Midrash for Pirkei Avot 6:9

אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹסֵי בֶן קִסְמָא, פַּעַם אַחַת הָיִיתִי מְהַלֵּךְ בַּדֶּרֶךְ וּפָגַע בִּי אָדָם אֶחָד, וְנָתַן לִי שָׁלוֹם, וְהֶחֱזַרְתִּי לוֹ שָׁלוֹם. אָמַר לִי, רַבִּי, מֵאֵיזֶה מָקוֹם אַתָּה. אָמַרְתִּי לוֹ, מֵעִיר גְּדוֹלָה שֶׁל חֲכָמִים וְשֶׁל סוֹפְרִים אָנִי. אָמַר לִי, רַבִּי, רְצוֹנְךָ שֶׁתָּדוּר עִמָּנוּ בִמְקוֹמֵנוּ, וַאֲנִי אֶתֵּן לְךָ אֶלֶף אֲלָפִים דִּינְרֵי זָהָב וַאֲבָנִים טוֹבוֹת וּמַרְגָּלִיּוֹת. אָמַרְתִּי לוֹ, בְּנִי, אִם אַתָּה נוֹתֵן לִי כָל כֶּסֶף וְזָהָב וַאֲבָנִים טוֹבוֹת וּמַרְגָּלִיּוֹת שֶׁבָּעוֹלָם, אֵינִי דָר אֶלָּא בִמְקוֹם תּוֹרָה. וְלֹא עוֹד, אֶלָּא שֶׁבִּשְׁעַת פְּטִירָתוֹ שֶׁל אָדָם אֵין מְלַוִּין לוֹ לָאָדָם לֹא כֶסֶף וְלֹא זָהָב וְלֹא אֲבָנִים טוֹבוֹת וּמַרְגָּלִיּוֹת, אֶלָּא תוֹרָה וּמַעֲשִׂים טוֹבִים בִּלְבַד, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (משלי ו) בְּהִתְהַלֶּכְךָ תַּנְחֶה אֹתָךְ, בְּשָׁכְבְּךָ תִּשְׁמֹר עָלֶיךָ, וַהֲקִיצוֹתָ הִיא תְשִׂיחֶךָ. בְּהִתְהַלֶּכְךָ תַּנְחֶה אֹתָךְ, בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה, בְּשָׁכְבְּךָ תִּשְׁמֹר עָלֶיךָ, בַּקֶּבֶר, וַהֲקִיצוֹתָ הִיא תְשִׂיחֶךָ, לָעוֹלָם הַבָּא. וְכֵן כָּתוּב בְּסֵפֶר תְּהִלִּים עַל יְדֵי דָוִד מֶלֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל (תהלים קיט), טוֹב לִי תוֹרַת פִּיךָ מֵאַלְפֵי זָהָב וָכָסֶף. וְאוֹמֵר (חגי ב) לִי הַכֶּסֶף וְלִי הַזָּהָב אָמַר ה' צְבָאוֹת:

R. Yossi b. Kisma said: "Once I was walking along the road when a certain man met me and greeted me and I greeted him in return. He asked me: 'Rebbi, where are you from?' I answered: 'From a great city of sages and scribes.' He replied: "Rebbi, please live with us in our place and I will give you thousands upon thousands of golden dinars and precious stones and pearls.' I said to him: 'My son, if you gave me all the silver and gold and precious stones and pearls in the world I would live only in a place of Torah. For when a man dies there accompany him neither silver nor gold nor precious stones nor pearls, but Torah and good deeds alone.'" As it is written (Proverbs 6:22): "In your going forth, it will lead you, in your lying down, it will guard you, and in your waking, it will be your converse." "In your going forth, it will lead you" — in this world; "in your lying down it will guard you" — in the grave; "in your waking, it will be your converse" — in the world to come. And thus is it written in the book of Psalms of David, king of Israel (Psalms 119:72): "Better to me the Torah of Your mouth than thousands in gold and silver," and (Chaggai 2:8): "Mine is the silver and Mine the gold, says the L rd of hosts."

Midrash Tanchuma Buber

Another interpretation (of Prov. 6:22): WHEN YOU WALK, IT WILL GUIDE YOU, < i.e., > when someone labors at Torah during his life.³Cf. Avot 6:9; Sifra to Lev. 18:1 (pereq 13); Sifre to Deut. 6:7 (34); Sot. 21a; also Gen. R. 35:3 (but not in the Theodor/Albeck edition); M.Pss. 1:11; 119:7, 10 (2), 49 (41); 140:1. (Ibid., cont.:) IN YOUR LYING DOWN, IT WILL WATCH OVER (rt.: ShMR) YOU, [because it keeps (rt.: ShMR) him] from worm and maggot. (Ibid., cont.:) AND WHEN YOU AWAKEN, IT WILL CONVERSE WITH YOU. In the future life, when everyone shall stand in judgment, it is one's advocate⁴Gk.: synegoros. and pleads his cause.

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Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer

A man has three friends || in his lifetime, and they are: his sons and his household, his money, and his good deeds. At the hour of a man's departure from the world he gathers his sons and his household, and he says to them: I beg of you to come and save me from the judgment of this evil death. They answer him, saying to him: Hast thou not heard that there is no one who can prevail over the day of death? and is it not written thus, "None of them can by any means redeem his brother" (Ps. 49:7)? "For the redemption of their soul is costly" (Ps. 49:8). And he has his money fetched, and says to it: I beseech thee, save me from the judgment of this evil death. It answers him, saying: Hast thou not heard, "Riches profit not in the day of wrath" (Prov. 11:4)? He (then) has his good deeds fetched, and he says to them: I beseech you, come and deliver me from the judgment of this evil death. And they answer him and say to him: Before thou goest, verily, we will go in advance of thee, as it is said, "And charity delivereth from death" (ibid.). Does then charity deliver from death? (This refers) to an evil death only. Another Scripture says, "And thy righteousness shall go before thee, the glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward" (Isa. 58:8).

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