Tehillim 7:1 Kabbala: Zohar & Ohr Ne'erav

Moreover, the fact that it does not say shegioth (errors), but shigionoth, shows that the reference is to the musical instruments, like “shigayon of David” (Ps. 7, 1), which were used by all the prophets (except Moses, who was independent of external aids to prophecy), in order to enter into an ecstatic mood before receiving the spirit of prophecy (cf. I Sam. 10, 5; 2 Kings 3, 15), and Habakkuk needed the calming influence of music more than anybody.

What, then, is shigeonot? It is certainly derived from the word [shigeon as in] shigeon of David (Ps. 7:1), which indicates praise and glorification.⁵Cf. Abraham Ibn Ezra, commentary on Ps. 7:1. Thus a prayer of Habakkuk must [be considered] greater than all the psalms and shigeonim which are sung before Him. If this is so, then [the verse] would have to state “psalm,” for “prayer” has no reference to [God’s] praise. “[Psalms of] Praise” [are directed] above to the ten sefirot, while “prayer” [is directed] at Malkhut.⁶For Kabbalists, prayer was to be directed at specific sefirot in order to be most effective. Among his other writings, Cordovero wrote Kabbalistic commentaries on the liturgy of Rosh ha-Shanah and Yom Kippur. Thus [the verse] should state “psalm,” which is a song greater than all songs, which inheres in [the sefirah] Binah, which is superior to the other praises.⁷Binah’s position among the three uppermost sefirot is similar in many respects to that of Malkhut in the sefirotic system as a whole.