Les Psaumes 6:1 Midrash : Midrash Tehillim, Midrash Tanchuma, Midrash Tanchuma Buber & Bamidbar Rabbah

"To the conductor on the eighth. This is what is stated (Psalms 119:164): Seven times a day I praise You. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said these are the seven commandments mentioned in the recitation of Shema. [They are]: creation, love, [recitation of] Shema, speaking truth, [affirmation of God as] Redeemer, and [the commandments] concerning tzitzit and adding on to the sukkah of peace. Rabbi Avin in the name of Rabbi Nechemia said [these are] the seven commandments that a person does every day: [recitation of] Shema twice a day, praying three times a day, eating and blessing [before and after], and Rabbi Meir used to say: "Beloved is circumcision, for the Holy One, blessed be He, swore to Abraham that anyone who is circumcised will not descend to Gehenna, as it is said (Genesis 17:14), 'But the uncircumcised male whose foreskin has not been circumcised, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.' And who goes down there? What is written after that? (Genesis 15:19-21) 'The Kenite, the Kenizzite, and the Kadmonite.'" And so Ezekiel says (Ezekiel 32:19), "Go down and lie with the uncircumcised," and Isaiah says (Isaiah 5:14), "Therefore, Sheol has enlarged its appetite and opened its mouth beyond measure." This is for those who do not have the covenant of circumcision. And where is the term "chok" (statute) mentioned? As it says (Psalms 105:10), "He established it for Jacob as a statute." But for the heretics and sinners of Israel who deny God, they are afflicted with uncircumcision and fall into Gehenna, as it says (Isaiah 9:20), "He has stretched out His hand against them and smitten them." This is because all the commandments that we have are not meant to be scrutinized meticulously, except for the commandment of circumcision and the empty words of the mouths of schoolchildren that have no sin, as it says (Jeremiah 33:25), "If not for My covenant, I would not have appointed the statutes of heaven and earth." For when a person enters the synagogue, he wraps himself in tzitzit and puts on tefillin on his head and arm, and four tzitzit surround him and guard his four corners. And when he enters the bathhouse, he looks at himself and says, "I am now naked of mitzvot (commandments)." And when he looks at the circumcision, which is equivalent to all the commandments, his mind is calmed. When David saw this, he composed a psalm on it, saying, "For the leader, on the eighth [day], a psalm, a song for the dedication of the Temple, of David. (This passage appears to be an addition from some copyist, as it is not the language of the Midrashim, as is known).

Another interpretation of the eighth [day of Passover] is in regards to the four kingdoms that are eight, and Edom is the eighth. This is what is written (Daniel 2:32-33): "Its head was of fine gold, its breast and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet part iron and part clay." There are thus eight, which are four: Babylon & Chaldea, Media & Persia, Greece & Macedonia, and Edom & Yishmael. There are thus eight kingdoms, which is why [the eighth day] is mentioned. Rabbi Ibu said: The Assembly of Israel said before the Holy One, blessed be He, "Master of the Universe, we praise You at the time when You save us from the eight kingdoms, as it is said (Isaiah 11:11), 'And it shall come to pass on that day that the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to acquire the remnant of His people.'” This is why [the eighth day] is mentioned. Rabbi Yudan said in the name of Rabbi Ami: The Assembly of Israel said before the Holy One, blessed be He, "Even though it is written about me (Proverbs 3:12), 'For whom the Lord loves He reproves, even as a father the son in whom he delights,' still, 'Do not discipline me in Your anger' (Psalm 38:2). Even though it is said (Psalm 94:12), 'Happy is the man whom You chasten, O Lord,' 'Do not discipline me in Your wrath.'” Rabbi Yochanan gave a parable: It is like a king who had two evil advisors, and whenever any province rebelled against him, he would send them to suppress it. Once his own province rebelled against him, and he wanted to send those advisors to suppress it. They began to beg him, "Our master the king, in everything that you want, we will do, except for this." So too did Israel say to the Holy One, blessed be He, "Do not discipline me in Your anger, and do not chasten me in Your wrath." He said to them, "If so, why do I need anger and wrath?" They said to him, "You have to whom to send [Your anger and wrath]." As it is written (Micah 5:14), "I will execute vengeance in anger and wrath upon the nations." But regarding Israel, what is written? (Hosea 11:9) "I will not execute the fierceness of My anger." Rabbi Elazar said a parable about a king who was angry with his son, and he had a drawn sword in his hand and swore that he would kill him for making him angry. The king said, "If I kill my son, then he will have no one to inherit my kingdom after me, and also, I cannot revoke my decree." What did the king do? He put the sword in its sheath and passed it over his own head. In this way, he did not harm his son, and also, he did not revoke his decree. Rabbi Chanina said a parable about a king who was angry with his son, and there was a large stone before him, and he swore that he would throw it at him. The king said, "If I throw the stone at him, he will be killed." What did the king do? He broke the stone into small pieces and threw them one by one. In this way, he did not harm his son, and also, he did not revoke his decree. The sages said a parable about a king who was angry with his son, and he swore that he would strike him with a hundred lashes. The king said, "If I strike him, he will be killed." What did the king do? He took the rope and put it around his own neck. Therefore, it says, "In your anger, you chastised me." (Psalms 38:2)

Another interpretation, for the conductor on the sheminith: The verse (Proverbs 23:13) "Do not withhold discipline from a child" means that when you strike him, do so with a rod that will not cause his death. Likewise, it is said (Psalms 39:11), "You rebuke with punishment for sin; like a moth, You consume what is dear to him." Rebellion is good, but anger is not. As it is said (Jeremiah 10:24), "Correct me, O Lord, but in due measure; not in Your anger, lest You bring me to nothing." Anger and wrath are two harbingers of death. And Solomon said (Proverbs 16:14), "The fury of a king is as messengers of death." Similarly, Moses said (Deuteronomy 9:19), "For I was afraid of the anger and wrath." Therefore, it is said, "Rebuke me not in Your anger." Suffering is good, but I lack the strength to withstand it, neither in anger nor in wrath.