כֹּ֣ל הַ֭נְּשָׁמָה תְּהַלֵּ֥ל יָ֗הּ הַֽלְלוּ־יָֽהּ׃
Biarlah segala yang bernapas memuji Yang Mahakekal. Pujilah Yang Mahakekal!
Bartenura
קומו ונעלה ציון – And on the way, they would recite )Psalms 122:1): “[A song of ascents. Of David.] I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘We are going to the House of the Lord.’” And when they arrived in Jerusalem, they would recite (Psalms 122:2): “Our feet stood inside your gates, O Jerusalem.” On the Temple Mount, they would recite (Psalms 150:1): “Hallelujah. Praise God in His sanctuary.” In the Temple Court, they would recite (Psalms 150:6): “Let all that breathes praise the LORD. Halleljah.”
Rabbeinu Bahya
וימת שם משה עבד ה', “Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there.” Note that Moses has not been described as a “servant of the Lord” until he died. During his lifetime he was variously described as איש האלו-הים, “the man of G’d,” (Deut. 33,1) etc., only now after he has died is he referred to as “a servant of the Lord.” This latter appellation describes Moses in his full stature and theological attainments. A “servant” is someone who is familiar with the intimate aspects of his master’s life, having access to the privacy of his bedroom, etc., performing duties there of a very intimate and private nature on an ongoing basis. We have been told explicitly in Chulin 7 that the righteous are even greater in death than they have been in life. No human being has ever been given the title “holy,” until after they have died. For instance, the words לקדושים אשר בארץ המה, “the holy ones who are in (under) the earth,” are understood by Midrash Tehillim (Psalms 16,3) as referring to the patriarchs who have already died. The Midrash concludes from that choice of words that even the patriarchs did not qualify for the compliment: “the holy ones,” until after their deaths. The reason for all this is that as long as people have an evil urge there is no guarantee that they will not give in to the temptation offered by that evil urge. This has also prompted the sages responsible for formulating our prayers to have us say in the third of the 18 benedictions of the Amidah prayer: “and holy ones praise You daily, selah.” They refer to the souls of these “holy ones” praising the Lord. This is also what David speaks of in the last of the psalms when he concludes כל הנשמה תהלל י-ה, “when it is all soul, it praises You, praise the Lord.”
Many people ask the question how it was possible that someone of the stature of Moses who became the instrument of giving the Torah to the people of Israel, died, whereas Elijah and Chanoch, both people of lesser stature, did not die? (Compare Genesis 5,24 and Kings II 2,11 respectively.) The answer is that Moses sinned at the waters of strife whereas both Chanoch and Elijah had not been guilty of sin at all. Seeing that they did not sin, they never became part of the decree of death that Adam was subjected to, and could therefore enjoy eternal life.
Many people ask the question how it was possible that someone of the stature of Moses who became the instrument of giving the Torah to the people of Israel, died, whereas Elijah and Chanoch, both people of lesser stature, did not die? (Compare Genesis 5,24 and Kings II 2,11 respectively.) The answer is that Moses sinned at the waters of strife whereas both Chanoch and Elijah had not been guilty of sin at all. Seeing that they did not sin, they never became part of the decree of death that Adam was subjected to, and could therefore enjoy eternal life.
Rabbeinu Bahya
This has been confirmed in Midrash Tehillim (Psalms 87) where Rabbi Chiya son of Idi asks the rhetorical question of why the exalted name of G’d could be pronounced only inside the Holy Temple whereas outside we have to content ourselves with referring to G’d in a more oblique fashion, using substitute names? He pointed to Psalms 87,3 where the sons of Korach say: נכבדות מדבר בך עיר האלו-הים סלה, “glorious things are spoken of You, O city of G’d, selah.” Rabbi Chiya interpreted this line to mean that the glorious name of G’d maybe spoken only in the Temple. In the provinces, i.e. “the city of G’d,” He may be referred to only by means of כנוים. Our sages (Eruvin 18) add that ever since the destruction of the Temple, “pronouns” substitute for His real name. Mankind was meant to use only the two first letters of the tetragrammaton, i.e. the letters י-ה. They base this on Psalm 150,6 כל הנשמה תהלל י-ה, הללו י-ה. The meaning of this verse is that while the Temple is standing not all souls would praise G’d by using the same names for Him. Inside the Temple His real name would be used whereas outside people would have to be content with using כנויים. Once the Temple had been destroyed, כל הנשמה “every soul” was reduced to the same common denominator of having to praise the Lord by invoking only His “substitute” names. They may use only “half” His name, i.e. the letters י-ה.