Midras Mazmur 67:2: Devarim Rabbah, Midrash Tanchuma, Bamidbar Rabbah & Midrash Tanchuma Buber

“The Lord your God has multiplied you, and, behold, you are today as the stars of the heavens in abundance” (Deuteronomy 1:10).
Another matter: “These are the words” – the Rabbis say: The Holy One blessed be He said to Moses: ‘Since they accepted your rebukes, you must bless them.’ He then immediately blessed them. From where is it derived? As it is stated: “The Lord your God has multiplied [you]….”¹⁶The following verse states: “May the Lord, God of your fathers, add to you one thousand times as you are, and He will bless you, as He spoke to you” (Deuteronomy 1:11). From where is it derived that anyone who accepts rebuke merits a blessing? It is from what Solomon articulates: “For those who rebuke it will be pleasant, and a blessing of goodness will come upon them” (Proverbs 24:25). The Holy One blessed be He said to Israel: ‘In this world, you were blessed by others. In the future, I will bless you,’ as it is stated: “May God be gracious to us and bless us…” (Psalms 67:2).

Another interpretation (of Numb. 6:23-24), “Thus shall you bless the Children of Israel: The Lord bless you and keep you.” “Bless you,” with wealth; “and keep you,” so that may do good works (mitswot). (Vs. 25:) “The Lord make His face shine,” and raise up children from you to be Torah scholars. Thus it is stated (in Prov. 6:23), “For the commandment (mitzvah) is a lamp, and Torah is [a light].” Another interpretation (of Numb. 6:25), “The Lord make His face shine (from he'ir) [upon you],” to raise up priests from you, who kindle fire (from he'ir) upon the altar. Thus it is stated (in Mal. 1:10), “you will not⁵⁹In the biblical context, the sense would be “may you not.” kindle fire (from he'ir) on My altar in vain.” (Numb. 6:25, cont.:) “And be gracious to you.” R. Hiyya the Great taught, “May the Lord encamp with you.”⁶⁰So did R. Hiyya understand the word translated AND BE GRACIOUS TO YOU (WYHNK), and the word can indeed be understood as coming from the root HNH (“encamp”). Another interpretation (of Numb. 6:25), “and be gracious to you,” to raise up prophets from you. Thus it is stated (in Zech. 12:10), “And I will pour out upon the House of David and upon anyone dwelling in Jerusalem a spirit of grace and mercy.” Another interpretation (of Numb. 6:25), “and be gracious to you.” May He set His grace upon you in whatever place you go. Thus it is stated (in Esth. 2:17), “and she won grace and favor.” (Numb. 6:26:) “The Lord lift up His face unto you.” But another text says (of the Holy One, blessed be He, in Deut. 10:17), “who does not lift up His face (i.e., show favor).” How can this be?⁶¹Sifre, Numb. 6:26 (42); PRK 24(suppl. 7):1. [If] one has repented before judgment is sealed, (Numb. 6:26:) “The Lord lift up his face (i.e., show favor).” When judgment has been sealed, (Deut. 10:17:) “who does not lift up His face.” Another interpretation (of Numb. 6:24), “The Lord bless you and keep you.” Along with the blessing there is a keeping.⁶²Numb. R. 11:5. A king of flesh and blood has a friend in Syria, but he dwells in Rome; when the king sent for him, he arose and came to him, and [the king] gave him a hundred pounds⁶³Gk.: litrai; cf. Lat.: librae. of gold; [but when] he loaded it up and set out on the road, bandits⁶⁴Gk.: lestai. fell upon him. They took everything that he had given him and everything [else] that he had with him. Do you suppose that he could have kept him from the bandits? For that reason it is stated (in Numb. 6:24), “The Lord bless you and keep you.”⁶⁵See the parallel in Numb. R. 11:5, which expands here: “THE LORD BLESS YOU with abundance AND KEEP YOU from bandits.” Another interpretation (of Numb. 6:24), “The Lord bless you and keep you.” May He bless you with money, that there not be a tax collection in the province, and that a tax collector not come to the province and say to you, “Give your gold.” Rather (as in Numb. 6:24), “The Lord bless you and keep you.” Another explanation. “Bless you” refers to sons (who can produce wealth), [while] “keep you” refers to daughters, since the females need keeping. And so it says (in Ps. 121:5), “The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade [on your right hand].” (Numb. 6:25:) “The Lord make His face shine upon you. May He make the light of His face shine for you.” Now “make shine” (y'r) can only mean life, since it is written (in Prov. 16:15), “In the light of the king's face there is life.” It also says (in Ps. 118:27), “The Lord is God and has given light (y'r) to us.” And similarly it says (in Ps. 67:2), “May God be gracious to us and bless us; [may He make His face shine for us].” (Numb. 6:26:) “The Lord lift up his face.” Does the Holy One, blessed be He, lift up His face for a creature? Moreover, is it not already written (in Deut. 10:17), “who does not lift up His face (i.e., show favor).”⁶⁶Numb. R. 11:7. It is simply that, just as they lift up their faces (show favor) to Me, so do I lift up My face to them. How so? I have written in the Torah (in Deut. 8:10), “Then you shall eat, be full, and bless [the Lord your God].” So when a person sits down with his children and the children of his house, and when there is not enough before them to be full, they [still] lift their faces to Me as they give the blessing. Moreover, they exercise meticulous care [to recite a blessing] for [something as small] as an olive, for [something as small] as an egg. Therefore (in Numb. 6:26), “The Lord lift up his face unto you […].”⁶⁷Ber. 20b. (Numb. 6:23:) “Thus shall you bless the Children of Israel], ‘Say to them.’” “Say (amor)” is written] fully (i.e., with the o represented by the vowel letter, waw).⁶⁸Numb. R. 11:4. Say to them, i.e., to the priests, “[It does] not [follow that], because I told you to bless Israel, that you will bless them [as though] in forced labor⁶⁹Gk.: aggareia; Lat.: angaria. and in sudden haste. Rather you shall bless them (fully) with religious devotion (kawwanah) of the heart, so that the blessing will be fully effective with them. It is therefore stated, “Say” fully, to say that a person should wish his fellow well with a full [heart].

“May the Lord shine His countenance to you, and be gracious to you” (Numbers 6:25).
“May the Lord shine [yaer] His countenance to you” – may He grant you brightness [meor] of the eyes. Alternatively, “may the Lord shine…” – may He look upon you with a bright countenance and not with an angered countenance.
Another matter: “May…shine [yaer]” – this is the light of Torah; He will enlighten your eyes and your heart in the Torah, and grant you sons who are devoted to Torah, just as it says: “For mitzva is a lamp, and Torah is light [or].” (Proverbs 6:23).
“May the Lord shine [yaer] His countenance” – may He produce from you priests who kindle the altar, just as it says: “So you will not kindle [ta’iru] My altar in vain” (Malachi 1:10). And it says: “The fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it; it shall not be extinguished” (Leviticus 6:5).
“And be gracious to you” – they are blessed and protected, and the Divine Presence is in their midst, from where is it derived that they are graced with knowledge and understanding? The verse states: “And be gracious to you” – just as we pray: You grace man with knowledge and teach a person understanding.
Another matter: “And be gracious to you” – He will instill knowledge in you so that you will be gracious to one another and have mercy upon one another, like the matter that is stated: “And He will give you mercy…” (Deuteronomy 13:18).
Another matter: “And be gracious to you” – He will grace you with children, just as it says: “The children with whom God has graced your servant” (Genesis 33:5), and it says: “God be gracious to you, my son” (Genesis 43:29).³¹The second verse from Genesis refers to Benjamin, whereas the first verse from Genesis refers to all the other tribes, as at that point Benjamin had not yet been born.
Another matter: “And be gracious to you” – just as it says: “May God be gracious to us and bless us; may He shine His countenance upon us, Selah” (Psalms 67:2).
Another matter: “And be gracious to you [viḥuneka]” – he will grant you [yoḥnekha] your wishes. Likewise it says: “He will show grace to you [yoḥnekha] at the sound of your outcry; upon His hearing, He will answer you” (Isaiah 30:19).
Another matter: “And be gracious to you” – Rabbi Ḥiyya the Great taught: The Lord will encamp [yaḥaneh] in your midst.
Another matter: “And be gracious to you” – He will produce prophets from you, just as it says: “I will pour a spirit of grace and supplication upon the house of David [and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem]” (Zechariah 12:10).
Another matter: “And be gracious to you [viḥuneka]” – He will place His grace upon you everywhere that you go, just as it says: “He placed his favor [ḥino] in the eyes of [the prison warden]” (Genesis 39:21), “Esther found favor [ḥen] [in the eyes of everyone who saw her]” (Esther 2:15), “God granted Daniel kindness³²The term in the verse is ḥesed, which the midrash considers synonymous with ḥen. and compassion [before the chief of the chamberlains]” (Daniel 1:9), “and you will find grace and approbation [in the eyes of God and man]” (Proverbs 3:4).
Another matter: “And be gracious to you” – regarding Torah study. Likewise it says: “It will give your head an adornment of grace…” (Proverbs 4:9), “for they will be a graceful adornment for your head…” (Proverbs 1:9).
Another matter: “And be gracious to you” – with gratuitous gifts; likewise it says: “Be gracious to us, Lord; be gracious to us…” (Psalms 123:3), “so our eyes are to the Lord our God until He will be gracious to us” (Psalms 123:2).
Another matter: “And be gracious to you” – to take you from subjugation to the kingdoms, just as it says: “Be gracious to us, Lord; be gracious to us, for we are sated with scorn” (Psalms 123:3).
Another matter: “And be gracious to you” – to redeem you, just as it says: “Lord, be gracious to us; [we have longed] for You. [Be…our salvation in a time of suffering]” (Isaiah 33:2).