“Hatzilah MeiCherev Nafshi (Rescue My Life from the Sword), my soul from the clutches of the dog.” (Psalms 22:21)

Anyone who blemishes the brit is incapable of praying in the aspect of “All my bones will proclaim” (Psalms 35:10). And when a person does not pray in the aspect of “All my bones,” then a dog descends and consumes his sacrifice—i.e., his prayer. But when he prays and tastes sweetness in the words of prayer, this aspect is called “All my bones will proclaim.”

The only way for a person to taste the sweetness in prayer is by rectifying the blemish of the brit. This is because sweet waters correspond to the water of purity, holy seed, guarding the brit.

Thus when someone is in the aspect of sweet waters, his words are also sweet. When they leave his mouth and are heard by his ears—as the [Sages] said (Berakhot 15a): Let your ears hear [what your mouth says]—then the sweetness of the water enters his bones, in the aspect of “Good tidings fatten the bones” (Proverbs 15:30).

And when the bones sense the sweetness of the words, this is the aspect of “All my bones will proclaim.” Then a lion descends and consumes his sacrifice, because bone is the aspect of lion.

However, someone who has blemished his brit is in the aspect of bitter waters, corresponding to, “but they could not drink any water from Marah” (Exodus 15:23). [This corresponds to] polluted waters, impure seed, and so he cannot pray in the aspect of “All my bones will say.”

Then the dog, which is the aspect of bitter waters, descends and barks, “Give! Give!” He is the aspect of bitterness, which has two mouths, corresponding to “a two-edged sword” (Proverbs 5:4) ; the aspect of Gehennom, which “has two daughters that shout, ‘Give! Give!’” (ibid. 30:15)

This is the aspect of the disease known as brekhenish, God save us, which causes a person’s bones to break. This comes from the deterioration of the bone marrow, corresponding to polluted waters, bitter waters, for this disease is brought on by sexual desire.

This is also what we were commanded regarding the Passover sacrifice: “Do not break any of its bones” (Exodus 12:46). {As is written in the Zohar (II, 41b): With the bones they fulfilled “you shall throw it to the dogs” (Exodus 22:30), and this was very upsetting to the Egyptians. See there.} This is so that each Jew should scrutinize himself to see if his brit is as it should be. For of the Passover sacrifice it is written (Exodus 12:48), “But no uncircumcised man may eat of it,” because the Passover sacrifice mainly depends upon the mitzvah of circumcision, as is known. Thus, when they threw its bones to the dogs and saw that the dogs consumed them, they knew that the brit was not as it should be, God forbid.

This is what is found in the Zohar (III, 80a): “Do not be like a horse, like a senseless mule” (Psalms 32:9) —this relates to impurity of the brit. And [the Zohar] brings the verse, “The dogs are brazen” (Isaiah 56:11). See there.

Therefore, a person who has blemished his brit should be wary of dogs and the sword.

This is also the explanation of “Rescue my life from the sword, [my soul] from the clutches of the dog,” but “Grant me salvation through the lion’s mouth” (Psalms 22:22). That is, when a lion consumes my sacrifice, it brings me salvation. Hence, with regard to the sword and the dog, the word “rescue” appears, whereas with regard to the lion, the word “salvation” appears.

2. Know, too, that the arrogant people of the generation — they are the dogs, as in, “and the dogs are brazen.” They rise and take issue with the prayers of a Jew who has yet to completely rectify his brit .

This is as our Sages, of blessed memory, taught (Taanit 11b): When a rabbinical student sits in fasting, [he deserves to have] a dog consume his meal. For certainly a righteous person’s eating is very precious since it brings contentment to the holy soul, as it is written (Proverbs 13:25), “A tzaddik eats to satisfy his soul.”

But because this rabbinical student starves his soul, and knows not how to satisfy his holy soul, [he deserves to have] a dog consume his meal. For also of them it is written (Isaiah, loc. cit.), “they never know satisfaction.” He, too, does not know how to bring contentment to his precious soul. This is why a dog is called a companion (Rosh HaShanah 4a), because it appears as a result of a desire for cohabitation, as explained.

And it is particularly when a person fasts though not required to, that [he deserves to have] a dog consume his meal. On the other hand, someone who is required to fast, should certainly fast. It is a great mitzvah to do so.

This is the aspect of “sits in fasting.” Specifically “sits,” because sitting points to an absence of change, as explained elsewhere.