Les Psaumes 78:12 Midrash : Aggadat Bereshit & Bereshit Rabbah

Chapter 18: Writings [1] A Psalm of David. The LORD says to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool." (Psalm 110:1) This verse shows how the Holy One, blessed be He, loves and exalts Israel, as He has invested their forefathers with greatness, as it says, "And his greatness shall be from him" (Jeremiah 30:21). And there is no greatness other than the forefathers, as it is written, "As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight" (Psalm 16:3). Therefore, "And his greatness shall be from him" - from the forefathers, and everything is from them until now. Regarding the forefathers, how do we know that even the Holy One, blessed be He, said of them, "I am from you"? As it says, "And his ruler shall come from the midst of them" (Jeremiah 30:21). This refers to the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is written in Psalms, "Bless God, O you his peoples; you are the sheep of his pasture" (Psalm 100:3). "And he shall come near to me" (Jeremiah 30:21) - this refers to Abraham, as it says, "Abraham came forward and said..." (Genesis 18:23). "For who among them has stood in the council of the LORD to see and to hear his word?" (Jeremiah 23:18) - The word of the LORD to my Lord (Psalm 110:1) - this refers to Abraham, as it says, "And he said, 'Blessed be the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his mercy and his truth toward my master'" (Genesis 24:27). The attributes of the Holy One, blessed be He, are not like the attributes of flesh and blood. When a king enters, he sits on the throne at the right, and his Sanhedrin is on his left. But the Holy One, blessed be He, who rules from one end of the world to the other and everything is His, wrote that Abraham sat at His right, as it says, "The LORD says to my Lord: 'Sit at my right hand.'" Why does He seat him next to Him? To prove to Israel and to show Abraham their father all the good that He does with them, as it says, "He did wonders in the sight of their fathers" (Psalm 78:12). Therefore, He seats him next to Him. And similarly, Hannah says, "He raises up the poor from the dust" (1 Samuel 2:8). This refers to the one who made himself like dust and ashes, as it is written, "I am but dust and ashes" (Genesis 18:27). Even when the Holy One, blessed be He, raises up the poor from the dust, what does He do for him? He seats him on the throne of glory, as it says, "And he shall inherit the throne of glory" (1 Samuel 2:8).

“For this, let every pious man pray [at the time of searching]” (Psalms 32:6) – Zavdi ben Levi, Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi, and Rabbi Yosei bar Patron, the three of them recited [some of] the following verses when they died. One of them recited: “For this, let every pious man pray”; “for our heart rejoices in Him” (Psalms 33:21). Another said: “You prepare a table before me” (Psalms 23:5); “But let all who put their trust in You rejoice…” (Psalms 5:12). Another said: “For one day in Your courtyard is better” (Psalms 84:11); “for Your kindness is better than life” (Psalms 63:4). Some say: “How great is your goodness” (Psalms 31:20).
Rabbi Pinḥas said in the name of Rabbi Hoshaya: The Holy One blessed be He,, took the legs of our patriarch Jacob and stood them on the sea and said to him: ‘See the miracles that I am performing with your descendants.’ That is what is written: “When Israel departed from Egypt” (Psalms 114:1) – Israel the elder. Rabbi Huna said in the name of Rav Aḥa: He stood the feet of the patriarchs, too, on the sea. That is what is written: “He performed wonders before their fathers” (Psalms 78:12). “At the time of searching [le’et metzo]” (Psalms 32:6) – at the time of completion [mitzui] of the day; at the time of completion of the judgment; at the time of completion of the soul; at the time of completion of the accounting. When our forefather Jacob saw that the accounting had been completed,⁶When he saw that he had done all he could to prepare his sons for their encounter with the Egyptian viceroy (Matnot Kehuna; cf. Etz Yosef). he began to pour forth supplications; “And may God Almighty grant you mercy…”