(2) גם הוא יהיה לעם וגם הוא יגדל ALSO SHALL BECOME A PEOPLE, AND HE ALSO SHALL BE GREAT, for of him will be born Gideon through whom the Holy One, blessed be He, will perform a miracle (See Midrash Tanchuma, Vayechi 6).
(3) ואולם אחיו הקטן יגדל ממנו BUT TRULY HIS YOUNGER BROTHER SHALL BE GREATER THAN HE — for of him will be born Joshua who will make Israel inherit the land of Canaan and will instruct them in the Torah (Midrash Tanchuma, Vayechi 6).
(2) Which our forefathers recounted to us. It was Pesach, and he told him, "Last night father recited the Hallel for me, and I heard him read, "When Yisroel departed from Egypt"7 “…the sea observed and fled, the Yardein turned back, etc.” (Tehilim, 114)—but now He has abandoned us. If our forefathers were saintly, let Him act in our behalf in their merit; and if they were wicked, then, just as He worked His wonders for them gratuitously, so, let Him act in our behalf. Where are all His marvels?"8Yalkut, 62.
(2) By this power of yours. By the power of the merit of your advocacy of my children.10Ibid. This is R' Tanchuma's explanation.
Midrash Tanchuma
This we learn from Gideon. During his days, Israel was persecuted, and Hashem sought even one person to speak favorably about then- and found no one, because the generation was impoverished in Torah and Mitzvot. Once one such person appeared- Gideon- who spoke favorably about the Jews, then the Angel immediately revealed himself, and Hashem said, "Go with this power of yours"- the power to speak favorably about my children.
(קכח) ואמנם עוד עיקר שני יש בכונת החסידות, והוא טובת הדור, שהנה ראוי לכל חסיד שיתכוין במעשיו לטובת דורו כולו, לזכות אותם ולהגן עליהם. והוא ענין הכתוב (ישעיה ג'): "אמרו צדיק כי טוב כי פרי מעלליהם יאכלו", שכל הדור אוכל מפירותיו.
(קכט) וכן אמרו חז"ל (ב"ב ט"ו): היש בה עץ אם יש מי שמגין על דורו כעץ.
(קל) ותראה שזהו רצונו של מקום שיהיו חסידי ישראל מזכים ומכפרים על כל שאר המדריגות שבהם, והוא מה שאמרו ז"ל בלולב ומיניו (ויקרא רבה): יבואו אלה ויכפרו על אלה.
(קלא) שאין הקב"ה חפץ באבדן הרשעים, אלא מצוה מוטלת על החסידים להשתדל לזכותם ולכפר עליהם.
(קלב) וזה צריך שיעשה בכונת עבודתו, וגם בתפלתו בפועל דהיינו שיתפלל על דורו לכפר על מי שצריך כפרה ולהשיב בתשובה מי שצריך לה, וללמד סניגוריא על הדור כולו.
(קלג) וכבר אז"ל (יומא ע"ז): על הפסוק "ואני באתי בדבריך" שלא חזר גבריאל ונכנס לפנים מן הפרגוד אלא כשלימד סינגוריא על ישראל, וגדעון נאמר לו (שופטים ו'): "לך בכחך זה", לפי שלמד סניגוריא על ישראל.
(קלד) כי אין הקב"ה אוהב אלא למי שאוהב את ישראל וכל מה שאדם מגדיל אהבתו לישראל, גם הקב"ה מגדיל עליו.
(קלה) ואלה הם הרועים האמתים של ישראל שהקב"ה חפץ בהם הרבה, שמוסרים עצמם על צאנו, ודורשים ומשתדלים על שלומם וטובתם בכל הדרכים, ועומדים תמיד בפרץ להתפלל עליהם ולבטל הגזירות הקשות ולפתוח עליהם שערי הברכה.
(128) GOOD OF THE GENERATION: There is another primary principle regarding intention in Chasidut, namely, the good of the generation. For, it is proper for every Chasid to be motivated in his deeds for the good of his entire generation, to bring merit to them and to shield them. This is the intent of the verse: "Say of the righteous man that he is good, for they shall eat the fruits of their deeds" (Isaiah 3:10), that all of the generation eats of his fruits.
(129)Likewise our sages, of blessed memory, expounded (Bava Batra 15a): " 'is there a tree there?' (Bamidbar 13:20) - is there a righteous person who shields the generation like a tree".
(130) You will see that this is the will of G-d, that the Pious of Israel bring merit and atone on all the other classes among them. This is what our sages, of blessed memory, said regarding the Lulav and its species: "let these come and atone for these" (Vayikra Raba 30:11).
For the Holy One, blessed be He, does not desire the destruction of the wicked. It is rather a (131)mitzva incumbent on the Pious to strive to bring merit to them and to atone for them.
This intention needs to be included in his divine service and also be an actual part of his prayers, namely, to pray on behalf of his generation, to atone for he who needs atonement, to bring to repentance he who needs to (132)repent, and to plead in defense of his entire generation.
(133) Our sages of blessed memory already expounded on the verse: "I have come because of your words" (Daniel 10:12) - "that Gavriel was not allowed to re-enter behind the heavenly curtain until he had pleaded in defense of Israel" (Yoma 77a). And on Gideon it was said "go in with your might" (Shoftim 6:14) - "because he pleaded in defense of Israel" (Yalkut Shimoni 247:62).
(134) For the Holy One, blessed be He, only loves he who loves Israel, and the more a person's love of Israel increases, the more the Holy One, blessed be He, increases love for him.
(135) These are the true shepherds of Israel, which the Holy One, blessed be He, greatly desired in, who sacrifice themselves for His sheep, seeking and striving for their peace and well-being in all matters, always standing in the breach to pray for them to annul the harsh decrees, and to open for them the gates of blessings.
§ The mishna taught that Rabbi Yehoshua next came to Rabbi Dosa ben Horkinas, who proved to him that the court of Rabban Gamliel has the same legal status as the court of Moses. The Sages taught in a baraita: Why were the names of these seventy Elders who sat together with Moses on his court not specified? The reason is so that a person not say: Is so-and-so the judge in my time, like Moses and Aaron? Is so-and-so like Nadav and Avihu? Is so-and-so like Eldad and Medad? Therefore, the names of the other elders were not specified, so that there is no way of knowing the qualifications of the elders in the time of Moses to compare them to later judges. Andsimilarly it says: “And Samuel said to the people: It is the Lord Who made Moses and Aaron” (I Samuel 12:6). And it says further: “And the Lord sent Jerubaal and Bedan and Jephthah and Samuel” (I Samuel 12:11). The Gemara explains: Jerubaal, this is Gideon. And why is he called Jerubaal? The reason is that he waged a quarrel against Baal. Bedan, this is Samson. And why is he called Bedan? As he came from the tribe of Dan. Jephthah, in accordance with its regular meaning, i.e., this is referring to Jephthah himself and is not a nickname.
“Moses and Aaron among His in another verse: And it sayspriests, and Samuel among those who call His name; they called upon the Lord, and He answered them” (Psalms 99:6). This verse equates Samuel to Moses and Aaron. In this manner, the verse weighed three light ones of the world, i.e., it considered the three less distinguished figures of Gideon, Samson, and Jephthah as equal to three significant ones of the world, Moses, Aaron, and Samuel, three of the greatest leaders of the Jewish people. like Aaron in his generation is like Moses in his generation; Bedan in his generation is worthy of being treated Jerubaal in his generation that to tell youThis comes ; and Jephthah in his generation is like Samuel in his generation. This serves to teach you that even the lightest of the light, i.e., the least distinguished individual, once he has been appointed as a leader over the community, he must be treated like the greatest of the great, and all are required to heed him and obey his rulings.