מדרש אויף תהילים 121:8

(Fol. 11) Uunklus b. Klenikuss embraced Judaism, and the Caesar sent militia to take him. He, however, persuaded them, and they also became proselytes. He then sent other militia, warning them that they should not converse with him. When they took him and were going, he said to them: "I will tell you something; usually the torch-bearer carries the light in front of the litter, the chief lecticarius (behind the litter, carries the light) for the dux, the dux for the hegeman, the hegeman for the comes; but do the comes carry the light before the people?" And they answered, "No." Said he: "The Holy One, praised be He! carries the light before Israel, as it is written (Ex. 13, 21) And the Lord went before them in a pillar of cloud, etc." And they also became proselytes. The Caesar then sent other ones after him, telling them not to talk to him at all. But when they took him, he saw a m'zuzah on the doorpost and said to them: "Do you know what this is?" They answered: "No, but you may tell us." He then said: "It is customary with a human king that while he is within the palace his servants guard him from without. With the Holy One, praised be He! it is the contrary. His servants are inside, and He guards them from without, as it is said (Ps. 121, 8) The Lord will guard thy going out and thy coming in, etc." Then these also became proselytes, and the Caecar did not send any more after him. (Gen. 25, 23) And the Lord said to her, two nations are in thy womb. Said R. Juda in the name of Rab: "This refers to Antoninus (of Essau) and Rabbi (of Jacob) upon whose tables were not missing lettuces, cucumbers and radishes, neither during the summer nor during the winter; as the master said: Radishes cut the food [in the stomach], lettuces overturn it, and cucumbers extend the gut. But have not the disciples of Ismael taught that cucumbers are as harmful to the body as swords? This present no difficulty, as one speaks of large ones, and the other of small ones."

(Lev. 19:2:) “You shall be holy.” R. Pinhas bar Hama the Priest said that R. Reuben said, “What is the meaning of that which is written (in Ezek. 3:12), ‘and I heard after me?’¹⁴This translation follows the interpretation of the midrash. A more traditional translation would be BEHIND ME. I heard a great roaring sound. What is the meaning of ‘after me ('hry)?’¹⁵Tanh., Exod. 4:13. After ('hry) I and my friends praised Him, I heard the ministering angels, as they praised Him and said (ibid., cont.), ‘Blessed be the glory of the Lord from His place.’” You should know that at the time that Moses went up above, he heard the voice of the angels praising like this. He [then] came down and taught Israel that they should say like this in a whisper, “Blessed be the name of His glorious majesty forever and ever.” R. Shmuel bar R. Nahmani said, “See what is written there (Ezekiel 1:25), ‘when they stood, their wings would droop.’ One who hears, ‘when they stood,’ would think there is sitting above. But [in fact] it is all in standing, as stated (Is. 6:2), ‘Seraphs standing above Him.’ And so does it state (Dan. 7:16), ‘I approached one of those standing.’ And so too (I Kings 22:19), ‘I saw the Lord sitting on His throne and all the host of the heavens were standing over Him.’ And what is the meaning of ‘in their standing, their wings drooped?’ From when Israel praised [God], the wings of the ministering angels drooped, [meaning] they stopped (stood) from saying praise, as they say praise with their wings.” It also says (in Job 38:7), “When the morning stars (i.e., the seed of Jacob)¹⁶This interpretation of THE MORNING STARS is explicit in the parallel passage of Gen. R. 65:21, which explains that Jacob’s offspring are likened to stars in Dan. 12:3. sang together, all the children of God (i.e., all the angels) shouted for joy.” R. Mani said, “Let not the recitation of the Shema be trivial in your eyes, because there are two hundred forty-eight words in it¹⁷The number includes the response after the first line of the Shema (cited below) plus the three preliminary words with which one precedes the Shema when praying in private, i.e., El melekh ne’eman (“God is a faithful King”). corresponding to [the number of] parts that are in a human being; and out of them [comes], ‘Blessed be the name of His glorious majesty forever and ever.’”¹⁸This blessing is the liturgical response to the first line of the Shema. The Holy One, blessed be He, said, “If you have kept what is Mine in reciting it properly, I will also keep what is yours.” Therefore, David offered praise¹⁹Rt.: QLS; cf. Gk.: kalos (“beautifully”). (in Ps. 17:8), “Keep me as the pupil of an eye.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him (in Prov. 4:4), “Keep My commandments and live.” R. Simeon ben Halafta said, “To what is the matter comparable?²⁰Deut. R. 4:4. To someone who [lives] in the Galilee and has a vineyard in Judea, while someone in Judea has a vineyard in the Galilee. The one who [lives] in the Galilee goes to Judea to cultivate his vineyard. The one in Judea goes to the Galilee to cultivate his vineyard. [One day] they meet with each another, and one said to the other, ‘Instead of you coming to my place, keep watch over what is mine in your area; and I will keep watch over what is yours in my area.’” So did David say (in Ps. 17:4), “Keep me as the pupil of an eye.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him (in Prov. 4:4), “keep My commandments and live.” Similarly the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel, “Keep the commandment to recite the Shema morning and evening, and I will keep you.” So is it stated (in Ps. 121:7), “The Lord shall keep you from all evil; He shall keep your soul.”

“Blessed are you in the city, and blessed are you in the field” (Deuteronomy 28:3).
“Blessed are you in the city” – Rabbi Yitzhak said: “In the city” – as reward for the mitzvot that you perform in the city: ḥalla, ritual fringes, sukka, and Shabbat lamps. “Blessed are you in the field” – as reward for the mitzvot that you perform in the field: gleanings, forgotten sheaves, and produce of the corner of the field.¹¹These are left in the field so that the needy can take them. The Rabbis say that you will be blessed in the city by means of your being blessed in the field – that the earth yielded its produce.
“Blessed are you upon your arrival, and blessed are you upon your departure” (Deuteronomy 28:6).
“Blessed are you upon your arrival” – Rabbi Yehuda bar Simon said: This verse is speaking of Moses. “Upon your arrival” – this is Moses. Upon his arrival into the world, he drew the distant near; this is Batya daughter of Pharaoh.¹²She converted. “Blessed are you upon your departure” – this is Moses. Upon his departure from the world, he drew the distant near; this is Reuben.¹³Reuben had been distanced because of the sin relating to Bilha. See Bereshit Rabba 98:4. From where is it derived? It is as it is stated: “Let Reuben live and not die” (Deuteronomy 33:6).
Another matter: “Blessed are you upon your arrival” in your merchandise; “and blessed are you upon your departure” in your merchandise. David elaborated upon it: “The Lord will guard your departure and your arrival” (Psalms 121:8).
Another matter: “Blessed are you upon your arrival” – upon your arrival into the world; “and blessed are you upon your departure” – upon your departure from the world. Rabbi Berekhya said: It is written: “A time to be born and a time to die” (Ecclesiastes 3:2) – do we not know that there is a time that a person is born and there is a time that a person dies? Rather, happy is the person for whom the time of his death is like the time of his birth; just as at the time of his birth he is pure, so, at the time of his death he is pure. That is, “blessed are you upon your arrival, and blessed are you upon your departure.”