| 7a. א"ר יוחנן משום ר' יוסי מנין שהקב"ה מתפלל שנאמר (ישעיהו נו, ז) והביאותים אל הר קדשי ושמחתים בבית תפלתי תפלתם לא נאמר אלא תפלתי מכאן שהקב"ה מתפלל.,מאי מצלי,אמר רב זוטרא בר טוביה אמר רב יה"ר מלפני שיכבשו רחמי את כעסי ויגולו רחמי על מדותי ואתנהג עם בני במדת רחמים ואכנס להם לפנים משורת הדין.,תניא א"ר ישמעאל בן אלישע פעם אחת נכנסתי להקטיר קטורת לפני ולפנים וראיתי אכתריאל יה ה' צבאות שהוא יושב על כסא רם ונשא ואמר לי ישמעאל בני ברכני אמרתי לו יה"ר מלפניך שיכבשו רחמיך את כעסך ויגולו רחמיך על מדותיך ותתנהג עם בניך במדת הרחמים ותכנס להם לפנים משורת הדין ונענע לי בראשו וקמ"ל שלא תהא ברכת הדיוט קלה בעיניך,וא"ר יוחנן משום ר' יוסי מנין שאין מרצין לו לאדם בשעת כעסו דכתיב (שמות לג, יד) פני ילכו והנחותי לך אמר לו הקב"ה למשה המתן לי עד שיעברו פנים של זעם ואניח לך,ומי איכא רתחא קמיה דקודשא בריך הוא,אין דתניא (תהלים ז, יב) ואל זועם בכל יום,וכמה זעמו רגע וכמה רגע אחד מחמשת רבוא ושמונת אלפים ושמנה מאות ושמנים ושמנה בשעה וזו היא רגע ואין כל בריה יכולה לכוין אותה שעה חוץ מבלעם הרשע דכתיב ביה (במדבר כד, טז) ויודע דעת עליון,השתא דעת בהמתו לא הוה ידע דעת עליון הוה ידע,אלא מלמד שהיה יודע לכוין אותה שעה שהקב"ה כועס בה,והיינו דאמר להו נביא לישראל (מיכה ו, ה) עמי זכר נא מה יעץ בלק מלך מואב וגו' מאי (מיכה ו, ה) למען דעת צדקות ה',א"ר אלעזר אמר להם הקב"ה לישראל דעו כמה צדקות עשיתי עמכם שלא כעסתי בימי בלעם הרשע שאלמלי כעסתי לא נשתייר משונאיהם של ישראל שריד ופליט,והיינו דקא"ל בלעם לבלק (במדבר כג, ח) מה אקב לא קבה אל ומה אזעם לא זעם ה' מלמד שכל אותן הימים לא זעם.,וכמה זעמו רגע וכמה רגע א"ר אבין ואיתימא רבי אבינא רגע כמימריה.,ומנא לן דרגע רתח שנא' (תהלים ל, ו) כי רגע באפו חיים ברצונו ואב"א מהכא (ישעיהו כו, כ) חבי כמעט רגע עד יעבור זעם,ואימת רתח אמר אביי בהנך תלת שעי קמייתא כי חיורא כרבלתא דתרנגולא וקאי אחד כרעא,כל שעתא ושעתא נמי קאי הכי,כל שעתא אית ביה שורייקי סומקי בההיא שעתא לית ביה שורייקי סומקי.,ההוא צדוקי דהוה בשבבותיה דר' יהושע בן לוי הוה קא מצער ליה טובא בקראי יומא חד שקל תרנגולא ואוקמיה בין כרעי' דערסא ועיין ביה סבר כי מטא ההיא שעתא אלטייה כי מטא ההיא שעתא ניים אמר ש"מ לאו אורח ארעא למעבד הכי (תהלים קמה, ט) ורחמיו על כל מעשיו כתיב,וכתיב (משלי יז, כו) גם ענוש לצדיק לא טוב,תנא משמיה דר' מאיר בשעה שהחמה זורחת וכל מלכי מזרח ומערב מניחים כתריהם בראשיהם ומשתחוים לחמה מיד כועס הקב"ה:,וא"ר יוחנן משום רבי יוסי טובה מרדות אחת בלבו של אדם יותר מכמה מלקיות שנא' (הושע ב, ט) ורדפה את מאהביה וגו' ואמרה אלכה ואשובה אל אישי הראשון כי טוב לי אז מעתה וריש לקיש אמר יותר ממאה מלקיות שנאמר (משלי יז, י) תחת גערה במבין מהכות כסיל מאה:,וא"ר יוחנן משום ר' יוסי שלשה דברים בקש משה מלפני הקב"ה ונתן לו בקש שתשרה שכינה על ישראל ונתן לו שנאמר (שמות לג, טז) הלוא בלכתך עמנו,בקש שלא תשרה שכינה על עובדי כוכבים ונתן לו שנאמר (שמות לג, טז) ונפלינו אני ועמך,בקש להודיעו דרכיו של הקב"ה ונתן לו שנא' (שמות לג, יג) הודיעני נא את דרכיך אמר לפניו רבש"ע מפני מה יש צדיק וטוב לו ויש צדיק ורע לו יש רשע וטוב לו ויש רשע ורע לו אמר לו משה צדיק וטוב לו צדיק בן צדיק צדיק ורע לו צדיק בן רשע רשע וטוב לו רשע בן צדיק רשע ורע לו רשע בן רשע:,אמר מר צדיק וטוב לו צדיק בן צדיק צדיק ורע לו צדיק בן רשע איני והא כתיב (שמות לד, ז) פקד עון אבות על בנים וכתיב (דברים כד, טז) ובנים לא יומתו על אבות ורמינן קראי אהדדי,ומשנינן לא קשיא הא כשאוחזין מעשה אבותיהם בידיהם הא כשאין אוחזין מעשה אבותיהם בידיהם,אלא הכי קא"ל צדיק וטוב לו צדיק גמור צדיק ורע לו צדיק שאינו גמור רשע וטוב לו רשע שאינו גמור רשע ורע לו רשע גמור,ופליגא דר' מאיר דא"ר מאיר שתים נתנו לו ואחת לא נתנו לו שנא' (שמות לג, יט) וחנתי את אשר אחון אע"פ שאינו הגון ורחמתי את אשר ארחם אע"פ שאינו הגון,(שמות לג, כ) ויאמר לא תוכל לראות את פני תנא משמיה דר' יהושע בן קרחה כך א"ל הקב"ה למשה כשרציתי לא רצית עכשיו שאתה רוצה איני רוצה,ופליגא דר' שמואל בר נחמני א"ר יונתן דא"ר שמואל בר נחמני א"ר יונתן בשכר שלש זכה לשלש,בשכר (שמות ג, ו) ויסתר משה פניו זכה לקלסתר פנים בשכר כי ירא זכה (שמות לד, ל) לוייראו מגשת אליו בשכר מהביט זכה (במדבר יב, ח) לותמונת ה' יביט:,(שמות לג, כג)והסירתי את כפי וראית את אחרי אמר רב חנא בר ביזנא א"ר שמעון חסידא מלמד שהראה הקב"ה למשה קשר של תפילין:,וא"ר יוחנן משום ר' יוסי כל דבור ודבור שיצא מפי הקב"ה לטובה אפי' על תנאי לא חזר בו,מנא לן ממשה רבינו שנא' (דברים ט, יד) הרף ממני ואשמידם וגו' ואעשה אותך לגוי עצום אע"ג דבעא משה רחמי עלה דמלתא ובטלה אפ"ה אוקמה בזרעיה שנא' (דברי הימים א כג, טו) בני משה גרשום ואליעזר ויהיו בני אליעזר רחביה הראש וגו' ובני רחביה רבו למעלה וגו',ותני רב יוסף למעלה מששים רבוא אתיא רביה רביה כתיב הכא רבו למעלה וכתיב התם (שמות א, ז) ובני ישראל פרו וישרצו וירבו: | 7a. Along the same lines, bRabbi Yoḥa said in the name of Rabbi Yosei: From whereis it derived bthat the Holy One, Blessed be He, prays? As it is stated: “I will bring them to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in the house of My prayer”(Isaiah 56:7). The verse bdoes not saythe house of btheir prayer, but rather, “ /bthe house of bMy prayer”; from herewe see bthat the Holy One, Blessed be He, prays. /b,The Gemara asks: bWhat doesGod bpray? /b, bRav Zutra bar Tovia saidthat bRav said: brGod says: bMay it be My will that My mercy will overcome My angertowards Israel for their transgressions, br band may My mercy prevail over Myother battributesthrough which Israel is punished, br band may I conductmyself btoward My children,Israel, bwith the attribute of mercy, br band may I enter before them beyond the letter of the law. /b,Similarly, bit was taughtin a ibaraitathat bRabbi Yishmael ben Elisha,the High Priest, said: bOnce,on Yom Kippur, bI entered the innermost sanctum,the Holy of Holies, bto offer incense, andin a vision bI saw Akatriel Ya, the Lord of Hosts,one of the names of God expressing His ultimate authority, bseated upon a high and exalted throne(see Isaiah 6). br bAnd He said to me: Yishmael, My son, bless Me. br bI said to Himthe prayer that God prays: b“May it be Your will that Your mercy overcome Your anger, br band may Your mercy prevail over Yourother battributes, br band may You act toward Your children with the attribute of mercy, br band may You enter before them beyond the letter of the law.”brThe Holy One, Blessed be He, bnodded His headand accepted the blessing. This event bteaches us that you should not take the blessing of an ordinary person lightly.If God asked for and accepted a man’s blessing, all the more so that a man must value the blessing of another man., bAnd Rabbi Yoḥa said in the name of Rabbi Yosei: From whereis it derived bthat one must not placate a person whilehe is in the throes of bhis anger,rather he should mollify him after he has calmed down? bAs it is written,when following the sin of the Golden Calf, Moses requested that the Divine Presence rest upon Israel as it had previously, God said to him: b“My face will go, and I will give you rest”(Exodus 33:14). Rabbi Yoḥa explained: bThe Holy One, Blessed be He, said toMoses: bWait until My face of wrath will pass and I will grant yourrequest. One must wait for a person’s anger to pass as well.,The Gemara asks: bAnd is there anger before the Holy One, Blessed be He?Can we speak of God using terms like anger?,The Gemara answers: bYes, as it was taughtin a ibaraita /i, God becomes angry, as it is stated: “God vindicates the righteous, bGod is furious every day”(Psalms 7:12)., bHow muchtime does bHis angerlast? God’s anger lasts ba moment. And howlong bis a moment? One fifty-eight thousand, eight hundred and eighty-eighth of an hour, that is a moment.The Gemara adds: bAnd no creature canprecisely bdetermine that momentwhen God becomes angry, bexcept for Balaam the wicked, about whom it is written: “He who knows the knowledge of the Most High”(Numbers 24:16).,This should not be understood to mean that Balaam was a full-fledged prophet. bNow,clearly, Balaam bdid not know the mind of his animal; and he did know the mind of the Most High?If he could not understand the rebuke of his donkey, he was certainly unable to understand the mind of the Most High., bRather, thisverse from Numbers bteaches thatBalaam bwas able toprecisely bdetermine the hour that the Holy One, Blessed be He, is angry.At that moment, Balaam would utter his curse and, through God’s anger, it would be fulfilled., bAnd that is what the prophet said to Israel: “My nation, remember what Balak king of Moab advised,and how Balaam, son of Beor, responded; from Shittim to Gilgal, so that you may know the righteous acts of the Lord” (Micah 6:5). bWhat ismeant by the statement: b“So that you may know the righteous acts of the Lord”? /b, bRabbi Elazar saidthat bthe Holy One, Blessed be He, said to Israel: Know how many acts of kindness I performed on your behalf, that I did not become angry during the days of Balaam the wicked, for had I become angry, there would have been no remt or survivor remaining among the enemies of Israel,a euphemism for Israel itself. Instead, God restrained His anger and Balaam’s curse went unfulfilled., bAnd that is what Balaam said to Balak: “How can I curse whom God has not cursed? And how can I condemn whom God has not condemned?”(Numbers 23:8). This verse bteaches that all those days,God bwas not angry. /b, bAnd howlong bdoes His angerlast? God’s anger lasts ba moment. And howlong bis a moment? Rabbi Avin, and some say Rabbi Avina, said:A moment lasts as long as it takes bto say it [ irega /i] /b., bFrom where do wederive that God bisonly bangry for a moment? As it is stated: “His anger is but for a moment, His favor, for a lifetime”(Psalms 30:6). bAnd if you wish, sayinstead, bfrom here,as it is stated: b“Hide yourself for a brief moment, until the anger passes”(Isaiah 26:20), meaning that God’s anger passes in a mere moment.,The Gemara asks: bWhen isthe Holy One, Blessed be He, bangry? Abaye said:God’s anger is revealed through animals. bDuring the first three hoursof the day, bwhen the sun whitens the crest of the rooster and it stands on one leg.When it appears that its life has left him and he suddenly turns white, that is when God is angry.,The Gemara asks: The rooster balso stands that way every hour.What kind of sign is this?,The Gemara answers: The difference is that beveryother bhourwhen the rooster stands in that way, bthere are red streaksin his crest. But bwhenGod is angry, bthere are no red streaksin his crest.,The Gemara relates: bA certain heretic who was in Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi’s neighborhood would upset himby incessantly challenging the legitimacy of bverses. One day,Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi btook a rooster and placed it between the legs of the bedupon which he sat band looked at it. He thought: When the momentof God’s anger barrives, I will curse himand be rid of him. bWhen the momentof God’s anger barrived,Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi bslept.When he woke up, bhe saidto himself: bConclude fromthe fact that I nodded off bthat it is not proper conduct to do so,to curse people, even if they are wicked. b“His mercy is over all His creations”(Psalms 145:9) bis writteneven with regard to sinners.,Moreover, it is inappropriate to cause the punishment of another, as bit is written: “Punishment, even for the righteous, is not good”(Proverbs 17:26), even for a righteous person, it is improper to punish another.,Explaining the cause of God’s anger, bit is taught in the name of Rabbi Meir: When the sun rises and the kings of the East and the West place their crowns on their heads and bow down to the sun, the Holy One, Blessed be He, immediately grows angry.Since this occurs in the early hours every day, God becomes angry at His world at that moment every day., bAnd Rabbi Yoḥa said in the name of Rabbi Yosei: A single regretor pang of guilt bin one’s heart is preferable to many lashesadministered by others that cause only physical pain, bas it is stated: “And she chases her lovers,but she does not overtake them; she seeks them, but she will not find them; band she will say ‘I will go and return to my first husband; for it was better for me then than now’”(Hosea 2:9). Remorse is more effective than any externally imposed punishment listed in the verses that follow (Hosea 2:11–19). bAnd Reish Lakish saidthat in the Bible, it seems that such remorse is bpreferable to one hundred lashes, as it is stated: “A rebuke enters deeper into a man of understanding than a hundred lashes to a fool”(Proverbs 17:10)., bAnd Rabbi Yoḥa said in the name of Rabbi Yoseiregarding Moses’ request that the Divine Presence rest upon Israel as it once had: Moses brequested three things from the Holy One, Blessed be He,at that time, ball of which were granted him. He requested that the Divine Presence rest upon Israeland not leave, band He grantedit bto him, as it is stated:“For how can it be known that I have found grace in Your sight, I and Your people? bIs it not in that You go with us,so that we are distinguished, I and Your people, from all the people that are on the face of the earth?” (Exodus 33:16). The request: Is it not in that You go with us, refers to the resting of the Divine Presence upon Israel.,Moses brequested that the Divine Presence not rest upon the nations of the world, and He grantedit bto him, as it is stated: “So that we are distinguished, I and Your people,from all the people on the face of the earth” (Exodus 33:16).,Lastly, Moses brequested that the waysin which bGodconducts the bworld be revealed to him, and He grantedit bto him, as it is stated: “Show me Your waysand I will know You” (Exodus 33:13). brMoses bsaid beforeGod: bMaster of the Universe. Why is it thatthe brighteous prosper, the righteous suffer,the bwicked prosper,the bwicked suffer? brGod bsaid to him: Moses, the righteousperson bwho prospers is a righteousperson, bthe son of a righteousperson, who is rewarded for the actions of his ancestors. bThe righteousperson bwho suffers is a righteousperson, bthe son of a wickedperson, who is punished for the transgressions of his ancestors. bThe wickedperson bwho prospers is a wickedperson, bthe son of a righteousperson, who is rewarded for the actions of his ancestors. bThe wickedperson bwho suffers is a wicked person, the son of a wicked person,who is punished for the transgressions of his ancestors.,The Gemara expands upon these righteous and wicked individuals: bThe Master said: The righteousperson bwho prospers is a righteousperson, bthe son of a righteousperson. bThe righteousperson bwho suffers is a righteousperson, bthe son of a wickedperson. The Gemara asks: bIs it sothat one is always punished for his ancestors’ transgressions? bIsn’t it written: “He visits iniquity of the fathers upon the children,and upon the children’s children, unto the third and fourth generations” (Exodus 34:7). bAnd it is writtenelsewhere: “Fathers shall not die for their children, band children shall not be put to death for the fathers;every man shall die for his own transgression” (Deuteronomy 24:16). bAndthe Gemara braises a contradiction between the two verses. /b,The Gemara bresolvesthe contradiction: bThis is not difficult. Thisverse from Exodus, which states that God punishes descendants for the transgressions of their ancestors, refers to a case bwhere they adopt the actions of their ancestors as their own. While thisverse from Deuteronomy, which states that descendants are not punished for the actions of their ancestors, refers to a case bwhere they do not adopt the actions of their ancestors as their own,as it is stated: “I visit iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the third and fourth generations of my enemies” (Exodus 20:5).,A righteous person is clearly not punished for the transgressions of his ancestors. bRather,it must be that God bsaid toMoses bas follows: br bThe righteousperson bwho prospers isa bcompletely righteousperson whose actions are entirely good and whose reward is entirely good both in this world and in the World-to-Come. br bThe righteousperson bwho suffers isone who is bnot a completely righteousperson. Because he does have some transgressions, he is punished in this world so that he will receive a complete reward in the World-to-Come. br bThe wickedperson bwho prospers isone who is bnot a completely wickedperson. God rewards him in this world for the good deeds that he performed, so that he will receive a complete punishment in the World-to-Come. brFinally, bthe wickedperson bwho suffers isa bcompletely wickedperson. Since he performed absolutely no mitzvot and deserves no reward, he receives only punishment both in this world and in the World-to-Come (Maharsha).,Rabbi Yoḥa’s opinion, that God granted Moses all three of his requests, bdisagrees withthat of bRabbi Meir,as bRabbi Meir said: Twoof Moses’ requests bwere granted to him, and one was not granted to him.God granted him that the Divine Presence would rest upon Israel and not leave, and that the Divine Presence would not rest upon the nations of the world, but God did not reveal to Moses the ways in which He conducts the world. bAs it is said: “And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious”(Exodus 33:19); in His mercy, God bestows His grace upon every person, beven though he is not worthy.Similarly, God says: b“And I will have mercy upon whom I will have mercy,” even though he is not worthy.According to Rabbi Meir, the way in which God conducts the world and bestows grace and mercy was not revealed even to Moses.,The Gemara continues to cite the Sages’ explanation of verses that require clarification on the same topic. With regard to God’s statement to Moses, b“And He said: ‘You cannot see My face,for man shall not see Me and live’” (Exodus 33:20), bit was taught in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korḥa that the Holy One, Blessed be He, said toMoses bas follows: When I wantedto show you My glory at the burning bush, byou did not wantto see it, as it is stated: “And Moses concealed his face, fearing to gaze upon God” (Exodus 3:6). But bnow that you wantto see My glory, as you said: “Show me Your glory,” bI do not wantto show it to you. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korḥa interprets Moses’ initial refusal to look upon God’s glory negatively, as he rebuffed God’s desire to be close to him.,This bdisagrees withthat which bRabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani saidthat bRabbi Yonatansaid, as bRabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani saidthat bRabbi Yonatan said:Specifically bas a reward for threeacts of humility in averting his glance at the burning bush, Moses bwas privilegedto experience bthreegreat revelations:,Because “Moses bconcealed his face,fearing to gaze upon God” (Exodus 3:6), bhe was privileged tohave his bcountece [ ikelaster /i]glow. brBecause bhe “feared,” he was privileged that “they feared to approach him”(Exodus 34:30). brBecause he did not b“gaze,” he was privileged to “behold the likeness of the Lord”(Numbers 12:8).,What did Moses see? It is said: b“And I will remove My hand, and you will see My back,but My face you will not see” (Exodus 33:23). bRav Ḥana bar Bizna said in the name of Rabbi Shimon Ḥasida,the expression: “And you will see My back,” should be understood as follows: bThis teaches that the Holy One, Blessed be He,Who, as mentioned above, wears phylacteries, bshowed him the knot of the phylacteriesof His head, which is worn on the back of the head.,On this subject, bRabbi Yoḥa said in the name of Rabbi Yosei: Every statementto a person or to a nation bthat emerged from the mouth of the Holy One, Blessed be He,with a promise bof good, even if it was conditional, He did not renegeon it. Ultimately, every promise made by God will be fulfilled., bFrom where do wederive that all of God’s promises are fulfilled? We know this bfrom Moses our teacher,as God promised and bsaid: “Leave Me alone; I will destroy themand blot out their name from under heaven; band I will make from you a nation mightierand greater than they” (Deuteronomy 9:14). bEven thoughMoses bprayedto have the decree repealed, bandit bwas nullified, the promise was fulfilledand Moses’ bdescendantsbecame a nation mightier and greater than the 600,000 Israelites in the desert. bAs it is statedwith regard to the Levites: b“The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer…and the sons of Eliezer were Reḥaviya the chief.And Eliezer had no other sons; band the sons of Reḥaviya were very many”(I Chronicles 23:15–17)., bAnd Rav Yosef taughtin a ibaraita /i: b“Many”means more bthan 600,000.This is learned through a verbal analogy between the words bmanyand bmany. It is written herewith regard to Reḥaviya’s sons: b“Were very many.” And it is written therewith regard to the Israelites in Egypt: b“And the children of Israel became numerous and multiplied and were very many,and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them” (Exodus 1:7). Just as when the children of Israel were in Egypt, very many meant that there were 600,000 of them, so too the descendants of Reḥaviya were 600,000. |
