Midrash su Geremia 31:22

(Deut. 14:22:) YOU SHALL SURELY TITHE <ALL>. Moses said: Sovereign of the World, does it follow from here that one takes out a tithe? The Holy One said to him (in Job 8:8, 10): SO PLEASE ASK A FORMER GENERATION, AND CONFIRM THE RESEARCH OF THEIR ANCESTORS…. WILL THEY NOT INSTRUCT YOU AND TELL YOU….? How so? (I Chron. 1:1:) ADAM, SETH, ENOSH. From Adam up to Noah there are ten generations,¹I.e., Adam, 2. Seth, 3. Enosh, 4. Kenan, 5. Mahalalel, 6. Jared, 7. Enoch, 8. Methuselah, 9. Lamech, and 10. Noah. See Tanh., Gen. 9:1; TDER (16), p. 80 (Friedmann). and I took the tenth.²Probably Noah (Gen. 6:9), but possibly Enoch (Gen. 5:21). See PRK 23:10. From Noah to Abraham there are ten generations,³I.e., 1. Noah, 2. Arpachshad, 3. Shelah, 4. Eber, 5. Peleg, 6. Reu, 7. Serug, 8. Nahor, 9. Terah, 10. Abraham. and I took the tenth, which was Abraham. So it is therefore written (in Job 8:10): WILL THEY NOT INSTRUCT YOU AND TELL YOU to take out one tenth? (Deut. 15:20:) YEAR BY YEAR. If you have taken out a tithe during a given year, you gain merit for another year. R. Abba bar Kahana said: The importance of tithes is <mentioned> throughout all the Torah (in the Law, in the Prophets, and in the Writings). It is written (in Deut. 6:16): DO NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST <AS YOU PUT HIM TO THE TEST THROUGH A TAX (MSH)>.⁴So the midrash understands this verse. Since Deut. 6:16 refers to an incident at Massah (MSH) in Exod. 17:1–7, biblical translations render the bracketed clause to mean, AS YOU PUT HIM TO THE TEST AT MASSAH. Exod. 17:1–7 also explains in vs. 7 that MASSAH means “test.” The midrash, however, either revowels MSH as MISSAH, a word which means “tribute,” “contribution,” or “quota,” in this case the tithe, or perhaps understands the name as a form of mas, which had come to mean “tax.” Also in reference to tithes it is written (in Mal. 3:10): [BRING ALL THE TITHE <INTO THE STOREHOUSE, THAT THERE MAY BE FOOD IN MY HOUSE>]. SO PLEASE TEST ME IN THIS, <SAYS THE LORD OF HOSTS>. And who tested the tithes? The generation of Hezekiah, as stated (in II Chron. 31:9–10): THEN HEZEKIAH {THE KING} QUESTIONED <THE PRIESTS AND THE LEVITES> ABOUT THE HEAPS (of produce). SO THE CHIEF PRIEST AZARIAH OF THE HOUSE OF ZADOK SPOKE [UNTO HIM] <AND SAID: EVER SINCE PEOPLE BEGAN TO BRING THE TERUMAH (i.e., the priestly tithe on produce) TO THE HOUSE OF THE LORD,> WE HAVE EATEN {AND HAVE DRUNK} [AND HAVE BEEN SATISFIED], WHILE LEAVING OVER <FOOD IN GREAT AMOUNTS>. Why? (Ibid., cont.:) BECAUSE THE LORD HAS BLESSED HIS PEOPLE. The Holy One said: In this world I have blessed one generation, but hereafter in the world to come, I am blessing <all the generations of> Israel, as stated (in Jer. 31:22 [23]): AGAIN THEY SHALL SAY THIS THING {ON THE MOUNTAIN OF THE LORD, IN JERUSALEM, AND IN ALL THE CITIES OF JUDAH} [IN THE LAND OF JUDAH AND ITS CITIES, WHEN I RESTORE THEM AS BEFORE]: MAY THE LORD BLESS YOU, O HABITATION OF {RIGHTEOUS HOLINESS} [RIGHTEOUSNESS], O HOLY MOUNTAIN.

Another explanation of And I will bless those who bless thee (ibid. 12:3). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: I will cause a tribe to descend from among your sons that will bless Israel, and it will be called the tribe of Levi. “Master of the Universe,” he replied, “but who will bless that tribe?” The Holy One, blessed be He, responded: When they bless Israel, I will bless them, as it is said: So shall they put My Name upon the children of Israel, and I will bless them (Num. 6:27). The Holy One, blessed be He, said unto Israel: In this world the tribe of Levi will bless you, but in the world-to-come I Myself will bless you, as it is said: The Lord blessed thee, O habitation of righteousness, O mountain of holiness (Jer. 31:22).

Another interpretation (of Gen. 12:2): SO BECOME A BLESSING. The Holy One said to him: I am going to raise up a tribe from you so that it may bless Israel. And which one is this? The tribe of Levi, since that < is the one which > blesses Israel. Abraham said to him: Sovereign of the World, who is to bless that tribe? The Holy One said to him: When they bless Israel, I will bless them. Thus it is stated (in Numb. 6:27): THUS THEY SHALL SET MY NAME UPON THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, AND I WILL BLESS THEM. The Holy One said to Israel: In this world the tribe of Levi is blessing you in my name, but in the world to come I will bless you in my glory. Thus it is stated (in Jer. 31:22 [23]): MAY THE LORD BLESS YOU, O HABITATION OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, O HOLY MOUNTAIN.