לְמַ֥עַן אֲסַפְּרָ֗ה כָּֽל־תְּהִלָּ֫תֶ֥יךָ בְּשַֽׁעֲרֵ֥י בַת־צִיּ֑וֹן אָ֝גִ֗ילָה בִּישׁוּעָתֶֽךָ׃
supaya aku dapat menceritakan segala puji-pujian-Mu di gerbang-gerbang putri Sion, supaya aku bersorak-sorai karena pertolongan-Mu.
Rabbeinu Bahya
As to the missing letter ו in the word הנסתרת which appears as if it were singular, the word as it is should be viewed as an allusion to the שכינה, the hidden Presence of G’d.
After all, G’d had warned us that in times of exile He would “hide” His face from us, אסתירה פני מהם in Deut. 32,20. The reason the Shechinah is described as something hidden is that the clouds of glory covered it both when it was inside the Tabernacle and elsewhere in the desert. The word הנסתרת in our verse may be understood as an appeal to the Lord our G’d by the Shechinah to reveal Himself, for His Presence to become manifest, and to reveal itself when this exile will come to an end. Our sages (Midrash Tehillim 9) follow a similar approach in the way they understand the words אגילה בישועתך, “I want to have a revelation of Your salvation” in Psalms 9,15. Significantly, the psalmist does not speak of ישועתנו, “our salvation,” but of “Your salvation.” This is not the only verse in which the Shechinah is perceived as asking mercy, salvation, for itself from the higher emanation of Hashem. Other verses in Scripture carrying a similar message are found in Isaiah 30,18, as well as in Psalms 60,7 where the words הושיעה ימינך וענני, “deliver Your right hand and I will have been answered,” are understood as an appeal by the Shechinah to Hashem to manifest Himself. Israel’s salvation and the Shechinah’s salvation are equated. A still clearer verse attesting to this phenomenon is found in Samuel II 7,23: “which You have redeemed for Yourself” [a reference to G’d’s personal self-interest (instead of Israel’s). Ed.]. We have already elaborated on the mystical aspect of this whole subject in our commentary on Deut. 5,26.
You ought to realize also that our sages derive from our verse here that an expert may be able to interpret dreams by his knowledge of the deeper meaning of the letters in the holy names of G’d and the ability to rearrange same. [The author goes into greater detail, the meaning of which escapes me. Ed.]
After all, G’d had warned us that in times of exile He would “hide” His face from us, אסתירה פני מהם in Deut. 32,20. The reason the Shechinah is described as something hidden is that the clouds of glory covered it both when it was inside the Tabernacle and elsewhere in the desert. The word הנסתרת in our verse may be understood as an appeal to the Lord our G’d by the Shechinah to reveal Himself, for His Presence to become manifest, and to reveal itself when this exile will come to an end. Our sages (Midrash Tehillim 9) follow a similar approach in the way they understand the words אגילה בישועתך, “I want to have a revelation of Your salvation” in Psalms 9,15. Significantly, the psalmist does not speak of ישועתנו, “our salvation,” but of “Your salvation.” This is not the only verse in which the Shechinah is perceived as asking mercy, salvation, for itself from the higher emanation of Hashem. Other verses in Scripture carrying a similar message are found in Isaiah 30,18, as well as in Psalms 60,7 where the words הושיעה ימינך וענני, “deliver Your right hand and I will have been answered,” are understood as an appeal by the Shechinah to Hashem to manifest Himself. Israel’s salvation and the Shechinah’s salvation are equated. A still clearer verse attesting to this phenomenon is found in Samuel II 7,23: “which You have redeemed for Yourself” [a reference to G’d’s personal self-interest (instead of Israel’s). Ed.]. We have already elaborated on the mystical aspect of this whole subject in our commentary on Deut. 5,26.
You ought to realize also that our sages derive from our verse here that an expert may be able to interpret dreams by his knowledge of the deeper meaning of the letters in the holy names of G’d and the ability to rearrange same. [The author goes into greater detail, the meaning of which escapes me. Ed.]