Whoever wants to merit returning to God should recite Tehillim (the Book of Psalms) regularly, because reciting psalms is propitious for repentance.

For there are fifty gates of repentance. Forty-nine of these gates can be entered and attained by anyone. But the fiftieth gate is the concept of the repentance of God Himself, as it were, for we find the concept of repentance also in connection with God, as it is written, “Return to Me and I will return to you” (Malachi 3:7).

And these forty-nine gates of repentance correspond to the forty-nine letters in the names of the Twelve Tribes of God. For each and every gate is associated with a letter from the tribes’ forty-nine letters. Now, see, everyone desires to be God-fearing. However, not everyone merits repenting. There are those individuals who are not in the least motivated to repent. And even someone who is motivated to repent, does not [necessarily] merit reaching the letter and repentance gate pertinent to him. And even if he reaches there, it is possible that the repentance-gate is closed. On account of any of these, a person is not privileged to repent. But by reciting psalms, even someone without any motivation whatsoever to repent awakes to repent. And through the Psalms he also merits reaching his gate and letter, and opening the gate. It follows, that through Tehillim he merits repenting.

{“These are the last words of David and the words of the man who was established ol (on high), the anointed of the God of Yaakov and the sweet singer of Israel” (2 Samuel 23:1).} This is the meaning of “the words of the man who was established OL (on high),” which our Sages, of blessed memory, expounded as: he established OoLah (the benefit) of repentance (Moed Katan 16b). “And the sweet singer of Israel.” Through the concept of “the sweet singer of Israel”—i.e., the Book of Psalms which he compiled—he established the benefit of repentance. This is because through Tehillim one merits repentance.

And this is as our Sages, of blessed memory, taught: David was not suited for that deed. However, it was in order to teach individuals repentance (Avodah Zarah 4b). It follows, that the primary teaching of repentance came through King David. And King David’s primary repentance is Tehillim, which he recited with such great inspiration and Divine spirit that everyone—as he is—is able to find himself in the Book of Psalms and merit repentance by reciting psalms.

2. Now, the main refinement of the Twelve Tribes of God—who are the forty-nine letters, corresponding to the forty-nine gates of repentance—occurred in MiTZRayim (Egypt), the concept of MeiTZaR (narrow) of the throat, which corresponds to upper repentance (as brought in the writings of the Ari, of blessed memory; see there and understand well). Therefore, after they were refined in Egypt and merited to depart from there, they counted the forty-nine days of the Omer Counting, which correspond to the forty-nine gates of repentance, the aforementioned forty-nine letters. Then, on the fiftieth day, “God descended on Mount Sinai” (Exodus 19:20). This is the concept of “and I will return to you,” the repentance of God Himself, as it were, which corresponds to the fiftieth gate, as mentioned above.

And this is: v’eileH shemoT bneI yisraeL haba’iM mitzraymaH eT yaakoV iSh u-beitO (“And these are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt; with Yaakov, each man and his household”), the final letters of which spell TeHiLlIM and TeShUVaH. Through Tehillim one merits teshuvah (repentance), the concept of “the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt….” For the forty-nine gates of teshuvah are the forty-nine letters in the names of Israel’s sons. They came to Egypt in order to be refined there.

3. Thus we see empirically that during the days of repentance, i.e., Elul and the Ten Days of Repentance, all Jews are occupied then with reciting psalms, since reciting psalms is propitious for repentance, as mentioned above. It is therefore a very great thing to constantly recite psalms, for the Psalms are a very, very great awakening to God. Praiseworthy is he who adopts this practice.