Pesachim 118b (קיח:) — the Talmud in English

Rather, I, the angel of fire,

will descend and cool

the furnace

from within

in order to save them,

and I will heat

the furnace

from outside

in order to burn those who throw them into the furnace,

and I will perform a miracle within a miracle!

The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: Descend!

At that moment Gabriel began and said: “But the truth of the Lord endures forever,”

for He has fulfilled the promise He made to me, that I would merit saving descendants of Abraham.

Rabbi Natan says: “But the truth of the Lord endures forever”—the fish of the sea said it,

in accordance with the statement of Rav Huna.

As Rav Huna said: The Israelites of that generation were of little faith,

and in accordance with the exposition of Rabba bar Mari: What

is the meaning of that

which is written:

“And they rebelled against Him at the sea, at the Sea of Reeds”? This teaches that the Israelites rebelled at that moment

when the sea split for them and they passed through it,

and they said: Just as we are ascending on one side

of the sea,

so the Egyptians are ascending on the other side

of the sea and pursuing us!

The Holy One, blessed be He, said to the angel of the sea: Spit them out

the Egyptians

onto dry land!

The angel of the sea said

before Him:

“Master of the Universe! Is there a servant to whom his master gives a gift,

a livelihood for the fish,

and then comes and takes it back from him?”

He said to him,

the Holy One, blessed be He:

“I will give you

in their place

one and a half times their number,”

that is, one and a half times as many as them.

The angel of the sea said

to Him:

“Master of the Universe!”

But is there

“a servant who makes a claim against his master?”

And who will guarantee to me that You will indeed fulfill Your promise?

He said to him,

the Holy One, blessed be He:

“The Kishon River will be My guarantor!”

during the war of Sisera, as will be stated below.

Immediately, it spit them out onto dry land.

And the Israelites came and saw them, as it is stated:

“And Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the shore of the sea,”

which indicates that they saw them when they were on the shore of the sea.

And we raise a difficulty:

What

is the meaning of “one and a half times their number”?

And we answer:

For whereas with regard to Pharaoh it is written:

“Six hundred chosen chariots,” whereas with regard to Sisera it is written:

“Nine hundred iron chariots.”

When Sisera came, [

he came against them with iron lances,

warriors clad in iron armor.

The Holy One, blessed be He, brought stars out from their courses against them, as it is written: ]

“From heaven the stars fought.”

Once the stars of heaven descended upon them,

as soon as the stars of heaven descended upon them,

they heated those iron lances;

they heated them,

and they descended to cool themselves and bathe

they descended to cool themselves and bathe

in the Kishon River.

The Holy One, blessed be He, said to the Kishon River: Go and fulfill your guarantee,

which you gave to the angel of the sea.

Immediately, the Kishon River swept them away and cast them into the sea.

As it is stated:

“The Kishon River swept them away, the ancient river.”

What is the meaning of “the ancient river”?

A river that became a guarantor from ancient times!

At that moment, the fish of the sea began and said: “But the truth of the Lord endures forever.”

For He paid us our gift, the camp of Pharaoh, from which we could sustain ourselves.

Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: What

is the meaning of that

which is written:

“He sets the barren woman of the house”?

The congregation of Israel said [

the elders and distinguished members of the people of Israel

before the Holy One, blessed be He: “Master of the Universe! Your sons have made me

the less distinguished, because of their many sins in exile,

like this mole, which dwells in the foundations of houses,”

in the holes and cracks of a house. That is, they have humiliated me. And this is implied by what is written, “a joyful mother of children,” that the mother cries out against the children who made her the barren woman of the house.

Rava taught: What is the meaning of that which is written:

“I love when the Lord hears

the voice of my supplications,”

the congregation of Israel said: “Master of the Universe! When am I beloved before You

—“I love” implies “You love me”—

when You hear the voice of my supplications.”

“I am poor, and He saves me”—the congregation of Israel said before the Holy One, blessed be He: “Master of the Universe, although I am poor in mitzvot,

nevertheless

I am Yours;

I belong to You,

and

therefore

it is fitting for You to save me

more than all the nations, for Israel designated You as their God.

Rav Kahana said: When Rabbi Yishmael, son of Rabbi Yosei, fell ill, Rabbi sent him: “Tell us two or three things that you told us in the name of your father.”

He sent back to him: So my father said: What is the meaning of that which is written:

“Praise the Lord, all nations,

praise Him, all peoples, for His kindness toward us has prevailed”?

And ostensibly, this is difficult:

“Nations of the world, what is their involvement?”

Why must they praise and laud Him for the kindnesses performed for us? We should be the ones to praise and laud Him for this, and not they!

Rather,

this is what the verse is saying: “Praise the Lord, all nations”—for the mighty deeds and wonders that He performed for them!

For they saw what He did for us, and

all the more so we,

who must praise Him,

for His kindness toward us has prevailed.

Furthermore,

Rabbi Yishmael, son of Rabbi Yosei, sent to Rabbi in the name of his father:

Egypt is destined to bring a gift to the Messiah.

Thinking

that the Messiah

would not accept it from them,

meaning that he should not accept a gift from Egypt,

the Holy One, blessed be He, said to the Messiah: Accept it from them,

because

“they hosted My children in Egypt.”

Immediately,

“Nobles shall come

gifts

from Egypt.”

[Psalms 68]

The kingdom

of

Cush raised a kal va-chomer within itself: “If these,”

the Egyptians,

“who enslaved them, are treated so,”

as the Messiah accepted a gift from them,

“I, who did not enslave them, all the more so

he should accept a gift from me.”

The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: Accept it from them!

Immediately,

“Cush shall hasten its hands to God.”

The kingdom [

of Rome ]

the wicked raised a kal va-chomer within itself: “If these, who are not

the

brothers

of Israel,

are treated so,”

as he accepted a gift from them,

“we, who are their brothers

of Israel [for Rome is descended from Esau],

all the more so,

he should accept a gift from us.”

The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Gabriel: “Rebuke the beast of the reed,

the assembly of mighty ones”;

rebuke the beast,

the wicked nation of Rome, so that it will not receive a gift from them,

“and establish for Yourself an assembly,”

the assembly of Israel.

Alternatively: “Rebuke the beast of the reed”—the one that lies among the reeds

in the forest, that is, the boar,

as it is written:

“The boar from the forest gnaws at it, and the moving creatures of the field feed on it.”

The boar is an allegory for Edom [Rome].

Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba said that Rabbi Yohanan said: “Rebuke the beast of the reed”—

“rebuke the beast whose every deed is written with a single pen.”

Rebuke the beast whose every deed is written with a single pen.

Since it is written “reed,” in the singular, rather than “reeds,” it implies a single pen: they are all unanimous in acting against Israel, so that if an Israelite comes before them for judgment, they all find him liable.

And the continuation of the verse is: “Rebuke the beast of the reed,

the assembly of mighty ones among the calves of the peoples,” who slaughtered mighty ones

such as Rabbi Akiva and his colleagues [Maharsha],

like calves that have no owners.

For “among the calves of the peoples” means calves belonging to the entire world—that is, ownerless.

And further, the continuation of the verse there states:

“He prostrates himself with bars of silver.”

“He prostrates himself” is from the expression “loosening the palm of the hand,”

for they extend a hand to receive money,

a bribe from an Israelite in order to do his will,

but

ultimately

they do not fulfill the will of the owners,

for they do not keep their word despite having taken a bribe.

And further, there:

“He scattered peoples who delight in wars”—who caused Israel to be scattered among the nations of the world?

Wars,

battles

in which they took delight.

For during the First Temple, had Zedekiah not rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar, they would not have been exiled at all. And especially during the Second Temple, had the rebellious Jews listened to Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai and the Sages of that generation and made peace with Titus, they would not have been exiled. But they desired battles and not peace [Maharsha]. Alternatively, the closeness they desired with the gentiles caused them to be exiled.

And he further sent him

Rabbi Yishmael, son of Rabbi Yosei, to Rabbi in the name of his father:

There were three hundred sixty-five markets

there

in the great metropolis of Rome.

And in each and every one there were three hundred sixty-five towers,

towers.

And in each and every tower there were three hundred sixty-five steps,

stairs.

And each and every step contained enough to feed the entire world.

Rabbi Shimon, son of Rabbi, said to Rabbi.

And some say: Rabbi Yishmael, son of Rabbi Yosei, said to Rabbi: These, for whom

for whom?

He said to him:

For you, your colleagues, and your colleagues’ colleagues,

that is, your fellow scholars’ colleagues. In other words, all this wealth is reserved for Torah scholars.

As it is stated:

“Its merchandise and its wage shall be sacred to the Lord;

it shall not be stored up or hoarded, for it shall be for those who sit before the Lord, and so on.”

What

is the meaning of that which is written

“it shall not be stored up”?

Rav Yosef taught: This is a storehouse

of wine, grain, and oil.

“Nor hoarded”—this is a treasury

of silver and gold hidden and stored securely and firmly.

What

is the meaning of that which is written

“for it shall be for those who sit before the Lord”?