Midrash sa Ezekiel 43:2: Midrash Tehillim, Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael, Bereshit Rabbah & Midrash Tanchuma

Another interpretation of “Blessed is the person” (Psalms 1:1): This [relates to] that which is said in the verse: “For the Lord God is a sun and a shield; [God gives grace and glory, and does not withhold good from those who walk with integrity]” (Psalms 84:12). Chezkiah the son of Rabbi Chiyya said, “Blessed are the righteous prophets for they liken the form to He who gives form; and [they liken] the plant to He who plants. Like that which you say, “For the Lord God is a sun and a shield” (Psalm 84:12). And [likewise, Ezekiel] said, “And there, coming from the east with a roar like the roar of mighty waters, was the Presence of the God of Israel, and the earth was lit up by His glory” (Ezekiel 43:2). But [don’t blame the prophets for using these metaphors for describing God because] the ear can only be made to hear what an ear can hear, and an eye can only be shown what an eye can see.” Another interpretation of “For the Lord God is a sun and a shield” (Pslams 84:12). If [you were to say] just as this sun overwhelms [the earth], so too does the Holy One, blessed be He; [the verse continues] to teach us [that, in addition to being like a sun, God is like] “a shield.” Just as a shield protects a person, so too, the Holy One, blessed be He, protects His world. Rabbi Chiyya son of Avin said, “He illuminates [the world] like the sun, and covers [the world] like a shield.” Another interpretation: the shield [in this verse might] refer [only] to a special type of shield called a Persian Targa, which surrounds a person on three sides. So, how do we know to include the fourth side [such that we can rest assured that God protects us from all sides]? [Another verse comes to] teach us: “[For you bless the righteous,] Oh Lord, encompassing them with favour like a shield” (Psalms 5:13). Another interpretation: the sun and the shield allude to Abraham our father. Abraham is likened to the sun, because it is said, “Who raised up one from the east” (Isaiah 41:2). And “shield” [also] alludes to Abraham [because God tells Abraham that He will be his shield], as it is said, “I am a shield to you” (Genesis 15:1). [Even the word] אלוהים [which is a name of God] alludes to Abraham, as it is said, “You are a Prince of אלוהים in our midst” (Genesis 23:6). [Having associated the sun and the shield, and the name אלוהים, with Abraham, we now move on to the next part of Psalms 84:12]: “God gives grace and glory;” this [also] alludes to Abraham, as it is written, “And Abraham was heavily loaded with cattle, silver, and gold” (Genesis 13:2); [the word for heaviness, כבד, in this verse, shares its root with the word for glory כבוד. God] “does not withhold good from those who walk with integrity” (Psalms 84:12), this [also] alludes to Abraham, as it says, “Walk before me, and [do so with] integrity” (Genesis 17:1). But if this Psalm [i.e. Psalm 84] was talking about Abraham, it should have said that [God] “does not withhold good from he who walks with integrity.” Why does it say [in the plural], “those who walk with integrity”? Rather, just as with Abraham, who walked with the Holy One, blessed be He, with integrity, had a shield made for him, so too, anyone who walks with integrity before Him has a shield made for him. And what is written directly after [this verse]? “[Oh God of Hosts,] blessed is the person who trusts in you” (Psalms 84:13). “Abraham” isn’t written here, but “person” is. Any person. David said, ““Blessed [or more accurately, perhaps, “happy”] is the person [who doesn’t walk in the counsel of the wicked...]” (Psalms 1:1). You have given tranquillity [rather than happiness] to the wicked. And there is no pleasantness in their tranquillity. Rather they stand [unlike David’s happy person, who is walking, and unlike those who walk with integrity. The wicked, who might seem to be happy, are – in fact – static].” Rabbi Yuden began [his teaching] and said [the following verse]: “Do not exalt yourself before the King; do not stand in the place of nobles” (Proverbs 25:6). Rabbi Yuden [taught that David wasn’t so arrogant as to bless the Jewish people in a wholly original way, since he would not stand in the place of all of the nobles who had already uttered their own blessings over Israel. Instead,] he read [the texts so as to make it clear that] from the place that this one opened, this one closed. And from the place that this one closed, this one opened. [That is to say, as will become clear later on in this Midrash, Rabbi Yuden recognised a historical chain of blessings uttered by great people in the past. Each person in this chain would begin or end their blessing with the words used by the previous person in the chain to begin or conclude his blessing]. Rabbi Pinchas [expounded, in his discourse, and drew out in a more] lengthy form [what Rabbi Yuden had meant]. He began [his discourse] with the verse: “I have understood more than my elders” (Psalms 119:100). [On a simple reading of that verse, it seems as if David is claiming to know more than his elders. But, as we’ll see, according to Rabbi Pinchas, it means, “I have gained understanding from my elders;” since David learnt how to bless the Jews from his predecessors.] You find that, at first, the Holy One, blessed be He, was in the habit of blessing His world, as it is said: “And God blessed them” (Genesis 1:28). Once Noah arose, He blessed him, as it said, “And God blessed Noah and his sons” (Genesis 9:1). Abraham arose, and He blessed him, as it is said, “And God blessed Abraham in everything” (Genesis 24:1). What is the meaning of “you shall be a blessing” (Genesis 12:2)? Rav Nachman said, [it means] that he passed the blessings over to him and told him, “Until now, I was required to bless my world, but from now on, the blessings are passed over to you, and whoever you bless will be blessed.” When Isaac arose, [Abraham] blessed him. What [does it mean when it is] written, “And he gave all that he had to Isaac” (Genesis 25:5)? What did he give to him? [There is a three-way debate about this between] Rabbi Yehuda, Rabbi Nechemia, and the Rabbis. Rabbi Yehuda said, [he gave him the entitlements of] the first born. Rabbi Nechemia said it was a blessing. And the Rabbis said it was burial [rights] and a document of inheritance [for the cemetery in Hebron]. Rabbi Levi said, in the name of Rabbi Chamma, “He didn’t bless him. He only gave him gifts. And why didn’t he bless him? It can be compared to a king who had an orchard, and he gave it to a tenant farmer. And he had all sorts of trees within it, intertwined with one another; one with the elixir of life, and one with the elixir of death. The tenant said, “If I water [the tree] that contains the elixir of life within it, [the tree] that contains the elixir of death within it will live alongside it. And if I don’t water it, how will [the tree] that contains the elixir of life [continue] to live?” That tenant turned around and said [to himself], “I’ll complete my tenancy this year and go elsewhere. And let the owner of the orchard do what he sees fit with whatever benefit I have provided.” So too, Abraham said, “I will not bless Isaac [because that would mean that] the children of Ishmael and the children of Ketura are now being blessed.” He said, “I am flesh and blood. Today I am here, and tomorrow in the grave. And that which needs to be done in this world, will be done.” When Abraham died, the Holy One, blessed be He, revealed himself to Isaac and blessed him, as it is said, “It was after Abraham died that God blessed Isaac his son” (Genesis 25:11). And so, He did to Jacob, as it is said, “And God appeared to Jacob again, as he came from Padam Aram, and He blessed him” (Genesis 35:9). And Isaac arose and blessed Jacob with [a gift of] giving, as it is said, "May God give you of the dew of heaven” (Genesis 27:28). And he sealed it with a calling: “And Isaac called unto Jacob and blessed him” (Genesis 28:1). Jacob arose to bless the tribes and he began where Isaac left off. As it is written, “And Jacob called unto his children” (Genesis 49:1). And he sealed his blessing with [the word] זאת [meaning, this], as it is said, “And this [זאת] is what their father said to them” (Genesis 49:28). When Moses rose to bless the Israelites, he said, “Jacob the firstborn of the Omnipresent opened with calling and sealed with this, behold, I will open [my blessing] where my elder left off, and he opened [his blessing] with “this is the blessing” (Deuteronomy 33:1). And he sealed [his blessing with the phrase] “Blessed are you – אשריך.” When David arose, he opened [his blessings] with [the phrase] with which Moses sealed [his blessing], and he said, “Also I will bless Israel with [the word] אשרי [i.e., the first word of Psalms 1:1].”

(Exodus 13:21) "And the L–rd went before them by day": Can this be said? Is it not written (Jeremiah 23:22) "'Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?' says the L–rd"? and (Isaiah 6:3) "One (seraph) called to the other 'Holy, Holy, Holy is the L–rd of hosts — the earth is full of His glory'"? and (Ezekiel 43:2) "And, behold, the glory of the G–d of Israel came from the east, His voice like the voice of many waters, the earth shining in His glory"? How, then, am I to understand "And the L–rd went before them by day"?

Rabbi Shimon ben Yehotzadak asked Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman, saying to him: ‘Since I have about you that you are a master of aggada, [I ask you:] from what was the light created?’ He said to him: ‘It [the verse] teaches that the Holy One blessed be He wrapped himself in it like a garment, and the aura of its radiance shone from the end of the world to its end.’ He said it to him in a whisper.³This is because one does not expound regarding the mysteries of Creation in public. He said to him: ‘It is an explicit verse: “Wrapped in light as if with a garment” (Psalms 104:2), and you say it to me in a whisper? This is bewildering.’ He said to him: ‘Just as I heard it in a whisper, so I said it to you in a whisper.’
Rabbi Berekhya said: Had Rabbi Yitzḥak not expounded this⁴The exposition of Rabbi Shimon ben Yehotzadak in the previous paragraph. in public, it would not have been possible to say it. Beforehand, what would they say?⁵How did they expound the verse before having heard Rabbi Shimon’s exposition? Rabbi Berekhya said in the name of Rabbi Yitzḥak: It is from the site of the Temple that the light was created. That is what is written: “And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the direction of the east…[and the earth shone with His glory]” (Ezekiel 43:2). And his glory is nothing other than the Temple, just as it says: “Throne of glory, exalted from the first, the place of our Temple…” (Jeremiah 17:12).