Midrash su Salmi 18:11

Over against them are the Ophanim (Wheels) and the Whirling Wheels of the Chariot, and when He looketh upon the earth His chariots are upon the Ophanim, and owing to the noise caused by the whirling wheels of the Chariot—lightnings and thunder go forth into the world. When He dwells in heaven He rideth upon a swift cloud. When He hastens He flies upon the wings of the wind, as it is said, "And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly; yea, he flew swiftly upon the wings of the wind" (Ps. 18:10).

Rabbi Papis expounded: “To a mare [lesusati] in Pharaoh's chariots”—lesisati is written.²⁴³The word lesusati is written without a vav such that it can also be read lesisati. The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘Just as I was gladdened [sasti] to eliminate the Egyptians at the sea, so I would have been gladdened to eliminate the enemies of Israel.’²⁴⁴The “enemies of Israel” is used here as a euphemism for the people of Israel themselves. Who caused them to be saved? “On their right and on their left” (Exodus 14:22); due to the merit of the Torah thay they were destined to receive from the right of the Holy One blessed be He, as it is stated: “From His right, a fiery law to them” (Deuteronomy 33:2). “And on their left,” this is mezuza.²⁴⁵The mezuza is situated to the left of the door when one is leaving the house. They were saved partially in the merit of their future fulfillment of the mitzva of mezuza. Alternatively, on their right, this is reciting Shema, “and on their left,” this is [the Amida] prayer.²⁴⁶Like the right, reciting Shema is superior because in it one does not request fulfillment of his own needs. By contrast, in the Amida prayer we request fulfillment of our own needs. This is exemplified in the verse: “Length of days is on its right; on its left is wealth and honor” (Proverbs 3:16) (Midrash HaMevoar). Rabbi Akiva said to him: ‘Enough, Papis. Every place that gladness [sisa] is stated, it is written with a sin, and here with a samekh.’ He said to [Rabbi Akiva]: ‘How do you interpret [the phrase] “to a mare in Pharaoh's chariots”?’ [Rabbi Akiva answered:] ‘Pharaoh mounted a stallion, and the Holy One blessed be He, as it were, revealed Himself on a stallion. That is what is written: “He mounted a cherub and flew” (Psalms 18:11). Pharaoh said: ‘A stallion kills its owners in war;²⁴⁷This is because its conduct is more aggressive. rather, I will ride on a mare.’ That is what is written: “To a mare in Pharaoh's chariots.” Pharaoh then rode on a red horse, on a white horse, or on a black one. As it were, the Holy One blessed be He revealed Himself on a red, white, and black horse. That is what is written: “You trampled in the sea with Your horses” (Habakkuk 3:15), interchanging horses.
The wicked Pharaoh emerged with armor and a helmet; as it were, the same is true of the Holy One blessed be He, as it is stated; “He donned righteousness like armor [and a helmet of salvation on His head]” (Isaiah 59:17). [Pharaoh] brought naphtha;²⁴⁸A flammable liquid, which he brought in order to use in battle. as it were, the same is true of the Holy One blessed be He, as it is stated: “Hail and coals of fire passed through His clouds” (Psalms 18:13). [Pharaoh] brought catapult stones; as it were, the same is true of the Holy One blessed be He, as it is stated: “And the Lord provided thunder and hail” (Exodus 9:23). [Pharaoh brought] swords and spears; as it were, the same is true of the Holy One blessed be He, as it is stated: “Many bolts of lightning” (Psalms 18:15). [Pharaoh] brought arrows; as it were, the same is true of the Holy One blessed be He, as it is stated: “He shot His arrows” (Psalms 18:15). Rabbi Levi said: “He shot his arrows and dispersed them” (Psalms 18:15) [teaches] that the arrows would scatter them; “many bolts of lightning and they confounded them” (Psalms 18:15) teaches that they would confuse them and confound them. He removed their banners²⁴⁹Without the banners, the formation of their camp disintegrated. and they did not know what they were doing.
Pharaoh emerged in full armor; as it were, the same is true of the Holy One blessed be He, as it is stated: “The Lord will emerge like a mighty man” (Isaiah 42:13). [Pharaoh] thundered with his voice; as it were, the same is true of the Holy One blessed be He, as it is stated: “The Lord would thunder from the heavens” (II Samuel 22:14). [Pharaoh] heartened them [his soldiers] with his voice; as it were, [the same is true of the Holy One blessed be He, as it is stated]: The Most High would project His voice” (II Samuel 22:14). Pharaoh emerged with fury; as it were, [the same is true of the Holy One blessed be He, as it is stated:] “With fury You trod the earth” (Habakkuk 3:12). [Pharaoh emerged] with a bow; as it were, [the same is true of the Holy One blessed be He, as it is stated:] “Your bow will be bared” (Habakkuk 3:9). [Pharaoh emerged] with shield and armor; as it were, [the same is true of the Holy One blessed be He, as it is stated:] “Grasp Your shield and armor” (Psalms 35:2). [Pharaoh emerged] with a flashing spear; as it were, [the same is true of the Holy One blessed be He, as it is stated:] “The glow of the flash of Your spear” (Habakkuk 3:11).
Rabbi Berekhya [said] in the name of Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman: When Paharaoh exhausted all his weapons, the Holy One blessed be He began exalting over him. He said to him: ‘Wicked one, do you have wind, do you have a cherub, do you have wings?’ From where did the Holy One blessed be He cause them to fly [to the sea]? Rabbi Yudan said: The Holy One blessed be He removed them from between the wheels of the Divine Chariot and flew them at the sea. Rabbi Ḥanina bar Pappa said: One who is flesh and blood rides upon something that carries him, and it is an item that has substance; however, the Holy One blessed be He is not so; He carries what He rides upon, and He rides upon an item that has no substance. That is what is written: “He mounted a cherub and flew, and He soared on wings of wind” (Psalms 18:11).
One verse says: “He soared [on wings of wind]” and one verse says: “He was seen on wings of wind” (II Samuel 22:11). In what sense can both verses be reconciled? Rabbi Aḥa said: From here [it may be derived] that the Holy One blessed be He has had many worlds and He emerges to be seen in them.

O my dove, in the cranny of the rocks (Song of Songs 2:14): This is that which is stated in the verse (Psalms 18:3), "The Lord is my rock and my fortress." Rabbi Elazar ben Pedat said, "Israel said to Moshe, 'What have you done to us? Now they are coming and doing to us like what we did to them, as we have killed their first-born and taken their money. Is it not you that said to us, "Each woman shall borrow from her neighbor and the lodger in her house" (Exodus 3:23).' He said to them, 'You do not need [to do anything], but you should stand and be silent and the Holy One, blessed be He will [fight] your wars,' as it is stated (Exodus 14:14), 'The Lord will fight for you and you shall be quiet.' That is [the meaning of] 'and the Children of Israel yelled out' (Exodus 14.10)." Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said, "To what is this matter comparable? To the daughter of a king that was passing on a road, and brigands took her as a [captive]. She began to yell out to the king. The king said, 'This is what I desired.' So [too] with Israel. They were subjugated in Egypt [and] placed their eyes towards the Heavens, as it is stated (Exodus 2:23), 'and the Children of Israel groaned from the work and screamed.' [So] the Holy One, blessed be He, took them out and desired to hear their prayer [again]. But they did not pray. What did He do? He agitated Pharaoh and his army against them and they pursued them. As it is stated (Exodus 14:10), 'As Pharaoh drew close (hikriv).' As he drew the Children of Israel close to prayer. Immediately, 'and the Children of Israel cried out to the Lord.'" Hence it is written, "O my dove, in the cranny of the rocks, hidden by the cliff, let me see your appearance, let me hear your voice," that same voice that I heard in Egypt. Immediately the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moshe (Exodus 14:16), "And you lift up your rod and hold out your arm over the sea and split it, so that the Children of Israel may come into the sea on dry ground." And the Holy One, blessed be He, made war with Pharaoh, destroyed [his army], trounced them in the sea and saved Israel. That is [the meaning of] that which is written (Psalms 140:8), "God, my Lord, the strength of my deliverance, You protected my head on the day of weapons (nashek)," [meaning] the day of the war at the sea. As it is stated (Psalms 78:9), "The Children of Ephraim, warriors (noshkei) lifting their bows." Everything that Pharaoh was doing, the Holy One, blessed be He would [also] do. Pharaoh came out like a warrior; and the Holy One, blessed be He, is like a warrior, as it is stated (Isaiah 42:13), "The Lord goes forth like a warrior, like a man of war He whips up His rage," as only upon Pharaoh did He first make known His strength. At the time of war, He is called a man, as it is stated (Exodus 26:3), "The Lord is a man of war, the Lord is His name." Pharaoh went forth dressed in tin-plated armor; and the Holy One, blessed be He, likewise, as it is stated (Habakuk 3:11), "as Your arrows fly in brightness, Your flashing spear in brilliance." Pharaoh went forth with catapult stones; and the Holy One, blessed be He, went forth with stones of elgavish and hail stones. Pharaoh rode on a horse; and the Holy One, blessed be He, upon a cherub, as it is stated (Psalms 18:11), "He rode on a cherub and flew." Upon what did Pharaoh ride? Upon a female mare, as it is stated (Song of Songs 1:9), "To a mare in Pharaoh’s chariots have I likened you, my darling." Another interpretation [of] "To a mare in Pharaoh's chariots": What is [the meaning of] "to a mare?" Rather the Holy One, blessed be He, saw that Pharaoh did not want to enter the sea. [So] what did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He rode upon a light cloud and transformed it into a mare. And He stood [it] in front of the horses of the troops. And the horses ran after the mare, and the Holy One, blessed be He, descended into the sea with the horses [coming] after Him [to pursue the mare]. Hence, "to a mare," [meaning a] female. Another interpretation [of] "To a mare in Pharaoh's chariots": Pharaoh said to his troops, "What is the lightest (fastest) animal upon which to ride, so that I can go forth and chase the Children of Israel?" They said to him, "A mare, as there is nothing like it in the world." Therefore (due to her speed) the males were following her. And Pharaoh rode [speedily] like the gazelles. And the Holy One, blessed be He, also did this. The Holy One, blessed be He, said in front of the ministering angels, "Which among all of the creatures that serve in front of Me is light?" They said to Him, "Is it not revealed in front of You, that there is none among all of the creatures that serve in front of You that is as light as the cherub that comes out from under the wings of the cherubs." [So] the Holy One, blessed be He, rode upon the cherub and beat the horse of Pharaoh and all of his troops, as it is stated (Exodus 15:19), "For the horse of Pharaoh, with his chariots and horsemen, went into the sea." And it is [also] stated (Psalms 136:15), "And He shook Pharaoh and his army in the Reed Sea." Moshe said to them, "Is this not what I told you (Exodus 14:14), 'and you shall be quiet.' There is nothing for you to do except to stand silently, and the Holy One blessed be He, will [fight] your wars." Therefore he said to them, "When you enter the land and see many multitudes and horses and chariots, do not be afraid of them," as it is stated (Deuteronomy 20:1), "When you go out to war and you see horse and chariot, a people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them, as the Lord, your God is with you." Hence (Proverbs 21:31), "The horse is readied for the day of battle, but the salvation comes from the Lord."

“On the seventh day…” (Bamidbar 7:48) This is what is written “You gates, lift your heads…” (Tehillim 24:7) You find that at the time when Shlomo built the Holy Temple he sought to bring the ark into the Holy of Holies, and at that moment the gates cleaved to one another. Shlomo said twenty-four songs of joy from the verse “But will God indeed dwell with man on the earth?” (Divre HaYamim II 6:18) to “And now, arise, O Lord God to Your resting place, You and the Ark of Your might…” (Divre HaYamim II 6:41) Twenty four verses and he was not answered. He tried again and said “You gates, lift your heads and be uplifted…” (Tehillim 24:7) and was not answered. He tried again and said “You gates, lift your heads and lift up…” (Tehillim 24:9) and was not answered. Once he said “O Lord God, do not turn back the face of Your anointed one; remember the kind deeds of David Your servant,” (Divre HaYamim II 6:42) he was answered immediately. The gates lifted up their heads, the ark entered, the Divine Presence dwelled in the House and the fire descended from heaven, as is written afterwards “And when Solomon finished praying, and the fire descended from heaven and consumed the burnt offerings and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the House.” (Divre HaYamim II 7:1) And why did Shlomo suffer all this? Because he was filled with pride and said “I have surely built You a house to dwell in…” (Melachim I 8:13)