Menachos Daf 53 מנחוס דַף 53

Rebbe Preida’s students told him that Rebbe Ezra, grandson of Rebbe Avtolas, and a descendant of Rebbe Elazar ben Azaryah and Ezra, was standing at his door. Rebbe Preida wondered at the extensive lineage given: אי בר אוריין הוא יאי – “If he is a scholar, fine. If he is a scholar and of distinguished ancestry, fine. But if he has distinguished ancestry and is not a scholar, אישא תיכליה – let fire consume him!” They said he was a scholar, and he was invited to enter. Seeing that Rebbe Ezra was upset, Rebbe Preida told him the following derashah: אמרת לה' אדני אתה – You said to Hashem: You are my Master. טובתי בל עליך – My gratitude is not to You. He explains that כנסת ישראל said before Hashem, “Ribbono shel Olam! החזק לי טובה שהודעתיך בעולם – Show me gratitude that I have made You known in the world.” Hashem replied: ""טובתי בל עליך – My gratitude is not to you; איני מחזיק טובה אלא לאברהם יצחק ויעקב – I only show gratitude to Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, שהודיעוני תחלה בעולם – who first made Me known to the world, as indicated in the next passuk. That passuk mentions the word "אדיר" – mighty one, and reminded Rebbe Ezra about Aggada he heard using "אדיר" multiple times, and he quoted a series of such teachings.

Rebbe Yitzchak says that at the time the Beis Hamikdash was destroyed, Hashem found Avraham standing in the Beis Hamikdash. Hashem said to him: מה לידידי בביתי – “What is My beloved doing in My House?” Avraham replied: על עיסקי בני באתי – “I have come concerning my children,” and Hashem told him they had sinned and were exiled. Avraham suggested that the sins were בשוגג, or only by the minority, but Hashem said this was not the case. Avraham proposed other defenses on their behalf, which were likewise denied. Avraham put his hands on his head and cried out and wept, and said: שמא חס ושלום אין להם תקנה – “Maybe, Heaven forbid, there is no remedy for them.” A בת קול went forth saying: זית רענן יפה פרי תואר קרא ה' שמך – Hashem has called your name, “A leafy olive tree, beautiful with shapely fruit.” מה זית זו אחריתו בסופו – Just as an olive tree, its destiny is fulfilled at its end (i.e., long after being planted), אף ישראל אחריתן בסופן – so too Yisroel, their destiny is fulfilled at their end. The next phrase is darshened to teach that Hashem said קולך שמעתי וחמלתי עליהם – “I have heard your voice, and I will have pity on them.” The Gemara describes how their subjugation to the four kingdoms would be shortened.

Rebbe Yehosua ben Levi said: למה נמשלו ישראל לזית – Why is Yisroel compared to an olive tree? It is to tell you: מה זית אין עליו נושרין – Just as the olive tree, its leaves do not fall out, לא בימות החמה ולא בימות הגשמים – neither in the summer nor in the winter, אף ישראל אין להם בטילה עולמית – so too Yisroel, they will never be nullified, לא בעוה"ז ולא בעולם הבא – neither in this world nor in the World to Come. Rebbe Yochanan explained the comparison differently: מה זית אינו מוציא שמנו אלא ע"י כתיתה – just as an olive tree does not release its oil except through crushing, אף ישראל אין חוזרין למוטב אלא ע"י יסורין – so too Yisroel will not return to the right way except through suffering.