[היא העולה על מוקדה]. זו מלכות הרשעה שעילתה עצמה, שנאמר אם תגביה כנשר ואם בין כוכבים שים קנך (עובדיה א ד), ונידונו באש, שנאמר (חזא) [חזה] הוית עד (דיקטילת) [די קטילת] חיוותא [והובד גשמה ויהיבת ליקדת אשא] (דניאל ז יא), אמר הקב"ה והיה בית יעקב אש ובית יוסף להבה וגו' כי (פי) ה' דבר (עובדיה א יח), ומה דבר על ידי משה, היא העולה על מוקדה, ואחר כך ועלו מושיעים בהר ציון לשפוט את הר עשו והיתה לה' המלוכה (שם שם כא).
[(Lev. 6.2 [9]:) < THIS IS THE TORAH OF THE ONE WHO ASCENDS (h'lh); >15See above, note 8. THAT IS THE ONE WHICH ASCENDS UPON THE BURNING PLACE.] This is the evil kingdom (of Rome), which exalted (rt.: 'LH) itself, as stated (in Obad., vs. 4): THOUGH YOU MAKE < YOUR ABODE > AS HIGH AS THE EAGLE, AND THOUGH YOUR NEST IS SET AMONG THE STARS, < I WILL BRING YOU DOWN FROM THERE, SAYS THE LORD >. Moreover, it will be judged by fire, as stated (in Dan. 7:11): < I LOOKED ON THEN BECAUSE OF THE SOUND OF THE ARROGANT WORDS WHICH THE HORN UTTERED. > I LOOKED ON UNTIL THE BEAST WAS SLAIN AND ITS BODY DESTROYED, GIVEN OVER FOR BURNING IN THE FIRE. The Holy One said (in Obad., vs. 18): THE HOUSE OF JACOB SHALL BE FIRE, AND THE HOUSE OF JOSEPH A FLAME, < AND THE HOUSE OF ESAU (i.e., Rome) SHALL BE STRAW; THEY SHALL BURN IT AND CONSUME IT >…, FOR {THE MOUTH OF} THE LORD HAS SPOKEN IT. And what did he say through Moses (in Lev. 6:2 [9])? THAT IS THE ONE WHICH ASCENDS (ha'olah, rt.: 'LH) UPON THE BURNING PLACE.] Then after that < Scripture says > (in Obad., vs. 21): THEN SAVIORS SHALL COME UP ON MOUNT ZION TO JUDGE THE MOUNTAIN OF ESAU, AND THE KINGDOM SHALL BELONG TO THE LORD.
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וסיסרא שחירף, שכתיב בו, והוא לחץ את בני ישראל בחזקה (שופטים ד ג), בחירופין ובגידופין, לפיכך נידון באש, שנאמר מן (השמים) [שמים] נלחמו הכוכבים ממסלותם נלחמו עם סיסרא (שם ה כ), ולעולם הבא כשהקב"ה בא ליפרע מעשו, מה עשו עשהו, מתעטף בטליתו כארי, ובא ויושב לו אצל יעקב, שנאמר הבט נא השמימה וספור הכוכבים [וגו' כה יהיה זרעך] (בראשית טו ה), ויעקב אומר לו אחי לא תהא אתה כיוצא בי, שנאמר אחי דברך מות אחי קטבך שאול (הושע יג יד), (אחי אחי) [אהי אהי] גזירות שהיית גוזר עלי, היית גוזר עלי שאעבוד ע"ז, אילו הייתי עושה הייתי מתחייב מיתה בידי שמים, ואם לא הייתי עובד הייתה הורג אותי, לפיכך אהי דברך מות אהי קטבך שאול, לשון אלנסטי, (כיון שנשתייר יעקב ועשו ירד לשאול) [כיון שעשו יורד לשאול נשתייר יעקב לעצמו], שנאמר והיה בכל הארץ נאום ה' פי שנים בה [יכרתו יגועו והשלישית יותר בה] (זכריה יג ח), ואין שלישית אלא ישראל, שנאמר (והיה) [יהיה] ישראל שלישיה וגו' (ישעיה יט כד), וישראל על שעשו עצמן נבזים ושפלים מתנחמים באש, שנאמר ואני אהיה לה נאום ה' חומת אש סביב ולכבוד אהיה בתוכה (זכריה ב ט), כיון שעשו מסתלק מן העולם, הקב"ה [וישראל משתיירין, שנאמר אחת היא יונתי תמתי (שה"ש ו ט), ואומר] (אומר) ה' בדד ינחנו ואין עמו אל נכר (דברים לב יב).
Sisera also < was punished by fire > because he blasphemed. Thus it is written about him (in Jud. 4:3): AND HE OPPRESSED THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL WITH MIGHT, < i.e. > with blasphemies and invectives.16See M. Ps. 2:1, which derives this interpretation of WITH MIGHT (rt.: HZQ) from Mal. 3:13: YOUR WORDS HAVE BEEN MIGHTY (rt.: HZQ) AGAINST ME. See also below, 9:7. He was therefore punished by fire, as stated (in Jud. 5:20): THE STARS FOUGHT FROM THE HEAVENS; FROM THEIR COURSES THEY FOUGHT WITH SISERA.17See Pes. 118b, according to which the stars descended and heated the iron implements in Sisera’s army. < There is > also < retribution > in the world to come, when the Holy One comes to exact retribution from Esau. What did Esau do to him? Wrapped in a prayer shawl like a lion,18Cf. the parallel in Tanh., Lev. 2:3, which reads: “Wrapped in a prayer shawl like an elder.” he came and took his seat beside Jacob. It is so stated, (in Obad., vs. 4): AND THOUGH YOUR NEST IS SET AMONG THE STARS. STARS can only mean Israel, since it is stated (in Gen. 15:5): LOOK TOWARD THE HEAVENS AND COUNT THE STARS,…: [SO SHALL YOUR SEED BE.] Jacob says to him: My brother ('HY), you shall not be like me. Thus it is stated (in Hos. 13:14): MY BROTHER ('HY),19The unemended reading below, given in braces, shows that the midrash is reading the he in ‘HY as a het, so that the WHERE of the Masoretic Text cited here is to be interpreted as MY BROTHER. YOUR WORDS20Devarekha. YOUR WORDS is the translation required by the midrash. In the biblical context devarekha should be rendered, YOUR PLAGUES. ARE DEATH; MY BROTHER ('HY), YOUR DESCENT (QTB) IS TO SHEOL.21A traditional translation of the line would read: WHERE IS YOUR PESTILENCE, O SHEOL? {MY BROTHER ('HY), MY BROTHER ('HY).} [WHERE ('HY)? WHERE ('HY)?].22By emending the het of MY BROTHER to the Masoretic he of WHERE, Buber has obscured some of the meaning of the midrash. < YOUR WORDS > are decrees which you decreed over me. You decreed over me that I should serve idols. If I had done so, I would have been condemned to death at the hands of Heaven; and if I had not served them, you would have killed me. Ergo (in Hos. 13:14): MY BROTHER, YOUR WORDS ARE DEATH. (Ibid., cont.:) MY BROTHER ('HY), YOUR DESCENT (QTB) IS TO SHEOL. < QTB > is a Hellenistic23From the Gk. adverb: Hellenisti. word.24Thus QTB is understood as coming from the Greek, kataba, an aorist imperative meaning, “descend.” {While Jacob remained, Esau descended to Sheol.} [When Esau descended to Sheol, Jacob remained by himself.] It is therefore stated (in Zech. 13:8): AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS THROUGHOUT ALL THE LAND, SAYS THE LORD, THAT TWO-THIRDS IN IT [SHALL BE CUT OFF AND DIE, BUT ONE-THIRD SHALL REMAIN IN IT.] Now the one-third can only be Israel, since it is stated (in Is. 19:24): {AND} ISRAEL SHALL BE A THIRD < PARTNER WITH EGYPT AND ASSYRIA, A BLESSING IN THE MIDST OF THE EARTH. > So Israel, because they made themselves despised and lowly, was avenged by fire, as stated (in Zech. 2:9 [5]): AND I MYSELF, SAYS THE LORD, WILL BE A WALL OF FIRE AROUND IT (i.e., around Jerusalem), AND I WILL BE A GLORY WITHIN IT. When Esau departed from the world, the Holy One [and Israel remained, as stated (in Cant. 6:9): < ONLY > ONE IS MY DOVE, MY PERFECT ONE. It also says:] {It says:} (in Deut. 32:12): THE LORD ALONE DID LEAD HIM, AND THERE WAS NO FOREIGN GOD WITH HIM.
[היא העולה על מוקדה]. זו מלכות הרשעה שעילתה עצמה, שנאמר אם תגביה כנשר ואם בין כוכבים שים קנך (עובדיה א ד), ונידונו באש, שנאמר (חזא) [חזה] הוית עד (דיקטילת) [די קטילת] חיוותא [והובד גשמה ויהיבת ליקדת אשא] (דניאל ז יא), אמר הקב"ה והיה בית יעקב אש ובית יוסף להבה וגו' כי (פי) ה' דבר (עובדיה א יח), ומה דבר על ידי משה, היא העולה על מוקדה, ואחר כך ועלו מושיעים בהר ציון לשפוט את הר עשו והיתה לה' המלוכה (שם שם כא).
[(Lev. 6.2 [9]:) < THIS IS THE TORAH OF THE ONE WHO ASCENDS (h'lh); >15See above, note 8. THAT IS THE ONE WHICH ASCENDS UPON THE BURNING PLACE.] This is the evil kingdom (of Rome), which exalted (rt.: 'LH) itself, as stated (in Obad., vs. 4): THOUGH YOU MAKE < YOUR ABODE > AS HIGH AS THE EAGLE, AND THOUGH YOUR NEST IS SET AMONG THE STARS, < I WILL BRING YOU DOWN FROM THERE, SAYS THE LORD >. Moreover, it will be judged by fire, as stated (in Dan. 7:11): < I LOOKED ON THEN BECAUSE OF THE SOUND OF THE ARROGANT WORDS WHICH THE HORN UTTERED. > I LOOKED ON UNTIL THE BEAST WAS SLAIN AND ITS BODY DESTROYED, GIVEN OVER FOR BURNING IN THE FIRE. The Holy One said (in Obad., vs. 18): THE HOUSE OF JACOB SHALL BE FIRE, AND THE HOUSE OF JOSEPH A FLAME, < AND THE HOUSE OF ESAU (i.e., Rome) SHALL BE STRAW; THEY SHALL BURN IT AND CONSUME IT >…, FOR {THE MOUTH OF} THE LORD HAS SPOKEN IT. And what did he say through Moses (in Lev. 6:2 [9])? THAT IS THE ONE WHICH ASCENDS (ha'olah, rt.: 'LH) UPON THE BURNING PLACE.] Then after that < Scripture says > (in Obad., vs. 21): THEN SAVIORS SHALL COME UP ON MOUNT ZION TO JUDGE THE MOUNTAIN OF ESAU, AND THE KINGDOM SHALL BELONG TO THE LORD.
וסיסרא שחירף, שכתיב בו, והוא לחץ את בני ישראל בחזקה (שופטים ד ג), בחירופין ובגידופין, לפיכך נידון באש, שנאמר מן (השמים) [שמים] נלחמו הכוכבים ממסלותם נלחמו עם סיסרא (שם ה כ), ולעולם הבא כשהקב"ה בא ליפרע מעשו, מה עשו עשהו, מתעטף בטליתו כארי, ובא ויושב לו אצל יעקב, שנאמר הבט נא השמימה וספור הכוכבים [וגו' כה יהיה זרעך] (בראשית טו ה), ויעקב אומר לו אחי לא תהא אתה כיוצא בי, שנאמר אחי דברך מות אחי קטבך שאול (הושע יג יד), (אחי אחי) [אהי אהי] גזירות שהיית גוזר עלי, היית גוזר עלי שאעבוד ע"ז, אילו הייתי עושה הייתי מתחייב מיתה בידי שמים, ואם לא הייתי עובד הייתה הורג אותי, לפיכך אהי דברך מות אהי קטבך שאול, לשון אלנסטי, (כיון שנשתייר יעקב ועשו ירד לשאול) [כיון שעשו יורד לשאול נשתייר יעקב לעצמו], שנאמר והיה בכל הארץ נאום ה' פי שנים בה [יכרתו יגועו והשלישית יותר בה] (זכריה יג ח), ואין שלישית אלא ישראל, שנאמר (והיה) [יהיה] ישראל שלישיה וגו' (ישעיה יט כד), וישראל על שעשו עצמן נבזים ושפלים מתנחמים באש, שנאמר ואני אהיה לה נאום ה' חומת אש סביב ולכבוד אהיה בתוכה (זכריה ב ט), כיון שעשו מסתלק מן העולם, הקב"ה [וישראל משתיירין, שנאמר אחת היא יונתי תמתי (שה"ש ו ט), ואומר] (אומר) ה' בדד ינחנו ואין עמו אל נכר (דברים לב יב).
Sisera also < was punished by fire > because he blasphemed. Thus it is written about him (in Jud. 4:3): AND HE OPPRESSED THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL WITH MIGHT, < i.e. > with blasphemies and invectives.16See M. Ps. 2:1, which derives this interpretation of WITH MIGHT (rt.: HZQ) from Mal. 3:13: YOUR WORDS HAVE BEEN MIGHTY (rt.: HZQ) AGAINST ME. See also below, 9:7. He was therefore punished by fire, as stated (in Jud. 5:20): THE STARS FOUGHT FROM THE HEAVENS; FROM THEIR COURSES THEY FOUGHT WITH SISERA.17See Pes. 118b, according to which the stars descended and heated the iron implements in Sisera’s army. < There is > also < retribution > in the world to come, when the Holy One comes to exact retribution from Esau. What did Esau do to him? Wrapped in a prayer shawl like a lion,18Cf. the parallel in Tanh., Lev. 2:3, which reads: “Wrapped in a prayer shawl like an elder.” he came and took his seat beside Jacob. It is so stated, (in Obad., vs. 4): AND THOUGH YOUR NEST IS SET AMONG THE STARS. STARS can only mean Israel, since it is stated (in Gen. 15:5): LOOK TOWARD THE HEAVENS AND COUNT THE STARS,…: [SO SHALL YOUR SEED BE.] Jacob says to him: My brother ('HY), you shall not be like me. Thus it is stated (in Hos. 13:14): MY BROTHER ('HY),19The unemended reading below, given in braces, shows that the midrash is reading the he in ‘HY as a het, so that the WHERE of the Masoretic Text cited here is to be interpreted as MY BROTHER. YOUR WORDS20Devarekha. YOUR WORDS is the translation required by the midrash. In the biblical context devarekha should be rendered, YOUR PLAGUES. ARE DEATH; MY BROTHER ('HY), YOUR DESCENT (QTB) IS TO SHEOL.21A traditional translation of the line would read: WHERE IS YOUR PESTILENCE, O SHEOL? {MY BROTHER ('HY), MY BROTHER ('HY).} [WHERE ('HY)? WHERE ('HY)?].22By emending the het of MY BROTHER to the Masoretic he of WHERE, Buber has obscured some of the meaning of the midrash. < YOUR WORDS > are decrees which you decreed over me. You decreed over me that I should serve idols. If I had done so, I would have been condemned to death at the hands of Heaven; and if I had not served them, you would have killed me. Ergo (in Hos. 13:14): MY BROTHER, YOUR WORDS ARE DEATH. (Ibid., cont.:) MY BROTHER ('HY), YOUR DESCENT (QTB) IS TO SHEOL. < QTB > is a Hellenistic23From the Gk. adverb: Hellenisti. word.24Thus QTB is understood as coming from the Greek, kataba, an aorist imperative meaning, “descend.” {While Jacob remained, Esau descended to Sheol.} [When Esau descended to Sheol, Jacob remained by himself.] It is therefore stated (in Zech. 13:8): AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS THROUGHOUT ALL THE LAND, SAYS THE LORD, THAT TWO-THIRDS IN IT [SHALL BE CUT OFF AND DIE, BUT ONE-THIRD SHALL REMAIN IN IT.] Now the one-third can only be Israel, since it is stated (in Is. 19:24): {AND} ISRAEL SHALL BE A THIRD < PARTNER WITH EGYPT AND ASSYRIA, A BLESSING IN THE MIDST OF THE EARTH. > So Israel, because they made themselves despised and lowly, was avenged by fire, as stated (in Zech. 2:9 [5]): AND I MYSELF, SAYS THE LORD, WILL BE A WALL OF FIRE AROUND IT (i.e., around Jerusalem), AND I WILL BE A GLORY WITHIN IT. When Esau departed from the world, the Holy One [and Israel remained, as stated (in Cant. 6:9): < ONLY > ONE IS MY DOVE, MY PERFECT ONE. It also says:] {It says:} (in Deut. 32:12): THE LORD ALONE DID LEAD HIM, AND THERE WAS NO FOREIGN GOD WITH HIM.