신명기 28:43 미드라쉬: Midrash Tanchuma, Aggadat Bereshit & Midrash Tehillim

And it shall be if you listen to listen (Deuteronomy 28:1): If you listened a little, your end will be to listen much. Another interpretation: You will make your studies heard in front of the Holy One, blessed be He. When will you make your studies heard? Rabbi Yehudah says, "At the time that he comes to part from the world, as it is stated (Ecclesiastes 12:13), 'The end of the matter, everything is heard.'" And Rabbi Meir says, "until he completes his soul, as stated (Job 10:22), 'gloom and not arranged,' as he arranges his study." Another interpretation: "If you surely listen," your prayer will be heard, like Choni the Circle-maker. At the time that Israel required rain, they went into him and said to him, "Pray for us, as we need rain." Immediately, he drew a circle and stood inside it, to fulfill that which is stated (Habakuk 2:1), "I will stand on my watch." The rain began to drizzle. He said, "This is not what I requested, but rains of desire, blessing and freewill." The rain [then] began to fall in its accustomed way. What caused him to be one who prays, such that the Holy One, blessed be He listens to his prayers? [It was] because he listened to the words of the Torah. Another interpretation: If you listen in this world, you will listen [to it] in the world to come from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be He. Rabbi Yonah the father of Rabbi Manna said in the name of Rabbi Levi who said in the name of Rabbi Abba, "The Torah was not supposed to have been given to Israel in this world. Why? Because everyone will learn it from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be He, in the future, in the world to come. [So] why was it given to them in this world? So that when the Holy One, blessed be He, comes to teach them in the world to come, everyone will know in what section He is occupied." Therefore, if you listen in this world, you will listen in the world to come from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be He. Another interpretation: If you merited to listen to words of the Torah that were given with many voices, you will merit to hear that voice about which it is written (Jeremiah 7:34), "the voice of gladness and the voice of joy." Another interpretation [of] "if you listen to listen": If you have listened to the voice of your teacher, your end is that others [will] listen to you. "To guard to do" (Deuteronomy 28:1). You should only study in order to do. Rabbi Yochanan said, "Anyone who studies [Torah] but does not do [what he studied], it would have been better had his placenta turned over his face (died in the womb). But if you merited to guard and to do, 'the Lord your God will set you high above (elyon)' (Deuteronomy 28:1)." Rabbi Levi said, "What is [the meaning of] elyon? It is like this thumb (alyon). If you merited, behold you will be above the four fingers, 'and the Lord your God will set you high above,' on condition. But if not, 'the stranger that is in your midst will rise higher and higher' (Deuteronomy 28:43)." "Blessed shall you be in your coming" (Deuteronomy 28:6), on condition [that it is] in your coming to the synagogues and study halls; "and blessed shall you be in your going," from the synagogues and study halls. "You shall be blessed in the city and you shall be blessed in the field" (Deuteronomy 28:3). It should have said, "You shall be blessed in the field and you shall blessed in the city," as it is from what he brings in from the field that he is blessed in the city. Rather what do we learn to say [from,] "You shall be blessed in the city and you shall be blessed in the field?" If you have come to the commandment in the city, do not say, "I was only commanded in the field to extract the priestly tithes and the [other] tithes outside." The Holy One, blessed be He, said, "Open your hand [to give tithes] also in the city." Another interpretation: "You shall be blessed in the city," with the commandments that you do in the midst of your house in the city, such as sukkah, mezuzah and parapet. "You shall be blessed in the field," [with the commandments that you do in the field], such as [leaving] gleanings, forgotten sheaves, and the corner [of the field]. Another interpretation: A man should not say, "If the Holy One, blessed be He, had given me a field, I would have extracted tithes from it. [But] now that I do not have a field, I will not give anything." The Holy One, blessed be He, says [in response], "See what I have written in My Torah, 'You shall be blessed in the city,' for those living in the city; 'and you shall be blessed in the field,' for those that have fields." "Blessed shall be your basket" (Deuteronomy 28:5). These are the first-fruits that you you bring up to Jerusalem, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 26:4), "And the priest shall take the basket from your hand." "And your kneading bowl" (Deuteronomy 28:5), that is the challah tithe. "[Blessed shall be...] the calving (shegar) of your herd" (Deuteronomy 28:4). Rabbi Yehudah bar Shalom said, "That they shall be moving (shegurin) and coming out [effortlessly] like [from] the mouth of a box; 'and the lambing (ashterot) of your flock' (Deuteronomy 28:4), that they should be as strong as boulders (ashterot)." Another interpretation: "You shall be blessed in the city," this [refers to] Jerusalem, which is called a city, as it is stated (Lamentations 2:15), "Is this the city that they said was the perfection of beauty?" "And you shall be blessed in the field," this [refers to] Zion, as it is stated (Jeremiah 26:18), "Zion shall be plowed for a field." And when will the Holy One, blessed be He, show this blessing to Israel? When Jerusalem is rebuilt and the exiles are returned within her, as it is stated (Psalms 133:3), "As the dew of Hermon which runs down on the mountains of Zion, for there the Lord commanded the blessing, life forever." [May it happen] speedily in our day, Amen!

Chapter 39: Writings [1] A song of ascents. I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. (Psalm 121:1-2) Blessed are the people of Israel when they do the will of the Lord, as they are elevated like ministering angels, as it is said, "And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be only at the top, and not at the bottom" (Deuteronomy 28:13). The phrase "only at the top" is not written here, but rather "at the top." What does "only" signify? It means that sometimes you are above, but when you listen to the voice of the Lord and fulfill His commandments, as it is written, "if you listen to the voice of the Lord your God" (Deuteronomy 28:13), you are always elevated. However, if you don't follow His will, you are sometimes below, as it is written, "And the stranger who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and lower" (Deuteronomy 28:43). This is also what God promised to Abraham when He said, "Look now toward heaven and count the stars if you are able to number them.... So shall your descendants be" (Genesis 15:5). In another place, He says, "And your descendants shall be like the dust of the earth" (Genesis 28:14). Why did He say "dust" if He had already said "stars"? He meant that when your children do My will, just as the stars are above all the world, so too will your children be above all, but when they do not do My will, just like the dust is below, so too will they be below. As it says, "For the king of Aram has destroyed your people and made them like the dust in threshing" (2 Kings 13:7). He said to Abraham, "And so you leave them," but Abraham replied, "Are You not the One who sustains them?" As it is written, "Rise up and shake off the dust" (Isaiah 52:2). The generations said to him, "Master of the Universe, the time of the end and the appointed time has arrived." Therefore, David said, "I will lift up my eyes to the hills, from where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth." (Psalms 121:1-2)

Psalm of Ascents to the Lord in its distress. Jeremiah said (Jeremiah 20:13) "Sing to the Lord, praise the Lord". Why and for what reason? Because He saved the soul of the poor from the hands of the wicked. When the Lord redeemed Israel, not only did they give thanks, but everyone gave thanks. First, He redeemed them from Egypt and Jethro praised Him, as it is said (Exodus 18:9-11) "Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness that the Lord had done to Israel, whom He had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians...Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods". Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were rescued from the furnace, and everyone praised Him, as it is said (Daniel 3:28) "Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, 'Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His Angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him'". This is true for the past and the future, when they emerge from distress and exile, they say praises, as it is said, "Psalm of Ascents". It is not written here "Psalm of Ascent", but "Psalm of Ascents". When Israel ascends, they do not ascend one ascent, but many ascents. As it is said (Deuteronomy 28:13) "You shall ascend higher and higher". And it is written (Song of Songs 3:6) "Who is this coming up from the wilderness, like columns of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense?". And when they descend, they do not descend one descent, but (Deuteronomy 28:43) "You shall come down lower and lower". And it is said (Lamentations 2:1) "He cast down from heaven to earth". And when they ascend ascents, they ascend in praise, therefore it is said "Psalm of Ascents"....