Miracle or Dust?

There is a Jewish midrash (legend) to the effect that the Biblical Solomon carried two notes with him everywhere. One said, “For me, the universe was created;” the other, “My end will be dust and ashes.” When he was overwhelmed by all the pressures and crises of the monarchy to the point where he felt he could not cope, Solomon would read the former. When he was tempted by the flattery of the sycophants around him and about to be seduced by all the lavish luxuries of the throne, Solomon would read the latter.

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    1. Thanks for your question. A “midrash” is a story or explanation, usually by a Talmudic rabbi, answering some question that is related to the Bible, but not specifically in the Bible. So, for example, in the Book of Genesis, it says that the children of Adam and Eve married, but it doesn’t indicate who they could possibly have married. That is the sort of question a midrash might address.

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