מדרש אויף שמות 33:18

Further, said R. Jochanan in the name of R. Jose: "Three things did Moses request of the Holy One, praised be He! and they were all granted unto him. He asked that the Sheehina shall dwell in Israel and it was granted, as it is said (Ex. 33, 16.) Is it not in that because Thou goest with us? He asked that the Sheehina might not dwell with heathens and it was granted to him, as it is said (Ib.) So shall we be distinguished, I and thy people. He asked that the Holy One, praised be He! make known His ways , and it was granted to him, as it is said (Ib, ib. 18.) And he said, let me see, I beseech Thee, Thy glory, i. e., he said before the Holy One, praised be He! 'Sovereign of the universe, why is there a righteous man who prospers while another righteous person suffers? Some wicked person prospers while another wicked person suffers?' He answered him: 'Moses! the righteous person that prospers is righteous himself, and the son of a righteous one; the righteous one that suffers" is righteous himself but the son of a, wicked one [he suffers for the sins of his parents]; the wicked person who prospers is wicked himself but the son of a righteous person, and the wicked person who suffers is wicked himself and the son of a wicked one.'" The Master said above, "The righteous person that prospers is righteous himself and the son of a righteous one; the righteous one that suffers is righteous himself but the son of a wicked one." Is this so? Behold! It is written (Ex. 20, 5.) Visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the children; and it is written (Deu. 24, 16.) Fathers shall not be put to death for the children, and we have asked the question as to the contradiction of these two passages, and answered; there is no difficulty. One passage refers to those who continue the [wicked] deeds of their parents, and the other passage refers to those who do not continue the [wicked] deeds of their parents. [Hence we see that a righteous man, even if the son of a wicked man does not suffer?] But we must say that He said thus to him: "A righteous one who prospers, is one who is perfectly righteous; a righteous one who suffers, is not a perfectly righteous one; a wicked one who prospers, is one not really wicked; a wicked one who suffers, is one grossly wicked." And this [saying of Rabbi Jochanan] differs from that of R. Meier, for R. Meier said: "Two requests were granted to Moses and one was not granted, for it is said (Ex. 33, 19.) And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, although he does not deserve it; And I will show mercy to whom I will show mercy, although he does not deserve it." And He said: Thou, canst not see my face. (Ib.) R. Joshua b. Karcha said: "Thus said the Holy One, praised be He! unto Moses: 'When I was willing [to reveal myself] thou wast unwilling (didst hide thy face); now when thou art willing [to see me] I am not willing [to reveal myself ].' " And this differs from the opinion of R. Samuel b. Nachmeini who quoted R. Jonathan; for R. Samuel b. Nachmeini said in the name of Jonathan: "On account of three things Moses earned the merit of the following three things; viz., for And Moses hid his face, (Ib. 3, 6.) he earned the merit of A shining face; for He was afraid (Ib.) he earned the merit of, And they were afraid to come nigh unto him (Ib. 34, 30.); and for To look up to God (Ib. 3, 6.) he earned the merit of. And the similitude of the Lord doth he behold (Num. 12, 8)." [Hence it shows that he was rewarded for hiding his face and differing with R. Joshua B. Karcha]. And then I will remove my hand, and thou shalt see my back; but my face shall not be seen (Ex. 33, 23). R. Chama b. Bizua in the name of R. Simon the Pious said: "This means that the Holy One, praised be He! showed to Moses the knot of the Tephilin (Philacteries)."

“He said: I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Moses hid his face, for he was afraid of looking at God” (Exodus 3:6).
“He said: I am the God of your father” – that is what is written: “A fool [peti] believes everything” (Proverbs 14:15). What is a peti? It is a lad, as in Arabia they call a lad petaya. Alternatively, peti is nothing but an expression of seduction, as it is stated: “If a man seduces [yefateh] a woman” (Exodus 22:15).
Rabbi Yehoshua Ha-Kohen bar Neḥemya said: At the moment that The Holy One blessed be He appeared to Moses, Moses was a novice at prophecy. The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘If I appear to him in loud voice, I will terrify him; in soft voice, he will take prophecy lightly.’ What did He do? He appeared to him with the voice of his father. Moses said: ‘Here I am; what does Abba¹The Aramaic term by which Jews to this day refer to their fathers. want?’ The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘I am not your father [Amram], but rather the God of your father. I have come to you with inducements so you will not be afraid.’ “The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” – Moses was joyful and said: ‘Abba is enumerated with the patriarchs. Moreover, he is greater, as he was mentioned first.’²In the verse, God introduces himself as “the God of your father,” and then as “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”
“Moses hid his face” – he said: ‘The God of my father is standing here and I am not hiding my face?’ Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korḥa and Rabbi Hoshaya, one of them says: Moses did not act properly when he hid his face, as had he not hidden his face, The Holy One blessed be He would have revealed to him what is above, what is below, what was, and what is destined to be. Ultimately, he requested to see, as it is stated: “Please show me Your glory” (Exodus 33:18). The Holy One blessed be He said to Moses: ‘I came to appear to you, and you hid your face. Now I say to you: “For man will not see Me and live” (Exodus 33:20); when I wanted, you did not want.’
Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin said in the name of Rabbi Levi: Nevertheless, He showed him.³Even though according to the previous opinion, hiding his face was inappropriate, God showed him the three mysteries mentioned above. As reward for “Moses hid his face” – “the Lord spoke to Moses face to face” (Exodus 33:11); as reward for “For he was afraid,” – “they were afraid to approach him (Exodus 34:30); as reward for “of looking [mehabit]” – “and the likeness of the Lord he beholds [yabit]” (Numbers 12:8).
Rabbi Hoshaya the Great said: He acted properly when he hid his face. The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘I came to reveal My face to you, and you honored Me and hid your face; by your life, you are destined to be with Me on the mountain for forty days and forty nights, without eating and without drinking, and you are destined to enjoy the aura of the Divine Presence, as it is stated: “Moses did not know that the skin of his face glowed” (Exodus 34:29). However, Nadav and Avihu uncovered their heads and feasted their eyes on the aura of the Divine Presence, as it is stated: “Against the nobles of the children of Israel He did not extend His hand” (Exodus 24:11), and they did not receive punishment for what they did.

(Deut. 3:23:) “I besought the Lord.” This text is related (to I Kings 8:30 // II Chron. 6:21), “And may You harken unto the prayer of Your servant and to his supplication.” See, prayer is designated by many names:¹¹Sifre to Deut. 3:23 (26); Deut. R. 2:1. (1) prayer, (2) beseeching, (3) call, (4) cry, (5) outcry, (6) chant, (7) encounter, (8) falling and (9) amidah.¹²Standing, which is the name given to The Eighteen Blessings (Shemone ‘Esreh) of the daily liturgy. Why did Moses only pray under the word, "beseeching (rt.: hnn)"? [This is the usage here] where it is stated (in Deut. 3:23), “I besought (rt.: hnn) the Lord.” It is simply that when Moses stood there and said to the Holy One, blessed be He, (in Exod. 33:18), “Please show me Your glory,” he said to Him, “Master of the world, please show me by what principle You run Your world.” It is so stated (in Exod. 33:13), “please show me Your principle.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, “Yes, I will show you; (in Exod. 33:19:) ‘I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will call….’” [The Holy One, blessed be] He, said to him, “I have no obligation to [any] creature. Anytime a person does a commandment, I give him [reward] as a favor. Not that I have any obligation to any creature, but I do it as a favor.” Thus it is stated (ibid., cont.), “I will be gracious (rt.: hnn) to whom I will be gracious […].” Moses said to him, “If so, do me a kindness, make a commandment for me and grant [the reward] to me as a favor (rt.: hnn).” Ergo (in Deut. 3:23), “I besought [the Lord].”