סַכּ֤וֹתָה בֶֽעָנָן֙ לָ֔ךְ מֵעֲב֖וֹר תְּפִלָּֽה׃
Ты покрыл Себя облаком, Так что никакая молитва не может пройти.
Kli Yakar
“Am I in place of God?” Since Rachel said “you should have prayed for me,” Jacob replied to her, “Is this why you said Give me children? Do you think I am certain that God will accept my prayer? Perhaps sin will cause God to block my prayer with a cloud, for anyone whose prayer is accepted is like one who truly stands beneath God with nothing separating between him and God. But when one’s prayer is not heard, it is as if there is a dividing screen between him and God, as it is written You have covered Yourself with a cloud so that prayer cannot pass through (Lamentations 3:44). This cloud is the dark physicality through which all disputes and afflictions occur, as it is written Your iniquities have separated between you and your God (Isaiah 59:2). Therefore he said who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb, because since He withheld it from you and not from me, surely God knows that you have some sin which caused the withholding of children from you, and that sin will undoubtedly block prayer from passing through. Immediately Rachel took it to heart to examine her deeds to find which sin caused this, and she found nothing except the trait of jealousy that was in her, as it is said Rachel was jealous of her sister. She thought this sin caused Jacob’s prayer to be ineffective, therefore she took it to heart to repent by going to the opposite extreme in the matter in which she had sinned — whereas at first she was jealous even of her sister, afterwards she did not become jealous even of her maidservant. Therefore she said that in the merit of bringing her rival into her home, I too will be built up through her.”
Rabbeinu Bahya
A kabbalistic approach: The “hand” mentioned in this verse is the ongoing war against Amalek; it is a reference to the attribute of Justice of the celestial regions. The verse reveals to us that there are forces at work even in the celestial regions which aim at disputing G’d’s sovereignty. The battle in the celestial regions is aimed at G’d’s throne, i.e. as long as it is in progress His throne is not “whole.” The name י-ה represents G’d’s incomplete name here on earth, i.e. the attribute of Justice in the terrestrial domain. On earth, the fight against G’d and His representative the Jewish people, is aimed at preventing His name from becoming the four-lettered tetragram. I have explained this in connection with 15,2 עזי וזמרת י-ה. Moses explains that the attribute which is aimed at G’d’s throne is the same as that which fights against the tetragram becoming sovereign in our domain. The battle is an ongoing battle from generation to generation. Moses prays that G’d would punish Amalek in the celestial spheres with the strong attribute of Justice in order to subsequently wipe out this people in our terrestrial world. This can occur only when Amalek on earth can no longer draw on support from its patron in the celestial regions. While there remains a patron of Amalek in the heavens G’d’s throne is, as it were, defective, i.e. כס and not כסא.
Now to the meaning of the Midrash which had linked G’d’s name and His throne. The words השם and הכסא in the Midrash are a symbol of seven attributes alluded to in the last two letters ו-ה in the tetragrammaton. They represent the “throne” of what is in the celestial spheres. Alternatively, the words כי יד על כס י-ה mean that Amalek attacked with his “hand” על כס י-ה, i.e. the two last letters in the tetragrammaton, the letters ו-ה. These letters serve as the throne for the first two letters in the tetragrammaton, the letters י-ה, i.e. the three letters כסא which represent G’d’s throne. Seeing that this is so G’d is engaged in an ongoing battle with Amalek.
I believe that this is also the mystical dimension of the words אלוף עלוה in Genesis 36,40. The same person’s name is spelled as אלוף עליה in Chronicles I 1,51 by Moses himself. [According to Baba Batra 15 the author of the Book of Chronicles was Ezra. Perhaps the part of Chronicles preceding Moses’ death was recorded by Moses himself. Ed.] The letter י was substituted for the letter ו by Moses in order for the name of this descendant of Esau/Amalek to reflect the attack on G’d by the descendants of Esau/Amalek, i.e. על יה “against G’d.” Even the name of this Aluph, leader, reflected his program in life, i.e. to “dethrone” G’d. This would be similar to what we read in Psalms 2,2 על י-ה-ו-ה ועל משיחו, “against the Lord (tetragrammaton) and against His anointed.”
Another message concealed in the word כס as opposed to כסא may be an allusion to the seven clouds which surround G’d’s throne, כסא (compare Pirke d'Rabbi Eliezer chapter 4). This is based on Job 26,9: מאחז פני-כסה פרשז עליו עננו, “He shuts off the view of His throne, spreading cloud over it.” The letter ז added at the end of the word פרש in that verse is an allusion to the number of clouds surrounding the throne of G’d i.e. “seven.” When the Israelites carry out the Lord’s will the clouds open up in the shape of the letter כ; when they do not carry out the Lord’s will these clouds close around the throne of G’d in the shape of the letter ס. It may be similar to Lamentations 3,44 סכותה בענן, “You have screened yourself off with a cloud, so that no prayer may pass through.” This is also the meaning of Exodus 24,15 ויכס הענן את ההר, “the cloud enveloped the mountain (Mount Sinai),” or ויכס הענן את אהל מועד, “the cloud enveloped the Tent of Meeting” (Exodus 40,34). You are already aware that there were seven clouds which surrounded the camp of the Israelites in the desert.
Now to the meaning of the Midrash which had linked G’d’s name and His throne. The words השם and הכסא in the Midrash are a symbol of seven attributes alluded to in the last two letters ו-ה in the tetragrammaton. They represent the “throne” of what is in the celestial spheres. Alternatively, the words כי יד על כס י-ה mean that Amalek attacked with his “hand” על כס י-ה, i.e. the two last letters in the tetragrammaton, the letters ו-ה. These letters serve as the throne for the first two letters in the tetragrammaton, the letters י-ה, i.e. the three letters כסא which represent G’d’s throne. Seeing that this is so G’d is engaged in an ongoing battle with Amalek.
I believe that this is also the mystical dimension of the words אלוף עלוה in Genesis 36,40. The same person’s name is spelled as אלוף עליה in Chronicles I 1,51 by Moses himself. [According to Baba Batra 15 the author of the Book of Chronicles was Ezra. Perhaps the part of Chronicles preceding Moses’ death was recorded by Moses himself. Ed.] The letter י was substituted for the letter ו by Moses in order for the name of this descendant of Esau/Amalek to reflect the attack on G’d by the descendants of Esau/Amalek, i.e. על יה “against G’d.” Even the name of this Aluph, leader, reflected his program in life, i.e. to “dethrone” G’d. This would be similar to what we read in Psalms 2,2 על י-ה-ו-ה ועל משיחו, “against the Lord (tetragrammaton) and against His anointed.”
Another message concealed in the word כס as opposed to כסא may be an allusion to the seven clouds which surround G’d’s throne, כסא (compare Pirke d'Rabbi Eliezer chapter 4). This is based on Job 26,9: מאחז פני-כסה פרשז עליו עננו, “He shuts off the view of His throne, spreading cloud over it.” The letter ז added at the end of the word פרש in that verse is an allusion to the number of clouds surrounding the throne of G’d i.e. “seven.” When the Israelites carry out the Lord’s will the clouds open up in the shape of the letter כ; when they do not carry out the Lord’s will these clouds close around the throne of G’d in the shape of the letter ס. It may be similar to Lamentations 3,44 סכותה בענן, “You have screened yourself off with a cloud, so that no prayer may pass through.” This is also the meaning of Exodus 24,15 ויכס הענן את ההר, “the cloud enveloped the mountain (Mount Sinai),” or ויכס הענן את אהל מועד, “the cloud enveloped the Tent of Meeting” (Exodus 40,34). You are already aware that there were seven clouds which surrounded the camp of the Israelites in the desert.