךְ בַּדְּבָרִים וְלֹא מָצָא בָהֶם מַמָּשׁ, מֶה עָשָׂה הַמֶּלֶךְ עָשָׂה סְעוּדָה וְהוֹשִׁיב אוֹתוֹ הָאִישׁ בְּרֹאשׁ שֶׁל מְסֻבִּין, כָּל כָּךְ לָמָּה לְהוֹדִיעַ שֶׁבָּדַק הַמֶּלֶךְ בַּדְבָרִים וְלֹא מָצָא בָהֶם מַמָּשׁ. כָּךְ אֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם מוֹנִין לָהֶם לְיִשְׂרָאֵל וְאוֹמְרִים לָהֶם עֲשִׂיתֶם אֶת הָעֵגֶל, וּבָדַק הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא בַּדְבָרִים וְלֹא מָצָא בָהֶם מַמָּשׁ, לְפִיכָךְ נַעֲשָׂה שׁוֹר רֹאשׁ לְכָל הַקָּרְבָּנוֹת, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב: שׁוֹר אוֹ כֶשֶׂב אוֹ עֵז. רַבִּי הוּנָא וְרַבִּי אַיְבוּ בְּשֵׁם רַבִּי שְׁמוּאֵל בַּר נַחְמָן, מֻצָּלִין הָיוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל מֵאוֹתוֹ מַעֲשֶׂה, שֶׁאִלּוּ עָשׂוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת הָעֵגֶל, הָיָה לָהֶם לוֹמַר אֵלֶּה אֱלֹהֵינוּ, אֶלָּא הַגֵּרִים שֶׁעָלוּ עִמָּהֶם מִמִּצְרַיִם עֲשָׂאוּהוּ, וְהֵם מוֹנִים לְיִשְׂרָאֵל וְאוֹמְרִים (שמות לב, ד): אֵלֶּה אֱלֹהֶיךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל. אָמַר רַבִּי יְהוּדָה בַּר רַבִּי סִימוֹן כְּתִיב (ישעיה א, ג): יָדַע שׁוֹר קֹנֵהוּ, וְלֹא הָיוּ יוֹדְעִין, אֶלָּא שֶׁדָּשׁוּ בְּעָקֵב, וְדִכְוָתֵיהּ (ירמיה ד, כב): כִּי אֱוִיל עַמִּי אוֹתִי לֹא יָדָעוּ, וְלֹא הָיוּ יוֹדְעִים, אֶלָּא שֶׁדָּשׁוּ בְּעָקֵב. דִּכְוָתָהּ (הושע ב, י): וְהִיא לֹא יָדְעָה כִּי אָנֹכִי נָתַתִּי לָהּ, וְלָא הֲוַת יָדְעָה, אֶלָּא שֶׁדָּשָׁה בְּעָקֵב.
“With their evildoing they gladden a king” (Hosea 7:3). What did He see that led Him to make the bull first of all the offerings? Rabbi Levi said: This is analogous to a queen in whose regard a bad rumor spread in connection with one of the prominent members of the royal court. The king investigated the matters and did not find them substantive. What did the king do? He made a banquet and seated that man at the head of those dining. Why to that extent? It was to make it known that the king had investigated the matters and did not find them substantive. So, the nations of the world antagonize Israel and say to them: ‘You crafted the calf.’ The Holy One blessed be He investigated the matters and did not find them substantive. That is why the bull became first of all the offerings. That is what is written: “A bull, or a sheep, or a goat.”
Rabbi Huna and Rabbi Aivu in the name of Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman: Israel took no part in that action, as, had Israel crafted the calf, they would have said: “This is our God.” Rather, it was the proselytes who ascended with them from Egypt that crafted it, and they were taunting Israel and saying: “This is your God, Israel” (Exodus 32:4). Rabbi Yehuda bar Rabbi Simon said: It is written: “An ox knows its owner” (Isaiah 1:3), but they did not know? It is rather, that they trampled with the heel.16They related to their owner, God, as though He were insignificant. Similarly, “for My people are stupid, they do not know Me” (Jeremiah 4:22). Did they not know? It is, rather, that they trampled with a heel. Similarly, “she did not know that I gave her” (Hosea 2:10). Did she not know? It is, rather, that she trampled with a heel.
דָּבָר אַחֵר, שׁוֹר אוֹ כֶשֶׂב אוֹ עֵז, שׁוֹר בִּזְכוּת אַבְרָהָם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (בראשית יח, ז): וְאֶל הַבָּקָר רָץ אַבְרָהָם, כֶּשֶׂב בִּזְכוּת יִצְחָק, דִּכְתִיב (בראשית כב, יג): וַיַּרְא וְהִנֵּה אַיִל, עֵז בִּזְכוּת יַעֲקֹב, דִּכְתִיב (בראשית כז, ט): לֶךְ נָא אֶל הַצֹּאן וְקַח לִי מִשָּׁם שְׁנֵי גְדָיֵי עִזִּים טֹבִים, מַהוּ טֹבִים, רַבִּי בֶּרֶכְיָה בְּשֵׁם רַבִּי חֶלְבּוֹ אָמַר טוֹבִים לְךָ טוֹבִים לְבָנֶיךָ, טוֹבִים לְךָ שֶׁעַל יְדֵיהֶם אַתָּה מְקַבֵּל מִינֵי בְּרָכוֹת, וְטוֹבִים לְבָנֶיךָ שֶׁעַל יְדֵיהֶם מִתְכַּפֵּר לָהֶם בְּיוֹם הַכִּפּוּרִים, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב (ויקרא טז, ל): כִּי בַיּוֹם הַזֶּה יְכַפֵּר עֲלֵיכֶם.
Another matter, “a bull, or a sheep, or a goat” – “a bull,” due to the merit of Abraham, as it is stated: “Abraham ran to the cattle” (Genesis 18:7); “a sheep,” due to the merit of Isaac, as it is written: “He saw, and behold, a ram” (Genesis 22:13); “a goat,” due to the merit of Jacob, as it is written: “Go to the flock and take for me from there two good goat kids” (Genesis 27:9). What is [implied by the word] “good”? Rabbi Berekhya said in the name of Rabbi Ḥelbo: It is good for you and good for your descendants. Good for you, as by their means you will receive a variety of blessings. Good for your descendants, as by their means [their sins] will be atoned for on Yom Kippur. That is what is written: “For on this day it will be atoned for you” (Leviticus 16:30).17Significant aspects of the atonement process in the Temple on Yom Kippur involved goats; see Leviticus chapter 16.
וְהָיָה שִׁבְעַת יָמִים תַּחַת אִמּוֹ (ויקרא כב, כז), וְלָמָּה שִׁבְעַת יָמִים, אֶלָּא כְּדֵי שֶׁיִּבָּדֵק, שֶׁאִם נְגָחַתּוּ אִמּוֹ אוֹ שֶׁנִּמְצָא בּוֹ מוּם הֲרֵי זֶה פָּסוּל וְלֹא יִהְיֶה כָּשֵׁר לְקָרְבָּן, דִּתְנִינַן תַּמָּן יוֹצֵא דֹפֶן אֵין יוֹשְׁבִין עָלָיו יְמֵי טֻמְאָה וִימֵי טָהֳרָה וְאֵין חַיָּבִין עָלָיו קָרְבָּן, רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן אוֹמֵר הֲרֵי זֶה כְּיָלוּד. דָּבָר אַחֵר, וְהָיָה שִׁבְעַת יָמִים תַּחַת אִמּוֹ, רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ דְּסִכְנִין בְּשֵׁם רַבִּי לֵוִי אָמַר, מָשָׁל לְמֶלֶךְ שֶׁנִּכְנַס לִמְדִינָה וְגָזַר וְאָמַר כָּל אַכְסְנָאִין שֶׁיֵּשׁ כָּאן לֹא יִרְאוּ פָנַי עַד שֶׁיִּרְאוּ פְּנֵי הַמַּטְרוֹנָא תְּחִלָּה. כָּךְ אָמַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לֹא תָבִיאוּ לְפָנַי קָרְבָּן עַד שֶׁתַּעֲבֹר עָלָיו שַׁבָּת, שֶׁאֵין שִׁבְעַת יָמִים בְּלֹא שַׁבָּת וְאֵין מִילָה בְּלֹא שַׁבָּת, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב (ויקרא כב, כז): וּמִיּוֹם הַשְּׁמִינִי וָהָלְאָה יֵרָצֶה. אָמַר רַבִּי יִצְחָק מִשְׁפַּט אָדָם וּמִשְׁפַּט בְּהֵמָה שָׁוִים, מִשְׁפַּט אָדָם (ויקרא יב, ג): וּבַיּוֹם הַשְּׁמִינִי יִמּוֹל בְּשַׂר עָרְלָתוֹ, וּמִשְׁפַּט בְּהֵמָה וּמִיּוֹם הַשְּׁמִינִי וָהָלְאָה יֵרָצֶה, כְּלוֹמַר אִם הֵבֵאתָ לְפָנַי קָרְבָּן בְּרָצוֹן וּבְטוֹבָה הוּא קָרְבָּנִי, וְאִם בְּאֹנֶס עַל כָּרְחֲךָ אֵינִי מַעֲלֶה לְךָ שֶׁתַּקְרִיב לְפָנַי אֶלָא (ויקרא כב, כז): אִשֶּׁה לַה', וְדִכְוָתָהּ (במדבר כח, ב): צַו אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵיהֶם אֶת קָרְבָּנִי לַחְמִי לְאִשַּׁי, מַאי לְאִשַּׁי, אָמַר לָהֶם הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אִם הֲבֵאתֶם בְּרָצוֹן וּבְטוֹבָה הוּא קָרְבָּנִי, וְאִם בְּאֹנֶס הֲרֵי הוּא לְאִשַּׁי וְאֵינוֹ לַשֵּׁם.
“[A bull, a sheep, or a goat, when it is born,] shall be seven days under its mother.” Why seven days? So it can be examined, as if its mother gored it or if a blemish is found in it, it is unfit and it will not be fit for an offering, as we learned there: After the birth of an offspring by caesarean section, [the mother] does not observe days of impurity and days of purity, and she is not obligated to bring for it the offering. Rabbi Shimon said: It is considered naturally born.18Mishna Nidda 5:1. According to the first tanna, a child born through caesarean section is not considered to have come into the world through a normal birth process, such that the laws that normally apply to a woman who has given birth would apply. Similarly, when the verse states that a bull, sheep, or goat was “born,” the implication is that they were born naturally and not through caesarean section. Since the normal birth process can lead to injury, the animal is given seven days so that it can be certain it has suffered no blemishes before bringing it as an offering.
Another matter, “it…shall be seven days under its mother.” Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin said in the name of Rabbi Levi: This is analogous to a king who entered a province and issued an edict: ‘All the guests who are here shall not have an audience with me until they have an audience with the queen first.’ So, the Holy One blessed be He said: ‘Do not bring an offering before Me until Shabbat will pass for it, as there are no seven days without Shabbat, and there is no circumcision without Shabbat.’ That is what is written: “From the eighth day on, it shall be accepted.” Rabbi Yitzḥak said: The law of man and the law of animal are the same. The law of man: On the eighth day, the flesh of its foreskin shall be circumcised” (Leviticus 12:3). The law of animals: “From the eighth day on, it shall be accepted.” In other words, if you brought an offering before Me of your own volition and with good will, it is My offering. If it is by force and against your will, I will not ascribe to you as though you sacrificed before Me, but rather, as a “fire offering to the Lord” (Leviticus 22:27).19By using the term fire offering [isheh] rather than offering [korban] or My offering [korbani], the implication is that the individual views it as a waste that the animal is burned in fire. Similarly, “Command the children of Israel, and say to them: My offering, My food, for My fires” (Numbers 28:2) – if you brought an offering before Me of your own volition and with good will, it is “My offering.” If it is by force, it is to “My fires” and not to the Name.
וְשׁוֹר אוֹ שֶׂה אֹתוֹ וְאֶת בְּנוֹ לֹא תִשְׁחֲטוּ בְּיוֹם אֶחָד (ויקרא כב, כח), אָמַר רַבִּי בֶּרֶכְיָה בְּשֵׁם רַבִּי לֵוִי כְּתִיב (משלי יב, י): יוֹדֵעַ צַדִּיק נֶפֶשׁ בְּהֶמְתּוֹ, זֶה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא שֶׁכָּתוּב בְּתוֹרָתוֹ (דברים כב, ו): לֹא תִקַּח הָאֵם עַל הַבָּנִים. (משלי יב, י): וְרַחֲמֵי רְשָׁעִים אַכְזָרִי, זֶה סַנְחֵרִיב שֶׁכָּתוּב בּוֹ (הושע י, יד): אֵם עַל בָּנִים רֻטָּשָׁה. דָּבָר אַחֵר, יוֹדֵעַ צַדִּיק, זֶה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא שֶׁכָּתוּב בְּתוֹרָתוֹ: שׁוֹר אוֹ כֶשֶׂב אוֹ עֵז. וְרַחֲמֵי רְשָׁעִים אַכְזָרִי, זֶה הָמָן הָרָשָׁע, דִּכְתִיב (אסתר ג, יג): לְהַשְׁמִיד לַהֲרֹג וּלְאַבֵּד. אָמַר רַבִּי לֵוִי אוֹי לָהֶם לָרְשָׁעִים שֶׁהֵם מִתְעַסְּקִים בְּעֵצוֹת עַל יִשְׂרָאֵל וְכָל אֶחָד וְאֶחָד אוֹמֵר עֲצָתִי יָפָה מֵעֲצָתְךָ. עֵשָׂו אָמַר שׁוֹטֶה הָיָה קַיִן שֶׁהָרַג אֶת אָחִיו בְּחַיֵּי אָבִיו וְלֹא הָיָה יוֹדֵעַ שֶׁאָבִיו פָּרֶה וְרָבֶה, אֲנִי אֵינִי עוֹשֶׂה כֵן אֶלָּא (בראשית כז, מא): יִקְרְבוּ יְמֵי אֵבֶל אָבִי. פַּרְעֹה אָמַר שׁוֹטֶה הָיָה עֵשָׂו שֶׁאָמַר: יִקְרְבוּ יְמֵי אֵבֶל אָבִי, וְלֹא הָיָה יוֹדֵעַ שֶׁאָחִיו פָּרֶה וְרָבֶה בְּחַיֵּי אָבִיו, אֲנִי אֵינִי עוֹשֶׂה כֵן אֶלָּא עַד דְּאִינוּן דַּקִּיקִין תְּחוֹת כָּרְסְיָה אִמְּהוֹן אֲנָא מְחַנֵּק יָתְהוֹן, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב (שמות א, טז): וּרְאִיתֶן עַל הָאָבְנָיִם וגו' כָּל הַבֵּן הַיִּלּוֹד הַיְאֹרָה תַּשְׁלִיכֻהוּ. הָמָן אָמַר שׁוֹטֶה הָיָה פַּרְעֹה שֶׁאָמַר: כָּל הַבֵּן הַיִּלּוֹד הַיְאֹרָה תַּשְׁלִיכֻהוּ, וְלֹא הָיָה יוֹדֵעַ שֶׁהַבָּנוֹת נִשָּׂאוֹת לַאֲנָשִׁים וּפָרוֹת וְרָבוֹת מֵהֶם, אֲנִי אֵינִי עוֹשֶׂה כֵן, אֶלָּא לְהַשְׁמִיד לַהֲרֹג וּלְאַבֵּד. אָמַר רַבִּי לֵוִי אַף גּוֹג וּמָגוֹג לֶעָתִיד לָבוֹא עָתִיד לוֹמַר כֵּן שׁוֹטִים הָיוּ הָרִאשׁוֹנִים שֶׁהָיוּ מִתְעַסְּקִים בְּעֵצוֹת עַל יִשְׂרָאֵל וְלֹא הָיוּ יוֹדְעִים שֶׁיֵּשׁ לָהֶם פַּטְרוֹן בַּשָּׁמַיִם, אֲנִי אֵינִי עוֹשֶׂה כֵן אֶלָּא בַּתְּחִלָּה אֲנִי מִזְדַּוֵּג לַפַּטְרוֹן שֶׁלָּהֶם וְאַחַר כָּךְ לָהֶם, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב (תהלים ב, ב): יִתְיַצְּבוּ מַלְכֵי אֶרֶץ, אָמַר לוֹ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, רָשָׁע לִי בָּאתָה לְהִזְדַּוֵּג חַיֶּיךָ שֶׁאֲנִי עוֹשֶׂה עִמְּךָ מִלְחָמָה, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב (ישעיה מב, יג): ה' כַּגִּבּוֹר יֵצֵא כְּאִישׁ מִלְחָמוֹת יָעִיר קִנְאָה, וּכְתִיב (זכריה יד, ג): וְיָצָא ה' וְנִלְחַם בַּגּוֹיִם הָהֵם, וּמַה כְּתִיב תַּמָּן (זכריה יד, ט): וְהָיָה ה' לְמֶלֶךְ עַל כָּל הָאָרֶץ.
“A bull or a sheep, it and its offspring you shall not slaughter on one day” (Leviticus 22:28).
“A bull or a sheep, it and its offspring you shall not slaughter on one day.” Rabbi Berekhya said in the name of Rabbi Levi: “The righteous one knows the nature of his animal” (Proverbs 12:10), this is the Holy One blessed be He, as it is written in His Torah: “Do not take the mother with the fledglings” (Deuteronomy 22:6). “The mercy of the wicked is cruel” (Proverbs 12:10), this is Sennacherib, in whose regard it is written: “Mother and children were torn asunder” (Hosea 10:14). Alternatively, “the righteous one knows,” this is the Holy One blessed be He, in whose Torah it is written: “a bull, or a sheep, or a goat.”20Some suggest that the text should read: “A bull or a sheep, it and its offspring you shall not slaughter on one day” (see Rabbi David Luria). “The mercy of the wicked is cruel,” this is the wicked Haman, as it is written: “To destroy, to kill, and to eliminate [all the Jews, from lad to elder, women and children, on one day]” (Esther 3:13).
Rabbi Levi said: Woe unto the wicked, who engage themselves in counsel against Israel and each and every one says: ‘My counsel is superior to yours.’ Esau said: ‘Cain was a fool that he killed his brother during his father’s lifetime, and he did not realize that his father would procreate [again]. I will not do so; rather, “Let the days of mourning for my father approach [and I will kill my brother Jacob]”’ (Genesis 27:41). Pharaoh said: ‘Esau was a fool, as he said: “Let the days of mourning for my father approach,” but he did not realize that his brother would procreate during his father’s lifetime. I will not do so; rather, when they are small, beneath their mothers’ birthing stools, I will strangle them.’ That is what is written: “When you see upon the birthing stool…every son that is born you shall cast him into the Nile” (Exodus 1:16, 22). Haman said: ‘Pharaoh was a fool, as he said: “Every son that is born you shall cast him into the Nile,” but he did not realize that the daughters would marry men and procreate from them. I will not do so, but rather, “to destroy, to kill, and to eliminate [all the Jews].”’
Rabbi Levi said: Gog and Magog, too, are destined to say so in the future: ‘The ancients were fools, as they engaged themselves in counsel against Israel, but they did not realize that they have a Patron in Heaven. I will not do that; rather, I will first confront their Patron and then them.’ That is what is written: “The kings of the earth will mobilize” (Psalms 2:2). The Holy One blessed be He says to him: ‘Wicked one, is it Me that you have come to confront? As you live, I will wage war against you.’ That is what is written: “The Lord will emerge like a warrior, He will arouse zealotry like a man of war” (Isaiah 42:13), and it is written: “The Lord will emerge and wage war against those nations” (Zechariah 14:3). What is written there? “The Lord will be King over all the earth” (Zechariah 14:9).
וְכִי תִזְבְּחוּ זֶבַח תּוֹדָה לַה' (ויקרא כב, כט), רַבִּי פִּנְחָס וְרַבִּי לֵוִי וְרַבִּי יוֹחָנָן בְּשֵׁם רַבִּי מְנַחֵם דְּגַלְיָא לֶעָתִיד לָבוֹא כָּל הַקָּרְבָּנוֹת בְּטֵלִין וְקָרְבַּן תּוֹדָה אֵינָהּ בְּטֵלָה לְעוֹלָם, כָּל הַהוֹדָיוֹת בְּטֵלִין וְהוֹדָיוֹת תּוֹדָה אֵינָהּ בְּטֵלָה לְעוֹלָם, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב (ירמיה לג, יא): קוֹל שָׂשׂוֹן וְקוֹל שִׂמְחָה קוֹל חָתָן וְקוֹל כַּלָּה קוֹל אוֹמְרִים הוֹדוּ אֶת ה' צְבָאוֹת כִּי טוֹב, אֵלּוּ הַהוֹדָיוֹת. (ירמיה לג, יא): מְבִאִים תּוֹדָה בֵּית ה', זֶה קָרְבַּן תּוֹדָה. וְכֵן אָמַר דָּוִד (תהלים נו, יג): עָלַי אֱלֹהִים נְדָרֶיךָ אֲשַׁלֵּם תּוֹדֹת לָךְ, תּוֹדָה אֵינוֹ אוֹמֵר אֶלָּא תּוֹדֹת, הַהוֹדָיָה וְקָרְבַּן תּוֹדָה.
“When you slaughter a thanks offering to the Lord, you shall slaughter it to garner favor for yourselves” (Leviticus 22:29).
“When you slaughter a thanks offering to the Lord,” Rabbi Pinḥas, Rabbi Levi, and Rabbi Yoḥanan in the name of Rabbi Menaḥem of Gaul: In the future, all the offerings will be abolished, but the thanks offering will never be abolished. All forms of thanksgiving will be abolished, but thanksgiving through the thanks offering will never be abolished. That is what is written: “The sound of gladness and the sound of joy, the sound of a groom and the sound of a bride, the sound of those who say: Give thanks to the Lord of hosts, for the Lord is good” (Jeremiah 33:11); these are the forms of thanksgiving. “Bringing thanks offerings to the House of the Lord” (Jeremiah 33:11); this is the thanks offering. Likewise, David said: “I will fulfill the vows I made to You; I will offer thanks offerings [todot] to You” (Psalms 56:13). It does not say toda,21Singular. but rather todot22Plural. – thanksgiving and a thanks offering.