Musar su Lamentazioni 3:78

It is written, “Renewed every morning; great is Your faithfulness!” (Eichah 3:23). Each and every morning when a person awakes from his slumber he is created anew. We know that the human being was created in order to uphold the Torah, and the statutes and commandments of Hashem. Therefore the moment he awakens from his sleep let him reflect on the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. Let him reflect on the Bnei Yisroel purifying and sanctifying themselves before confronting the mountain in awe and fear, trembling and sweating. Let him imagine the mountain covered with smoke from the fire that crowned it as the Holy One Blessed is He descended upon it accompanied by myriad angels and the sound of the shofar. Let him picture Moshe Rabbeinu, peace be upon him, master of all the prophets, acting as intermediary between the Holy One Blessed is He and His people Yisroel. After thinking these thoughts let him be quick to speak some words of holiness. Thus the author of Seider HaYom writes that immediately upon awakening a man should say, “I acknowledge You, O living and enduring King, for mercifully returning my soul to me; great is Your faithfulness.” Then let him cleanse his body and wash his hands and go swiftly to the synagogue to pray.

And the penitent is also obligated to be submissive and to fulfill and follow the path about which our Rabbis, may there memory be blessed, said (Avot 4:10), "Be of humble spirit before all men." And from this, he will acquire that he will not get angry at - or be exacting with - his fellows; and he will also not pay attention to everything that he hears and will forego his reckonings. And from this, all of his sins will be [forewent to be] atoned, as our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Rosh Hashanah 17a), "Whoever forgoes his reckonings [with others, the heavenly court, in turn,] forgoes all his sins" - measure for measure. And this is a very glorious opening for hope. And it is stated (Lamentations 3:29-30), "Let him put his mouth to the dust - there may yet be hope. Let him offer his cheek to the smiter; let him be surfeited with mockery."

And the eleventh principle is examining one's ways, as it is stated (Lamentations 3:40), "Let us search and examine our ways, and turn back to the Lord." And he should do this for three [reasons]: The first is in order that he remembers all of the things about which he sinned and confess them all. For confession is one of the principles of atonement. And the second is in order for him to know how many iniquities and sins he has, and enhance his submission. And the third is that even though he takes on himself to leave the sin - he must know the things about which he sinned in order to make fences for them and to greatly safeguard his spirit from them; from the ambush of the impulse, since his spirit is prone to them, as they have become light in his eyes and his impulse has taken control over them. And behold that his soul is sick from his actions. And when a sick person begins healing, he needs to be careful about many matters, so that he will not have a relapse of his sickness.

And from this, we will understand very well what has disappeared from the eyes of researchers in what they have examined regarding, heaven forbid, a change in God's will. The Almighty decrees a decree and then repentance, prayer and charity can change that to the better; and sometimes it changes from good to bad. But they walk in darkness because there can be no change, heaven forbid. Rather all is one and is only a matter of one desire. That is to say this inquiry is a matter of faith. I will also copy what I wrote as a child in my pamphlet, even though it is a little different. In any event, it all goes together in one place. These are my words. Written in section of Godliness in the gate of unity. And the whole faith of unity is complete; as there is no body nor strength of the body, nor a separate mind, and will not change from thought to thought or from action to action or from one leader to another. It is a complete intellect and simple and unique in all parts of His names and in all attributes. And a change in actions on the part of the leadership only exists from the side of the recipients. Because the one who walks in innocence and straightness, and keeps a good home, receives goodness derived from God Almighty. And he who perverts his path and distances himself, is distanced from the good derived from God and the opposite is derived from Him.

The first path is [that] when a man encounters troubles, he will consult his heart and say [that] it is only his ways and his plots that have caused this to him, and that his sins have caused [the pain] to his soul. So he repents to God; and He has mercy upon him, like the matter that is stated (Deuteronomy 31:17), "and many evils and troubles shall befall them; and they shall say on that day, 'Surely it is because our God is not in our midst that these evils have befallen us.'" But note that the custom among men is [that] if one sins to someone, and [later] at a time of trouble for him regrets it and submits to him because he needs him; such regret will be inferior in the eyes of his fellow - like the matter that Jephthah said (Judges 11:7), "How can you come to me now when you are in trouble?" However it is one of the kindnesses of God, may He be blessed, that He accepts repentance [motivated by] trouble and it is desirable in front of Him. And He will generously love the sinner when he returns to Him on the day of his rebuke and from amidst trouble, as it is stated (Hosea 14:2-5), "Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for you have fallen because of your sin. Take words with you, etc. I will heal their affliction, generously will I take them back in love." And it is stated (Proverbs 3:12), "For whom the Lord loves, He rebukes, as a father the son whom he favors." But if the man does not repent from his evil on the day of evil, and the rebuked does not repent to the Rebuker, his iniquity grows and his punishment will be doubled. Do you not see that if a king rebukes someone who has sinned to him and he has not become chastised, [the king] will make his punishment harsher and be very hard on him. And it is written (Leviticus 26:18), "And if, for all that, you do not obey Me, I will go on to discipline you." And it is [also] stated (Job 36:13), "But the impious in heart become enraged; they do not cry for help when He afflicts them." And if he does not know and does not contemplate that the events have found him because of sins, but rather says like the Philistines (I Samuel 6:9), "it was not His hand that struck us; it just happened to us by chance" - there will be fury in front of Him for this, and his iniquity will grow. And the iniquity of this group will be greater than the sin of the first group. Therefore it is written about the first group (Leviticus 26:18), "I will go on to discipline you." And it is written afterwards about the other group [we] mentioned (Leviticus 26:21), "And if you remain hostile toward Me and refuse to obey Me, etc." For every group that is later in the section is more problematic than the one [above it]. So it is written afterwards (Leviticus 26:23-24), "And if these things fail to discipline you for Me, and you remain hostile to Me, I too will remain hostile to you." And afterwards, it is written (Leviticus 26:27-28), "But if, despite this, you disobey Me and remain hostile to Me, I will act against you in wrathful hostility." Its explanation is "you remain hostile to Me," because you will say, "It was just chance that [it] happened to us." But when a man does not recognize his deeds and does not know that he has the iniquity in his hands from his sinning, he must examine his actions and search his ways, as the matter is stated (Lamentations 3:40), "Let us search and examine our ways." But if he surely ignores his eyes and his ideas become foolish and deluded (from the expression in Scripture [Isaiah 19:13], "The nobles of Tanis have been foolish, the nobles of Memphis deluded"), and he does not investigate his ways and does not know the acts of his hands and that which his fingers have done and says, "I have not sinned" - his sin is very weighty, as it is stated (Jeremiah 2:35), "lo, I will bring you to judgment for saying, 'I have not sinned.'" And it is stated (Isaiah 42:25), "it blazed upon them all about, but they heeded not; it burned among them, but they gave it no thought." And it is stated (Proverbs 19:3), "A man’s folly subverts his way, and his heart rages against the Lord."

We shall explain the severity of the [positive] commandments and the warnings (negative commandments) and different punishments
For the penitent is warned to search his ways, and [gauge] how many iniquities and sins [he has done]. And after his search is done, he is warned to examine the magnitude of each sin - as it is stated (Lamentations 3:40), "Let us search and examine our ways" - in order for him to know how much he is guilty for each sin that he sinned. For there is guilt that is big [enough] to reach the skies, and there is evil that corresponds to several big sins. For repentance is great according to investigations of the heart like these. As according to his knowledge of the greatness of the iniquity and its largeness will his heart trouble him. And he will then be able to subdue his uncircumcised heart, and his iniquities will then be atoned.

The summary of all the matter is that a man must contemplate with his intellect always, at all times, and also during the fixed appointed time of solitude, what is the true path according to the Torah that man must walk upon. And afterwards, to come to reflect on his own deeds to ascertain if they are traveling in this path or not. For through this certainly it will be easy for him to purify himself of all evil, and to correct all of his ways as scripture says: "Weigh the path of your feet, and all your ways will be established" (Prov. 4:26) and "Let us search and examine our ways, and we will return to G-d" (Eicha 3:40).

Through this contemplation certainly one of wholeness of understanding will not refrain from being watchful of his deeds.

For it is evident to every man of faith, that the various levels in the world of truth, i.e., the world to come, are according to one's level of deeds and that one is only elevated over his fellow if his deeds are greater than his fellow's, but one who is of few deeds will be the lower one.

If so, how could a man hide his eye from his deeds or slacken his striving in attaining this? For afterwards, certainly he will suffer at the time he can no longer rectify what he made crooked.

As a confirmation we need only look at Lamentations 3,31/32: כי אם הוגה ורחם. It should really have said וירחם, "He will pardon. "The plain meaning of the full verse is: "For the Lord does not reject forever, but first afflicts, then pardons (displays mercy) in His abundant kindness, for He does not willfully bring grief." The homiletical meaning is that the very הוגה is the cause of the רחמים.

As a confirmation we need only look at Lamentations 3,31/32: כי אם הוגה ורחם. It should really have said וירחם, "He will pardon. "The plain meaning of the full verse is: "For the Lord does not reject forever, but first afflicts, then pardons (displays mercy) in His abundant kindness, for He does not willfully bring grief." The homiletical meaning is that the very הוגה is the cause of the רחמים.

It is stated in Arachin 15b: R. Chisda said in the name of Mar Ukva: "All who speak lashon hara deserve to be stoned, it being written in one place (Psalms 101:5): "Him [(the speaker of lashon hara)] shall I cut off," and, in another (Eichah 3:53): "They cut off my life in the pit, and threw a stone at me."

Spelling out what one has done wrong reveals one's inner thoughts, and makes it less likely that such a sin would be committed again. It reveals one's belief that G–d is aware of all his deeds. Having admitted that one had been foolish in sinning and resolving not to do so again, helps to secure G–d's goodwill. G–d, after all, is most interested in the welfare of His creatures. So far the Sefer Hachinuch.

But now consider that even in the quality of worry there is some good to be found, as the Prophet said, "Wherefore doth a living man complain — A strong man because of his sins?" (Lam. 3:29). The sinner should nurture sadness in his heart and grieve in the bitterness of his heart that he has rebelled against the Creator of all.

But now consider that even in the quality of worry there is some good to be found, as the Prophet said, "Wherefore doth a living man complain — A strong man because of his sins?" (Lam. 3:29). The sinner should nurture sadness in his heart and grieve in the bitterness of his heart that he has rebelled against the Creator of all.

The reason that repentance is such a powerful tool is that it ranks higher than all the accusers [in the Celestial Spheres], and those who address themselves to that "power" need not be afraid of any evil forces in the world. We know this from such verses as Isaiah 14,27: כי ה' צבאות יעץ ומי יפר, וידו הנטויה ומי ישיבנה. "For the Lord of Hosts has planned it, who could possibly foil it? We also read in Nachum 1,6:לפני זעמו מי יעמוד! "Who can stand up to His wrath!" The word Mee in both these verses refers to the institution of repentance. We know this from Isaiah 40,26: "שאו מרום עיניכם וראו מי ברא אלה" as well as from Isaiah 40,14: "את מי נועץ ויבינהו?" "Raise your eyes heavenwards and behold, who has created all these?" Or, "With whom did He consult, and who taught Him?". We have the verse מי א-ל בשמים ובארץ, which means that the Lord of Heaven and earth is called מי, "Who", seeing no one can comprehend His Essence. This is the mystical dimension of the word מי. When the prophet Isaiah 41,4 says: מי פעל ועשה, "Who has labored and brought to fruition," he reveals a deep secret. Heavenly decrees are reconsidered in the upper emanation of בינה or in the lower emanations of נצח and הוד respectively. The latter regions are known as G–d's צבאות. A righteous person who wants to annul someone else's vow concentrates on the region in which G–d annuls such decrees. Eicha Rabbah 3, explains the verse in Lamentations 3,44, סכותה בענן לך מעבור תפלה, "You have screened Yourself off with a cloud, so that no prayer may pass through." Our sages refer to the story involving Rabbi Chanina bar Papa. This rabbi approached Rabbi Samuel who had a reputation of being an expert in homiletics, asking him to explain this verse to him. The latter explained that the verse means that there are times when the gates of prayer are locked, and other times when they are open. He quoted Rabbi Yossi ben Chalafta who had said that there are times when it is propitious to offer prayer, based on the verse in Psalms 69,14: "As for me, may my prayer come to You My Lord, at a favorable moment." The gates of repentance however, are never locked, since repentance is compared to the ocean which is never sealed, and accepts waters from the rivers at all times.

It is a duty to recite a benediction when setting out to study or to read the written Torah as well as to recite a benediction when setting out to study the oral Torah. The two benedictions are different, however, in their mystical dimensions. The benediction recited over the written Torah focuses on the awakening of the hidden light, imploring G–d to expand some of it so we may be enlightened by it. It is an example of the fact that any blessing is by definition an expansion of an already existing measure of blessing granted by G–d. The fact that we recite this blessing "awakens" the blessing, so to speak. The same will happen in the future when we can access this light completely. The benediction recited before studying oral Torah is an acknowledgement that this Torah has already developed like a fountain that keeps on gushing forth water, constantly adding new water. Similarly, our preoccupation with the oral Torah constantly affords us new insights, some of them never before articulated. It is these new insights which our Rabbis referred to when they said that G–d Himself quotes such insights taught by the scholars. The discussion in the Talmud as to why the earth was destroyed revolves around this concept. The purpose of creating the earth was that the earth should be "good," i.e. the world should be refined and that man should be clothed in garments of light, and that the light which is now hidden should pervade the whole universe. G–d hid this light upon observing the deeds of man. As a result the whole material the earth was constructed of coarsened, and man was forced to wear garments made of hide, etc. In spite of this coarsening process there was a small part of the earth which retained its original holiness, i.e. ארץ ישראל. Even this small corner of the earth which had retained its original holiness lost it, however, due to our sins, i.e. at the time of the destruction of the Holy Temple. At that time darkness descended even on this part of the earth, as the prophet Jeremiah tells us in Lamentations 3,6. Just as the light was removed immediately Adam had sinned, so in the case of Jerusalem. We read in Jeremiah 32,31: "This city has aroused My anger and My wrath from the day it was built until this day; hence it must be removed from My sight." This condition will continue until the land laid waste will be restored to be like גן עדן. I have repeatedly explained that terrestrial ארץ ישראל is "opposite" Celestial ארץ ישראל which is the mystical dimension of the oral Torah.

If he is in a country whose leaders are bad, and whose people do not walk in the righteous path, he should go to a place whose people are righteous and follow good ways. And if all the countries of which he knows and hears conduct themselves in a way that is not good, or if he cannot go to a country whose leaders are good, because of mobilization of troops or because of illness, then let him sit by himself alone, as it is said, "Let him sit alone and keep silence" (Lam. 3:28). And if the people among whom he dwells are so evil and such sinners that they do not permit him to dwell in that country unless he mingles with them and conducts himself in their evil way, then he should go forth to caves, ravines and deserts, but let him not conduct himself in the way of the sinners. As it is said, "Oh that I were in the wilderness, in a lodging-place of wayfaring men" (Jer. 9:1).

Basically, the Torah speaks about blessings and curses. In the Celestial Regions both blessings and curses originate in the same domain. There is total unity, i.e. there really is no curse. Whatever originates in the most remote recesses of the Celestial Regions is only blessing. Curses occur only when the recipient or intended recipient of the blessings has forfeited them through his behavior. A blessing is a sign of a normal development, i.e. blessing is channeled from Heaven earthwards. The evil some people experience, and which they ascribe to an outpouring of curses from Heaven, is merely a blessing which these people are not able to cope with due to their faulty disposition. This approach helps us to understand Lamentations 3,38: מפי עליון לא תצא הרעות והטוב, that this is not the order in which blessings and curse emanate from above. On the contrary, the order is הטובות והרע, first the good and then the evil. Everything emanating from G–d is originally good. Not everything which is evil originates from G–d. עוז וחדוה במקומו, (Chronicles I 16,27) "Strength and joy are in His place." This tells us that what is good remains inviolate. Only evil is subject to evolution. One of the reasons that we the Jewish people are called ישראל, is because due to our origin in Heaven we are part of the Divine, though on earth we have become separated from the Divine because of the fact that we now possess bodies. The opening words of the פרשה, i.e. ראה אנכי, are in the singular because they point to our Divine origin. When the Torah switches to the use of the plural, i.e. לפניכם, this is in recognition of the fact that we have become composed of a great variety of differently oriented beings. The same applies to the way the Torah prefaces the blessings in the singular before switching to the plural. The curse will happen only אם לא תשמעו, "If you (pl) will not listen," an allusion to the lack of unity.

The eleventh principle of repentance is to search out one's ways, as it is said, "Let us search and try our ways, and return to the Lord" (Lam. 3:40). And searching out one's ways means that one should examine oneself with respect to all the transgressions one has done in his life. There are three advantages to this. First, he will remember all the things in which he has sinned and he will confess all of them, for confession is one of the basic elements of atonement. Secondly, he will know the amount of his transgressions and sins, and this will increase his humility. Thirdly, even though he has resolved to abandon all sin, he must know the things in which he has sinned in order to erect a fence, to guard himself against those things over which he stumbled, for a man needs more protection from those sins to which he is accustomed and which are light in his eyes when he commits them, and over which the evil inclination rules. He is like a sick person who is beginning to recover. Such a person has to be careful of a number of things, so that they will not cause him to be ill again. So it is with one who is ill by reason of his sins; when he begins to repent he must be very careful.

And the eye is the first entrance of the evil inclination, for through it there enters the heart the power of desire and lust against which we were exhorted at Mount Sinai, and as our sages of blessed memory said: "The eye sees, the heart desires and the instruments of action consummate." And, concerning this it was intimated (Eichah 3:51): "My eye scalds my soul more than all the daughters of my city." "my city" alludes to the powers of the body (which is also called guf [body]), as in Nedarim 32b: "'a small city' — this is the guf." The verse intimates that the eye has corrupted his soul more than all the other powers of the body, all of them coming to consummate only what his eyes have begun.

Then let us first sketch a diagram of the four temperaments, which we have mentioned above. We have drawn it at the beginning of our work, in the form of a figure, so that the imagination may be quick to grasp it and the senses ready to comprehend it. We have indicated with reference to every temperament whatever are its elements, and then joined to every temperament five qualities, in accordance with the requirements of the calculation. We have joined them to whatever quality they have, in preference to any other, after having classified them in the diagram, giving those which are hot and cold, and to which of the elements they belong, and likewise those that are moist (humid) and dry (arid) and their conjunctions and disjunctions -- all this in the diagram. Of God we pray that He may put an end to the opposition (clamor) of those who, on the strength of their knowledge, enter upon a discussion with us, and that He silence the mouths of those who argue with us in their folly. I have no reason to trust that their envy will not lead them to attempt to humiliate us; yet will I not be deterred by their disturbance, nor dismayed by their brutishness. The Lord sufficeth as my portion, and in Him I trust, for He is a shield to those taking refuge with Him, the surest protection to those seeking after His help, as it is written (Lam. iii. 25), "The Lord is good unto them that wait for Him." Verily, I am innocent of that wherewith they charge me if they speak haughtily: I am too pious to be the victim of their pride, even though they occupy the foremost place, for there is no iniquity in my hand. Therefore will I bear their attacks; but I do say (Ps. xxxviii. 21), "They hate me only because I pursue the good."

Let me explain this subject at greater length: Our sages (Berachot 32b) have said that as of the day the Temple was destroyed the gates of prayer have been locked. We know this from Lamentations 3,8: Even though I cry and plead, He shuts out my prayer." Our portion revolves around this problem. Let me first quote something from the book קול בוכים on Lamentations 5,11: "They have ravished women in Zion." The author comments as follows: We find in the Zohar that the plural "women" which Jeremiah refers to in this verse refers to two specific women, paragons of seduction, i.e. Lilith and Machalat (daughter of Ishmael). Kabbalists write that Lilith is accompanied by 480 groups of destructive agents corresponding to the numerical value of her name לילית. They follow her and indulge in wailing, etc. Machalat is accompanied by 478 groups of destructive agents corresponding to the numerical value of her name מחלת. All these 478 groups follow their mistress dancing and generally making merry. These two women never collide with one another throughout the year; they do not inflict harm on each other though there is constant warfare between them. [their philosophical outlook. Ed.] The only day in the year when they are confrontational is the Day of Atonement. Due to the confrontation these two women and their followers are engaged in on the Day of Atonement they have no time to interfere with our prayers enabling our prayers to rise heavenwards. Usually, whenever a person sins these women are alerted and told "why are you at peace at a time when there sin is about? Arise and destroy the universe!" This is the meaning of Isaiah 3,12: נשים משלו בו, "Women ruled over him" (the people of Israel). I have heard from my teacher that the women referred to in the verse in Isaiah are the wives of the two spies. They are the two "spies" of the earth mentioned in the Zohar which are identical with the two male goats used in the service on the Day of Atonement. As soon as Joshua wanted to enter the land of Israel these two "spies" submitted to the authority of Joshua, prostrated themselves before him and offered to be his servants. Joshua expressed his dissatisfaction with this arrangement, insisting that he would only use the services of Pinchas and Caleb as spies to reconnoiter the land of Canaan. However, he asked these two "spies" to spread feelings of demoralization among the inhabitants of the land of Canaan in order to facilitate the conquest of the land by the Jewish people. The "spies" agreed and complied with Joshua's instructions. We can derive all this from the text in the relevant verses in the Book of Joshua. In Joshua 2,3 the spies Joshua sent out are described as having come לחפור את הארץ, "To spy out the land," whereas in actual fact we do not find any word in the whole story about their having performed the mission of spying out the country. The inhabitants simply seem to have melted away much as wax melts in the presence of fire. The spies are reported as having arrived in Jericho by climbing the outer wall of the house of Rachav. They immediately became aware that the whole country was demoralised at the prospect of being invaded by the Israelites. The inhabitants simply had no backbone left. The Talmud Zevachim 116b derives from the statement of Rahav – the city's most prominent harlot – that: ולא קמה עוד רוח באיש מפניכם, "that the men of the country had all become incapable of having an erection due to their fear of the Israelites." Clearly then the two "spies" had performed their task in advance of the arrival of Pinchas and Caleb.

The expression שער השמים, refers to the place from where our prayers ascend to heaven, a gate which, alas, is closed to us now; Rabbi Eleazar in Berachot 32, quotes Lamentations 3,8: גם כי אזעק ואשוע שתם תפלתי, "Though I cry out and and plead, He shuts out my prayers," as proof that the gates of prayer have been shut since the destruction of the Temple. He agrees, however, that the gates of tears have remained open. It is to be noted that the word שתם, "He shut out," is not spelled with the customary letter ס, but with the letter ש, which, by its opening to the top side suggests less than a total shut-out. We observe a similar use of the letter ש, when Bileam describes himself as שתם העין "open eyed" in Numbers 24,3 and 24,15. G–d will receive our prayers gladly in the rebuilt Temple. Even though the gate is closed while we are in exile, as long as we are not in Israel, our prayers are "detoured" from wherever they emanate via the land of Israel.

We have a disagreement between Rabbi Chiyah and Rabbi Shimon in Yevamot 105b as to whether, while engaged in prayer, one has to look downwards with one's eyes or upwards. The former bases his opinion on the verse (Chronicles II 7,16) והיה עיני ולבבי שם כל הימים "My eyes and My heart shall always be there" [This is G–d speaking, concerning the Temple Solomon has built]. The latter bases his opinion on the verse in Lamentations 3,41, נשא לבבנו אל כפים אל א-ל בשמים, "We shall raise our hearts with our hands to G–d in heaven." While this discussion was in progress Rabbi Yishmael son of Rabbi Yossi joined the scholars, asking them what they were debating. When told that they discussed the manner in which to pray, Rabbi Yishmael quoted his father as having said that one needs to lower one's eyes when engaged in prayer, whereas one needs to focus one's heart heavenwards, in order to comply with both verses.

The principle that all negative experiences will be recognized eventually as positive developments has applied ever since in our history. This is what the Psalmist had in mind in verse 3. When he said: "Lord my G–d, when I cried out to You, and You healed me" David meant that he realized (as per Psalms 41,5: "Heal me for I have sinned against You"), that the matters which caused him to cry out were in reality only experienced in order to serve as a cure or remedy for his soul. When he went on: "Lord, You have brought me up from She-ol," our sages in Bereshit Rabbah 44,21 comment on פרשת לך לך that Abraham chose exile for his descendants in order to spare them the experience of Gehinom otherwise known as "She'ol."

We find a clear allusion to the fact that we will be spared that ultimate degradation in Leviticus 26,44 where the Torah discusses all the punishments that will be inflicted on the Jewish nation for rebellion against the laws of the Torah: "Yet, even then when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them or spurn them so as to destroy them, annulling My covenant with them; for I the Lord am their G–d." The destruction G–d speaks of is the descent into the pit called "Gehinom." David refers to it by saying חייתני מיורדי בור, "You have preserved me from going down into the Pit" (verse 4). There is a further allusion here to Lamentations 3,53: צמתו בבור חיי, "They have ended my life in a pit." When David continues in verse 5: זמרו לה' חסידיו, "O you faithful sing to Him," he refers to the Ineffable Name by means of which many miracles have been performed, a "hidden" name, as G–d already told Moses when He said to him in Exodus 3,15: זה שמי לעלם וזה זכרי לדור דור, "This is My Name, the hidden one, (forever) and My appellation for all eternity." The reason that the word לעולם is spelled defective there is to alert us to the hidden aspects of G–d's name. The two references to זה, are: one to the Ineffable four-lettered Name, the other to the name א-ד-נ-י, which equals the numerical value of the word היכל, Sanctuary, i.e. 65. The mystique of G–d's name is its association with the Sanctuary.