"Those passing through the valley of weeping make it a well; also blessings shall cover the teacher" (Psalms 84:6). Rabbi Yochanan read the verse and pressed on its first image. The valley of weeping, he said, is a name for Gehinnom, the realm where souls are purified after death. The tears that the souls weep there, falling, become a well of water.
Then he said something unexpected. "The praises of God that ascend from Gehinnom are greater than the praises that ascend from Paradise."
His listeners must have frowned. How could this be? Paradise is the place of the righteous. Every soul there basks in the closeness of the Holy One. Surely their praise should outweigh the muttering of souls still being refined below.
Rabbi Yochanan explained. In Gehinnom, the souls are arranged by levels. Each soul can see the level above it and the level below. And each soul, glimpsing the soul one rung higher, cries out: "Blessed are You, who have placed me one step higher than the one beneath me!" The praise is constant, because every level has a level below it. In Paradise, praise is beautiful but slower, because the righteous already know where they stand.
Then Rabbi Yochanan closed the verse with its second half. "Also blessings shall cover the teacher." The souls in Gehinnom bless their teachers from below. They admit, "You taught well. You instructed well. We are the ones who did not obey." Even in the fires of purification, they vindicate the rabbis who tried to warn them in life. The midrash preserves this teaching among the commentaries on the Psalms and makes a strange point clear: sometimes the place of regret produces more praise than the place of reward.