Midras Mazmur 68:20: Otzar Midrashim, Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition), Shemot Rabbah & Midrash Tehillim

2) We have found that before the universe was created, parchment skins were not found on which the Torah's script is written, for animals were not yet in existence. Rather, on what was it written? On the arm of the Holy Blessed One, in black fire upon white fire. And the Holy Blessed One took it and laid it out before Him, and would gaze at it. And when He desired to create the world, all the letters came in turn and each said before the Holy Blessed One: "Master of the Universe! May it be Your will that through me the world be created!" First, tav came before the Holy Blessed One and said to Him: "Master of the Universe! May it be Your will that through me the world be created, since Your Torah is named by me!" The Holy Blessed One answered her: I will not do as you wish, for inducements¹terumot begin with you, and it is written, "An inducement-taking man destroys" (Prov. 29:4). Afterwards, shin entered before the Holy Blessed One etc. "It shall not be as to your wish, since vanity²shav' and bribery³shohad begin with you, and it is not fitting that a letter without a base⁴The letter ש has only one point on its lowest level. be the one on which the universe is created." Afterwards, all the letters entered in reverse order, until bet. Finally, bet entered and said: "Master of the Universe! May it be Your will that through me the world be created, for your children will bless Your name by me! As it is said, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD" (Psalms 118:26), "Blessed is the LORD each day" (Psalms 68:20), "Blessed is the LORD, the God of Israel" (Psalms 41:14). He said to her, "Thus I will do. By you I will create my world. "As it is written, (Genesis 1:1) "In the beginning God created"⁵bereshit bara Elohim. When alef saw that the Holy Blessed One desired to create the world through bet, she stood to one side and was silent, until the Holy Blessed One called her and said to her: "Alef, why are you silent? Why do you not speak as your companions?" Alef answered and said before Him: "Master of the Universe! While my companions amount to much, I am of comparatively little value." The Holy Blessed One said to her: No wonder that you are the first of them all and the sovereign, since I am One and you are one! And since you have been humble, I will glorify you by making you a thousand⁶elef." And He also said to her, Be consoled that when I give the Torah, I will begin with you." Therefore the Holy Blessed One opened with anokhi when giving the Torah to Israel. [And why did the Holy Blessed One open with anokhi when giving the Torah to Israel?] For anokhi is an acronym: Ana nafshi katvit, yahavit⁷Aramaic: "My own soul wrote it, bestowed it!" and in reverse order yehiva, ketiva, ne'imim imreha⁸Hebrew: "A bestowing, a writing, pleasant are its statements!" Alternatively, why did the Holy Blessed One open with anokhi when giving the Torah to Israel? For anokhi is Egyptian⁹The Coptic word for "I" is ⲁⲛⲟⲕ anok, and in order to usethe language they used in Egypt He opened with anokhi. And the Holy Blessed One wanted to create the universe all at once, a width of a 500 years' walk and a length of a 500 years' walk, and the great sea surrounding all the universe like a dome atop a great column, and all the universe standing on the scales of the Leviathan standing in the abyssal waters to which is it compared to a small fish in the sea, and the abyssal waters stand upon the primordial waters, and the primordial waters upon the ocean's waters, and the ocean's waters upon the waters of Bokhim. And why are they called by the name Bokhim? For when the Holy Blessed One halved the waters, half He placed above and half He placed below, and the ones He placed below started crying⁹bokhim and saying "Woe is us, for we did not merit to be close to our Creator!" And they presumptuously souoght to ascend on high, until the Holy Blessed One rebuked them and crushed them under the sole of His feet. Thus they said before the Holy Blessed One, "It is well known before You that for Your glory's sake we did so!" The Holy Blessed One said, "Inasmuch as for my glory that You did so, know in truth that I will not give permission to the upper waters to say song before Me until they take permission from you!" As it it said, "From the voices of the many mighty waters, the wave's breakers, mighty on high is the LORD!" (Psalms 93:4)

R. Tachlipha, brother of Rabanai Huzanah, taught (Fol. 16): "All the necessities of a man are definitely assigned to him by Heaven during the ten days between New Year and the Day of Atonement, except the expenses for the Sabbath, the festivals, and for educating his children; for these purposes, one who spends little is assigned little; but one who spends much gets a big assignment." R. Abahu said: "Where is the passage to prove this? (Ps. 81, 4) Blow the horn at the new moon while it (the moon) is hidden on the day of our feast. What festival is that on which the new moon is hidden (seen only by a few)? This is New Year's. Immediately following the above is the passage. For this is chok (a statute) for Israel, an ordinance by the God of Jacob. How do we know that the word chok refers to maintenance? It is written (Gen. 47, 22) And they ate their (chok) portion which Pharaoh gave them. Mar Zutra said: From here we learn it (Pr. 30, 8) Let me eat the bread Chuki (appointed to me). We are taught in a Baraitha: It is told about Shammai, the senior, that every day of the week he ate in honor of the Sabbath. When he found a good animal, he would say: "This shall be for the Sabbath." And when he found a better one, he ate the former, and left the better one for the Sabbath; but Hillel, the Elder, had another habit: Because all his deeds were for the sake of Heaven, as it is said (Ps. 68, 20) Blessed be the Lord! day by day. We are also taught so in the following Baraitha: Beth Shammai say: "Prepare from every day for the Sabbath," but Beth Hillel say: "Praised be the Lord day by day."

R. Juda b. Simon lectured: "He who blackens his face (looks bad), through studying the Torah in this world, the Holy One, praised be He! will brighten his appearance in the world to come, as it is said (Son. 5, 15) His aspect is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars." R. Tanchun b. Chanilai said: "He who undergoes privation for the sake of the words of Torah in this world, the Holy One, praised be He! will satiate him in the world to come, as it is said (Ps. 36, 9) They are abundantly satisfied with the fatness of Thy house; and Thou makest them drink of the river of Thy pleasures." When Abdimi came from Palestine, he said: "In the future, the Holy One, praised be He! will give to every righteous his full measure of reward, as it is said (Ib. 68, 20) Blessed be the Lord, day by day He beareth our burden, even the God who is our salvation, Selah." Abaye said to him: "How is it possible to say so? Is is not said (Is. 40, 12) Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, and meted out heavens wtih the span?" And he answered: "Why are you not accustomed to study Haggadah? For it was said in the West in the name of Raba b. Mari: 'The Holy One, praised be He! will give in the future every righteous man possession of three hundred and ten worlds, as it is said (Prov. 8, 21) That I may cause those that love me to inherit Yesh (substance). The numerical value of Yesh amounts to three hundred and ten.'"