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Rabbeinu Yonah writes (Shaarei Teshuvah 1:2) a parable in the name of "Midrash Koheles" that at first glance makes no sense. I have my own theory about a way to explain it, but I wanted to check what the commentaries say. However, I have no idea of where this midrash is.

The "Ohr Chadash" (at the bottom of that page of Shaarei Teshuvah) says that it is Koheles Rabbah 6:32. The problem is that there is no Koheles Rabbah 6:32.

The Midrash cited is as follows: A king captured a group of bandits. The bandits dug a tunnel and escaped, but one remained. The prison guard beat the guy who didn't leave. (This is supposed to be a parable for someone who doesn't repent.)

Does anyone know where this midrash can be found?

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  • Can you summarize the midrash? I know you provided a link, and it's my failing that I can't read it. I see a midrash about bandits in Kohelet Rabbah, but I've no idea if it's the one you're looking for.
    – Monica Cellio
    Aug 23, 2012 at 3:02
  • @MonicaCellio I guess it won't help you to find it since Dave already did, but I'll summarize it for reference: A king captured a group of bandits. The bandits dug a tunnel and escaped, but one remained. The prison guard beat the guy who didn't leave. (It's a mashal for someone who doesn't do teshuvah.)n
    – b a
    Aug 23, 2012 at 3:25
  • Thanks ba. Even though Dave already answered, it's nice to know what you're talking about. :-)
    – Monica Cellio
    Aug 23, 2012 at 3:30

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It's a typo, and should say 7:32 (link). The text there reads as follows:

לכת אחת לסטין שהיתה חבושה בבית האסורין, חתר אחד מהן חתירה אחת וברחו כולן, נשתייר שם אחד מהן ולא ברח, כיון שבא השלטון התחיל לחבטו במקל, א"ל ביש גדא וטמיע מזלא חתירתא קומך לא הות עריק, כך לעתיד לבא הקב"ה אומר לרשעים התשובה לפניכם ולא שבתם

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  • Can you translate?
    – Seth J
    Aug 23, 2012 at 5:01
  • @SethJ - b a summarized it in a comment to the question.
    – Dave
    Aug 23, 2012 at 13:37
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    My Hebrew (Biblical through modern) is pretty good, and I understand the text you copy/pasted above. I simply meant that, for the benefit of anyone seeking to know what it was that you posted, it would significantly improve the quality of your answer if you translated the text within the answer.
    – Seth J
    Aug 23, 2012 at 15:45
  • @SethJ - To answer the question, I could have just posted the correct reference, but I decided to be nice and add the text with a link. Methinks that's already a pretty high-quality answer. :)
    – Dave
    Aug 23, 2012 at 18:39
  • Here is a link to a digital version: sefaria.org/Kohelet_Rabbah.7.15.1 (And this seems to be the correct reference, 7:15 instead of 7:32, since it explains the possuk in Kohelet 7:15.)
    – Binyomin
    Apr 17, 2020 at 11:05

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