[Piska 47]

"So that your days will be multiplied": in this world; "and the days of your children": in the days of the Messiah; "… to your forefathers to give to them": at the resurrection; "as the days of the heavens upon the earth": in the world to come.

It is not written "to give to you,⁠" but "to give to them (your forefathers)" — whence we see (proof of) the resurrection in the Torah.

"as the days of the heavens upon the earth": The faces of the righteous will (then) shine as the day (i.e., the sun). And thus is it written (Judges 5:31) "and His lovers, like the sun emerging in its strength.⁠" (Psalms 16:11) "… with seven joys, Your face": With seven joys the faces of the righteous are destined to receive the Face of the Shechinah in the world to come: [1] "His lovers like the sun emerging in its strength", [2] (Song of Songs 6:10) "fair as the moon", [3] (Daniel 12:3) "and the wise ones will shine as the brightness of the firmament", [4] "and they that turn the many to righteousness (will shine) as the stars forever", [5] (Nachum 2:4) "and like lightnings shall they run", [6] (Psalms 45:1) "To the chief musician upon shoshanim (the righteous, whose faces are like shoshanim (lilies)", [7] (Hoshea 14:7) "and his beauty will be as that of the olive tree.⁠"

It is not written here (Psalms 121:1) "a song of the ascents,⁠" but "a song to the ascents" — to Him who is destined to assign ascents to the righteous in time to come. Rebbi says: It is not written here "a song of the ascents,⁠" but "a song to the ascents" — thirty ascents, one above the other. Because there are (thirty) ascents, one higher than the other, I might think that there is hatred, envy, and rivalry among them; it is, therefore, written (Daniel 12:3) "and they that turn the many to righteousness (will shine) as the stars forever.⁠" Just as there is no hatred, envy, or rivalry among the stars, so, there will be no hatred, envy, or rivalry among the righteous. And just as with the stars, the light of one is not like the light of the other, so, with the righteous. Variantly: (Ibid.) "and the wise ones will shine as the brightness of the firmament": This is a judge who renders a judgment in accordance with the pure truth.

"and they that turn the many to righteousness": These are the charity trustees. R. Shimon b. Menassia says: And thus is it written (Judges 5:31) "and His lovers, like the sun emerging in its strength.⁠" Who is greater? His lovers (i.e., the elders)? or those who cause Him to be beloved (by others)? Naturally, the second. And it is written "and His lovers, like the sun emerging in its strength" — How much more so, those (the charity trustees), who cause Him to be beloved (by others)!

"and they that turn the many to righteousness (will shine) as the stars forever": Just as the stars are high and exalted above all mortals, so, the righteous. And just as the light of the stars can be seen from one end of the world to the other, so, the light of the righteous. And just as the stars are sometimes revealed and sometimes concealed, so, the righteous. And just as there are innumerable "coteries" of stars, so, there are innumerable coteries of the righteous. If Israel do the will of the Lord, they are like the stars; if not, they are like the dust. And thus is it written ((II Kings 13:7) "for the king of Aram had destroyed them and made them like the dust for threshing.⁠"

Variantly: "as the days of the heavens upon the earth": They (the righteous) will live and endure for ever and ever. And thus is it written (Isaiah 66:22) "For as the new heavens and the new earth that I will make will remain before Me, says the Lord, etc.⁠" Now does this not follow a fortiori, viz.: If the heavens and the earth, which were created only for the honor of the righteous, will live and endure forever, how much more so, the righteous themselves, for whose sake the world was created!

R. Yehoshua b. Karchah says (Ibid. 65:22) "For as the days of the tree are the days of My people.⁠" "the tree" is Torah, viz. (Proverbs 3:18) "It (Torah) is a tree of life to those who hold fast to it.⁠" Now does this not follow a fortiori, viz.: If the Torah, which was created only for the honor of the righteous, lives and endures forever, how much more so, the righteous themselves, for whose sake the Torah was created!

R. Yehoshua b. Karchah says: (Koheleth 1:4) "A generation goes and a generation comes, and the earth stands forever.⁠": What was created for what? The earth (was created) for the generation (of men). It should be written, thus: "The earth goes and the earth comes, and the generation stands forever!⁠" But because they changed (i.e., corrupted) their ways, the Holy One Blessed be He changed because of them the ordinance of creation. And thus is it written (Hoshea 2:1) "And the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured and which cannot be numbered!⁠" (The resolution:) When Israel do the will of the Lord, they are as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured and which cannot be numbered. And if not, then the number of the children of Israel shall be.⁠" And it is written (Isaiah 30:17) "… until you will be left as a beacon on the top of a mountain,⁠" and (Amos 5:3) "For thus said the Lord G-d: The city that went out with a thousand shall leave a hundred, and that which went out with a hundred shall leave ten, to the house of Israel.⁠" Variantly: "And the number of the children of Israel shall be" — This is the number of Heaven (i.e., Only G-d can give the exact number.) "as the sand of the sea, etc.⁠" — This is the number of man, (who is not capable of counting them).

[End of Piska]