מדרש אויף תהילים 100:3

Chapter 18: Writings [1] A Psalm of David. The LORD says to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool." (Psalm 110:1) This verse shows how the Holy One, blessed be He, loves and exalts Israel, as He has invested their forefathers with greatness, as it says, "And his greatness shall be from him" (Jeremiah 30:21). And there is no greatness other than the forefathers, as it is written, "As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight" (Psalm 16:3). Therefore, "And his greatness shall be from him" - from the forefathers, and everything is from them until now. Regarding the forefathers, how do we know that even the Holy One, blessed be He, said of them, "I am from you"? As it says, "And his ruler shall come from the midst of them" (Jeremiah 30:21). This refers to the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is written in Psalms, "Bless God, O you his peoples; you are the sheep of his pasture" (Psalm 100:3). "And he shall come near to me" (Jeremiah 30:21) - this refers to Abraham, as it says, "Abraham came forward and said..." (Genesis 18:23). "For who among them has stood in the council of the LORD to see and to hear his word?" (Jeremiah 23:18) - The word of the LORD to my Lord (Psalm 110:1) - this refers to Abraham, as it says, "And he said, 'Blessed be the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his mercy and his truth toward my master'" (Genesis 24:27). The attributes of the Holy One, blessed be He, are not like the attributes of flesh and blood. When a king enters, he sits on the throne at the right, and his Sanhedrin is on his left. But the Holy One, blessed be He, who rules from one end of the world to the other and everything is His, wrote that Abraham sat at His right, as it says, "The LORD says to my Lord: 'Sit at my right hand.'" Why does He seat him next to Him? To prove to Israel and to show Abraham their father all the good that He does with them, as it says, "He did wonders in the sight of their fathers" (Psalm 78:12). Therefore, He seats him next to Him. And similarly, Hannah says, "He raises up the poor from the dust" (1 Samuel 2:8). This refers to the one who made himself like dust and ashes, as it is written, "I am but dust and ashes" (Genesis 18:27). Even when the Holy One, blessed be He, raises up the poor from the dust, what does He do for him? He seats him on the throne of glory, as it says, "And he shall inherit the throne of glory" (1 Samuel 2:8).

“Know that the Lord is God” (Psalms 100:3) – Rabbi Yehuda bar Simon and Rabbi Aḥa, Rabbi Yehuda bar Simon said: “Know that the Lord is God, He made us, and we did not [velo]” (Psalms 100:3) create ourselves, unlike Pharaoh, who said: “My river is mine and I made myself” (Ezekiel 29:3). Rabbi Aḥa said: “Know that the Lord is God, He made us and to Him [velo]” we devote ourselves.¹The word velo can be written with an alef, in which case it means “and not,” or it can be written with a vav, in which case it means “and to Him.” Traditionally, the word velo in this verse is written with an alef but read as though it is written with a vav. Rabbi Yehuda’s interpretation is based on the spelling with an alef and Rabbi Aḥa’s interpretation is based on the spelling with a vav.
“Jacob concluded commanding his sons, he drew his feet to the bed, and he expired, and he was gathered to his people” (Genesis 49:33).
“Jacob concluded commanding his sons” – three commands were stated regarding the matter:²This phrase means that there are three verses (Genesis 49:29, 33, 50:12) that describe Jacob’s commands to his sons. The midrash will interpret this to mean that he issued three distinct commands, as explained in the next paragraph. Some commentaries assert that this phrase should not appear here in the text but rather at the beginning of the next paragraph, where the midrash explains what the three commands were (Matnot Kehuna; Yefeh To’ar). “He commanded them and said to them: I am to be gathered to my people” (Genesis 49:29) – if you merit for yourselves, you will merit me.³If you fulfill what I command, I will always be with you. If not, when I depart from the world, I will go to my fathers, as it is stated: “I am to be gathered to my people” (Genesis 49:29). When he departed, immediately: “His sons did to him just as he commanded them” (Genesis 50:12) – they embalmed him and took him up [to Canaan] in his bier.