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Bamidbar Rabbah

Sefaria · Midrash > Aggadah > Midrash Rabbah · 108 sections

  1. 21.23

    24 (Numb. 29:35) “On the eighth day you shall have a solemn assembly”: This text is related (to Is. 26:16), “You have added to the nation O Lord." The Community of Israel said in front of the Holy One, blessed be He, “Master of the world, You added [years of] tranquility to the generation of the flood, did they maybe ever offer a single bull or a single ram? It is not enough that they did not offer, but they [even] said (in Gen. 11:4), ‘Let us build for ourselves a city.’ And so too with the Sodomites, and so too with Pharaoh, and so too with Sennacherib and so too with Nebuchadnezzar. Did they maybe ever offer a single bull or a single ram? It is not enough that they did not offer [anything] in front of You, but they even angered You. And to whom is it fitting for You to add tranquility and glory? To Israel, as stated (in Is. 26:16), ‘You have added to the nation.’” And a nation is only referring to Israel, as stated (in II Sam. 7:23), “And who is like Your people Israel, a unique nation on earth.” The community of Israel said in front of the Holy One, blessed be He, “Master of the world, You should add festivals for us, and we shall offer sacrifices in front of You as is fitting.” (Is. 26:16, cont.) “You have been honored,” “You have given us new moons, and we sacrifice in front of You [then], as is stated (in Numb. 28:11), ‘And on new moons.’ You have given us Passover, we have sacrificed to You; You have given us Pentecost, we have sacrificed to You; You have given us the New Year, we have sacrificed to You; You have given us the Day of Atonement, we have sacrificed to You. And so too on the Festival [of Tabernacles]. We have not ignored [the sacrifices for] even one festival.” The Community of Israel said, “You should add festivals for us, and we shall offer sacrifices in front of You and honor You.” (Is. 26:16, cont.) “You have added to the nation and been honored […].” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel, “By your lives, I will not take away holidays [from you], but I will add festivals for you to rejoice in them, as stated (in Numb. 29:35), ‘On the eighth day you shall have a solemn assembly.’”

  2. 23.1

    A Halakha: Is one who is pursued by non-Jews or bandits allowed to transgress the laws of Sabbath? Our Rabbis taught: One who is pursued by non-Jews or bandits is permitted to transgress the laws of Sabbath, in order to save his life. Thus we also find with David: When Saul attempted to kill him, he fled and escaped. Our Rabbis said: It once happened that they came to the [Jewish] leadership in Sepphoris with harsh orders from the [Roman] government. They went and said to R. Elazar b. Parta: O Rabbi! We have received harsh orders from the government. What do you say we should do, should we flee? He feared telling them to flee explicitly, so he hinted to them: "Why are you asking me? Go and ask Yaakov, Moshe, and David". What does it say about Yaakov? (Hosea 12): "And Jacob fled." Also about Moshe, (Exodus 2): "Moshe fled." And also about David, (I Samuel 19): "David fled and escaped." It also says (Isaiah 26): "Go my people, enter your rooms." The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to them: Such great ones were fearful and fled from those who hated them, yet for those forty years that you were in the desert, I did not let them flee. Instead I felled all their haters before them, in that I myself that was with them. Not only that, but there were all kinds of snakes, serafim, and scorpions there: (Deuteronomy 8): "Snakes, sefarim, and scorpions", yet I did not allow them to hurt you. Therefore The Holy One Blessed Be He said to Moshe: Record the journeys that Israel undertook in the desert, it order that they should know what kind of miracles I performed from them. How [will they know]? From all that they read regarding "These are the journeys".

  3. 23.2

    2 This is what is stated in the verse (Psalms 77:21), "You led (nachita) Your people like a flock through Moshe and Aharon." What is [the meaning of] nachita? It is the expression of an acrostic: Rabbi Eliezer says, "You did Nissim (miracles) for them; You gave them Chaim (life); You split the Yam Suf (Reed Sea) for them; You gave them the Torah through Moshe and Aharon." Rabbi Yehoshua says, "You did Niflaot (wonders) for them; You gave them Cherut (freedom); Yamincha (Your right hand) delivered them; You gave them Tilluy rosh (holding the head high) through Moshe and Aharon." Our masters said, "Nevi'im (prophets) did You raise up from them; Hasidim (saints) did You raise up from them; Yesharim (upright ones) did You raise up from them; Temimim (unblemished ones) did You raise up from them through Moses and Aharon." Another interpretation [of] nachita: Rabbi Akiva says, "You did Noraot (dreadful things) to their enemies; You sentCharon af (waxing anger) against them and You fought against them; You covered them with Tehomot (depths) through Moshe and Aharon. Another interpretation of (Psalms 77:21), "You led Your people like a flock": What is [the meaning of] flock? Just like one does not bring a flock under the shade of a roof (indoors), so too Israel when they were in the wilderness were not brought under the shade of a roof for forty years. Hence they were compared to a flock. Another interpretation of (Psalms 77:21), "You led Your people like a flock": Just like a flock does not have storerooms collected for them but rather only graze from the wilderness, so too Israel for the forty years that they were in the wilderness were fed without storehouses. . Hence they were compared to a flock. Another interpretation of (Psalms 77:21), "You led Your people like a flock": And just like a flock follows to anywhere that the shepherd leads them, so too Israel journeyed to any place that Moshe and Aharon took them, as it is stated, "These are the journeys of the Children of Israel" - in order to fulfill that which is stated, "You led Your people like a flock through Moshe and Aharon."

  4. 23.3

    3 (Numbers 33:1) "These are the stages of the Children of Israel": [The matter] is comparable to a king whose son was ill. He brought him to a certain place to heal him. When they returned, his father began recounting the stages, “Here we slept. Here we cooled off. Here you had a headache.” Similarly the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moshe, "Recount to them all the places where they provoked Me." It is therefore stated (in Numbers 33:1), "These are the stages...."

  5. 23.4

    4 Another interpretation: Why did all these stages (places) merit to be written in the Torah? Since they received (accommodated) Israel, the Holy One, blessed be He, will give them their reward in the future. It is so stated (in Isaiah 35:1-2), "The arid desert shall be glad.... It shall blossom abundantly, it shall also exult...." And if the desert [will receive] such for receiving Israel; one who receives a Torah scholar into his home, all the more so [will he be rewarded]. You find that in the future the desert will be a settlement and a settlement will be a desert. And where is it shown a settlement will be a desert in the future? It is so stated (Malachi 1:3), "And I have hated Esav and will make his hills a desolation." And where is it shown a desert will be a settlement in the future? It is so stated (Isaiah 41:8), "I will make a desert into a lake of water." Now there are no trees in the desert, but there will be trees there in the future, as stated (Isaiah 41:19), "I will put cedar and acacia in the desert...." Now there is no path there, as it is all sand. But there will be a path there in the future, as stated (Isaiah 43:19), "I will place a path in the desert […]." And it states (Isaiah 35:8), "And there will be a highway there, and it shall be called the Sacred Way [...]."

  6. 23.8

    8 (Numbers 34:2) When you come to the Land of Israel: This is what is stated in the verse (in Numbers 23:19), "God is not a man to be deceitful," [meaning] a man will not make God deceitful; "nor the son of" Amram (this is a play on words, as the verse reads, the son of man, "Adam") to make Him "change His mind." As [only after God] said, "Let Me go and I will destroy them," did the son of Amram stand and make Him change His mind, as stated (Exodus 32:14), "And the Lord rescinded the evil that He was saying to do to His people." Another interpretation (of Numbers 23:19): "God is not a man to be deceitful," with the good. When He speaks to bring good – even if the generation is liable – He does not delay [it]. But when He speaks to bring evil, He does go back on it, as it is stated (Numbers 23:19), "He said it but does not do [it]." You should know that He said to Avraham (Genesis 15:5), "Look toward heaven and count the stars [...]." And He did it, as stated (Deuteronomy 1:10), "The Lord, your God, multiplied you, and behold you are today...." [But when] He said to Avraham (Genesis 15:13), "Know well that your offspring shall be strangers [... four hundred years]," they only did two hundred and ten years. That is [the meaning of], "God is not a man to be deceitful" – with the good. But with the evil, "He said it but does not do [it]." [In this vein,] He said to Israel, "As you are not My people" (Hosea 1:9). But He went back and said, "And I will say to Not My People, 'You are My people'" (Hosea 2: 25). That is [the meaning of], "He said it but does not do [it]." He said to Avraham, "As I will give [the land] to you and your offspring" (Genesis 26:3), and He did not go back [on it]. As it is stated (Numbers 34:2), "when you come to the Land of Canaan," and He brought them into the Land.

  7. 23.12

    This is as the verse says (Psalms 111:6) "He revealed the strength of His deeds to His people, [in giving them the heritage of nations]". The Holy Blessed One said to Israel, "I could have created for you a new land; but, for the sake of showing you My strength, I will kill your enemies before you and give you their land; in order to fulfill what is written, "He revealed the strength of His deeds to His people, in giving them the heritage of nations" (ibid).

  8. 23.13

    "And you shall provide yourselves with cities" (Numbers 35:11), this is what the verse says, "Good and upright is the Lord, therefore He shows sinners the way." (Psalms 25:8) "Remember Your mercy, O God, and your lovingkindness." (Psalms 25:6). David said, Master of the Universe, were it not for the fact that Your lovingkindness preceded the First Man, he would not have been able to stand, as it says "For the day you eat of it [the tree of knowledge of good and evil] you will surely die" (Genesis 2:17). And You did not do this; rather, You brought him out from the Garden of Eden and he lived for 930 years(!) and only after that did he die. Why did you do that to him, to drive him out from the Garden of Eden, as it says (Genesis 3:24) "and He drove out the man"? Why was he driven out, since he brought death upon the generations, and he was sentenced to immediate death? Rather, You had mercy upon him and drove him off, just as the accidental killer is exiled to a city of refuge. Thus it says, "Remember Your mercy, O God, and Your lovingkindness, etc." Once Moshe stood and the Holy Blessed One told him, "Provide yourselves with cities...", Moshe said "Master of the Universe, this one killed by accident in the south or the north; how will he know where the city of refuge is, that he may flee to it?" God replied, "'Set for yourselves the path... [i.e. to the cities of refuge]' (Deuteronomy 19:3), orient for yourselves the path so that you will not be mistaken and find the blood avenger and he will kill you "and there will be for him no death penalty" (Deuteronomy 19:6)." He [Moshe] said again, "How?" He [God] said to him, set up for yourselves signs [istlayot] pointing to the cities of refuge, that they will know where to travel. And on every sign write "Killer to the city of refuge", as it says "prepare for yourselves the way". Thus said David, "Good and upright is the Lord, therefore He shows sinners the way." If for killers He makes a path and a road for them to flee by and be saved, all the more so for righteous! "He guides the humble in justice, and teaches the humble His way" (Psalms 25:9). "And the killer shall flee there who has killed a soul by accident" -- but not on purpose. If he kills on purpose and he says "I accidentally killed" and flees to the cities of refuge, the Holy Blessed One says, even if he flees and enters to My altar, you shall kill him, as it says (Exodus 21:14) "And if a person schemes, etc [against another, and kills him treacherously, you shall take him from My very altar to be put to death]". And who was it who fled to the altar and was killed? Yoav, as it says (I Kings 2:28) "When the news reached Joab, he fled to the Tent of the LORD [and grasped the horns of the altar]...". And it says (II Samuel 23:8) "Tahchemonite, the chief officer" -- he did not know that it is written in the Torah "And if a person schemes, etc" that he went and grasped the horns of the altar. Rather it says "Those killed by the court are not buried in the graves of their fathers, rather they alone; it is better for me that I die here and be buried in the graves of my fathers". (I Kings 3:30-31) "Benaiah reported back to the king that Joab had answered thus and thus, and the king said, 'Do just as he said; strike him down and bury him, and remove guilt from me and my father’s house for the blood of the innocent that Joab has shed.'" And why was he killed? For so David his [Shlomo's] father had commanded him -- "Further, you know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me, what he did to the two commanders of Israel’s forces, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether: he killed them" (I Kings 2:5). What did he do to him...

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