Ecclesiastes Rabbah 10:16

¹“Woe is you, land, whose king is a lad, and your princes dine in the morning. Happy are you, land, that your king is a free man, and your princes dine at the proper time, in valor and not in drunkenness” (Ecclesiastes 10:16–17). “Woe is you, land, whose king is a lad” – it is written: “Then, two women who were prostitutes came” (I Kings 3:16). Who were they? Rabbi Meir says: They were spirits. The Rabbis say: They were women awaiting levirate marriage. ). Rabbi Simon in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua says: They were actual prostitutes, and he issued their verdict without witnesses and forewarning. “The one woman said: Please, my lord…it was on the third day after I gave birth…the son of this woman died” (I Kings 3:17–19) because she rolled upon him. “She arose during the night.… I arose in the morning to nurse my son.… The woman said: No, but…. The king said: This one says…” (I Kings 3:20–23). Rabbi Pinḥas and Rabbi Yirmeya [said] in the name of Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba and Rabbi Beivai, and some tend to cite it in the name of Rabbi Pedat: The procedure of the judgment is as follows: The judge sits, the judged stand, the mediator decides between them, the plaintiff lodges his complaint, the defendant responds, and the judge decides between them. Rabbi Simon said: From here it is derived that the judge must reiterate their claims, from this verse: “[The king said:] This one says: This is my son that lives [and your son is the dead], and that one says: [No, your son is the dead and my son is the living]” (I Kings 3:23). “The king said: Bring me a sword.… The king said: Cut the living child.… The woman whose child was the living one…” (I Kings 3:24–26) – Rabbi Yehuda said that Rabbi Ilai said: Had I been there, I would have wrapped soft wool around his neck, as when he said: “Bring me a sword,” had [the mother] not been overcome by mercy for him [her child], he would have been killed. Regarding that moment, it says: “Woe is you, land, whose king is a lad.” At that moment, he began spouting wisdom; he said: Was it for nothing that the Holy One blessed be He created in this person two eyes, two ears, two feet, two hands? It was because the Holy One blessed be He foresaw that this judgment is destined to transpire. [Ultimately] he did not do so, but rather he said: “Give her the living child, and do not kill him” (I Kings 3:27). Regarding that moment, it says: “Happy are you, land, that your king is a free man and your princes dine at the proper time” – at the time of the World to Come; “and not in drunkenness [ vashti ]” – in his strength and not in his weakness [ bitshisho ]. “The king answered and said: Give her the living child.” The Divine Spirit was shouting and saying: She is certainly his mother. Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said: In three places, the attribute of justice shouted: In the court of Shem, in the court of Samuel, and in the court of Solomon. In the court of Shem, from where is it derived? It is as it is stated: “Judah recognized and said: She is more righteous than I” (Genesis 38:26), and the Divine Spirit shouted and said: All of these matters originated with Me. In the court of Samuel, from where is it derived? It is as it is stated: “Here I am; testify against me before the Lord.… He said to them: The Lord is witness for you, and His anointed is witness” (I Samuel 12:3–5). It is not written here, “they said…witness,” but rather, “he said…witness.” Who said “witness”? The Divine Spirit said: ‘You will testify regarding the revealed, and I will testify regarding the concealed.’ In the court of Solomon, from where is it derived? It is as it is stated: “The king answered and said: Give her the living child” (I Kings 3:27). The Divine Spirit shouted and said: She is certainly his mother. Another matter: “Woe is you, land, whose king is a lad” – these are the kings of Israel; “happy are you, land, that your king is a free man” – these are the kings of Judah. “And your princes dine in the morning” – these are the kings of Israel; “and your princes dine at the proper time” – these are the kings of Judah.