***Halleluyah!Praise the servants of Adonai,Praise the name of Adonai:*As long as we are in exile we cannot be called “servants of Adonai,” as we learn in the *Talmud:*We do not recite Hallel on Purim because it refers to us as servants of Adonai and we were still servants of Achashveros following the events in Shushan. We will only become true servants of God following the final redemption.²⁶⁶ 14a Similarly, in exile God can only be referred to as Yah and not by His full name, YHVH.²⁶⁷ 18b That is why we say, “The entire soul shall praise Yah,”²⁶⁸ “On that day Adonai shall be one and His Name one.”²⁶⁹ That is, in the Temple God was referred to by His whole name and in the future redemption we will begin to refer to God by His full name. This is the meaning of the passage from Psalms: When we become true servants of Adonaiin the future, then we will be able to praise the (full) name of Adonai. Similarly in the future we will no longer respond to prayers with *Amen,but with the words, “*May the name of Adonaibe blessed from now and forever,”²⁷⁰ as was the practice in the Holy Temple.²⁷¹ Another interpretation: This Psalm is all about the hope for redemption and the role we play in our own redemption by “completing the name of God.” We begin by saying “Praise the servants of Adonai,” - during a time of exile, those who fear God are called “servants of Adonai.” During the future redemption those who fear God will come to be known as “children of Adonai.” Even during this time of bitter exile, we are obligated to give thanks and praise God for we still put our trust in Him and His great name. God’s name proves that we will be redeemed. YHVH is a verb of being: it can mean was, is or will be. Just as God told Moses that His name was, ‘I will be what I will be,’ so this name proves that God will not abandon His people for the sake of His great name. Any time we make mention of God’s name in exile, we arouse the memory that God’s name is not complete. As a result the Holy One forgoes His glory in order to bring about our redemption. In exile, therefore, we must glorify God’s name; by doing so we remind God of His compassion. This is the meaning of this Psalm. “Let the servants of Adonai Praise,” in exile. What should the praise be? “Praise the name of the Adonai.” Then God’s compassion will be aroused for the sake of His name, and we will respond, “Let the name of Adonai be blessed.” “Let the name of Adonai” – be complete: “From now” – in this time of exile; “And forever” – until the time in the future when “God will be one and His name will be one.” We must bless the evil along with the good, and acknowledge that all that God does is ultimately for the good. Just as a father has compassion on his children, so God has compassion on those who revere Him, and God never removes His providence from us, watching us and constantly keeping an eye on us.

footnotes: ²⁶⁶ BT Megilah ²⁶⁷ BT Eruvin ²⁶⁸ Psalm 150 ²⁶⁹ Zachariah 14:9 ²⁷⁰ Psalms 113 ²⁷¹ BT Yoma 41b

The Psalmist now gives a proof of Divine Providence: “From the eastern rising of the sun to it setting in the west, the name of God is praised.” Actually the sun and the stars are supposed to rise in the West and set in the East. ²⁷² The sun is like a king it is the like a king because it is the largest and most influential of all the heavenly bodies; it appears 365 days a year, and its place in the heavens determines the length of days and the seasons. Yet it is forced against its will to rise in the East and to travel toward the west which is the location of the Shechinah, the divine presence. It is through this process that we learn that that there is a higher power that determines all things in the universe. And because of this power, the sun must offer and sing praises to God. We see this as well in the story of Joshua and the battle of Gibeon in which the ‘sun stood still.’²⁷³ The sun was forced to stand still against the natural process. Therefore we say: “From the rising of the sun in the east to its setting in the west God’s name is being praised” – it is being praised at every moment in the present because its movement is a sign of God’s power. Similarly, we say: The heavens declare God’s glory and the firmament recount the work of his hands.”²⁷⁴ The commentators explain that God cannot be known by His essence; we can only know God through His actions. Thus we see through the cycle of the sun God’s providence upon all His creations, and that God is the creator of everything; God even determines the cycle of the planets and the stars. As we learn in the works of the Jewish philosophers there is no movement without a Prime Mover. The Movement of the sun (against its natural order) is sign that God is the Prime Mover. God is praised because God is always present and is the creator of all things.

footnotes: ²⁷² It took me a while to figure out that apparently Rabbi Weil (1473-1543) was not aware of Copernicus who postulated a helio-centric world in which the planets revolve around the sun and not the sun around the earth. Rabbi Weil describes a cosmos in which the sun is revolving around the earth and against its will, it rises in the East and sets in the West. ²⁷³ Joshua 10:12 ²⁷⁴ 274274 Psalm 19:2

Those who deny Divine Providence say: “God is far above all the nations; His glory is far above the Heavens.”²⁷⁵ There are those among the nations who claim that there is a God in the universe but that God is far removed from the world and does not influence the doings of this world.²⁷⁶ They deny the reality of Divine Providence. God is “far above nations” and does not involve Himself in the doings of this lowly world. Therefore they can feel that they can act in an evil fashion toward the people of this world and that they do not have to worry about fearing God or facing punishment. We have been given proof that God’s providence can be experienced in this world. We have four proofs: (1) The Exodus from Egypt and the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai; (2) God lowered Himself and dwelled over the Holy ark; (3) God brought Israel into the land of Israel and helped them to succeed; (4) In the future, God will dwell among the community or righteous and pious people. These four proofs are contained in the continuation of the Psalm.

footnotes: ²⁷⁵ Psalm 113:4 ²⁷⁶ Weil is distinguishing deism from theism in his comments here, an idea that became prominent in the eighteenth century. Both Deists and Theists believe in a separate person God, but theism believed that God took an active interest in the world while deists believed that God was present in the universe but not interested in the goings on of the world.

Who is like Adonai who caused God to lift up (hamgbihi) to be seen: This is an allusion to the Exodus and to the theophany at Mount Sinai. On these occasions God lowered Himself so that the people could perceive God’s presence. As we read: God went before them by day…” and “This is My God and I will glorify Him.”²⁷⁷ God also set up a perimeter around Mount Sinai and then came down on the mountain so that all Israel could “see the sounds” and sights of the revelation. God appeared to them like an old sage who sat and taught. This is what is meant by the verse, “God will stoop down low.” It has been pointed out that there are five extra yud’s at the ends of the verbs in this passage: hagbihi(He lifted up) hamashpili(He stooped), mikimi (He lifts up), l’hoshivi(to cause to dwell), and moshivi. (He causes to dwell). The yud at the end of each of these words is a poetic flourish and unnecessary. What can we learn from them? There are those who explain the hidden meanings of the Torah who say that the five yudinequal fifty – they come to replace the missing verse in the Ashrai which should begin with a nun (50). Others explain that God never descended more than ten tefachs (a measure) to appear to the people.²⁷⁸ But the most literal explanation has to do with the name of God which begins with a yud. When God reveals Himself to the people of Israel, His name (which begins with a yud) is joined to the name Israel (which also begins with a yud). The letter yud, then, symbolizes the connection between God and Israel, between heaven and earth. Yud is also the last of the single digits and the first of the multiples of ten. That is what we mean when we say “I am the first and I am the last.” God’s name begins with a yud to teach us that God is the beginning and end of all things. Similarly God is the beginning and end of all the nations. The Divine Presence which is one is connected to Israel which is one are expressed by the word hamagbihi lirot, “Who is like Adonai who caused God to lift up to be seen.”

footnotes: ²⁷⁷ Exodus 13:20 ²⁷⁸ BT SUKKOT 5a

**He will stoop down low (hamashpili) to see what happens on earth and in heaven:**This is an allusion to Tzimtzum, God’s contraction in the world.²⁷⁹. God contracted Himself so that He could dwell between the posts of the ark.²⁸⁰ Similarly, Solomon said: “Behold, the heavens and the heavens of the heavens cannot contain You…”²⁸¹ But because of God’s great love, He lowered Himself and He caused His presence to dwell among us. “The world is full of His glory; yet God caused his Yud/presence to be contracted – that is, His Divine Presence in the Temple.

footnotes: ²⁷⁹ Tzimtzum is a term used in the kabbalistic teaching of Isaac Luria, explaining his concept that God began the process of creation by "contracting" his infinite light in order to allow for a "conceptual space" in which a finite and seemingly independent world could exist. This contraction, forming an "empty space" (חלל הפנוי) in which creation could begin, is known as the Tzimtzum ²⁸⁰ Exodus 25:12-15 ²⁸¹ 1 Kings 8:27

**He raises (mikimi) up the poor from the dust:**This is a reference to our entrance into the land of Israel and all the miracles that were revealed to us. In the desert we were like homeless and needy people; God brought a great and mighty nation which was like the dust of the earth into the land of Canaan. God never left the people from the time they entered into the land until the destruction of the first Temple. Thus the verse says, “God raises up the yud which symbolizes the partnership of God and Israel. During the time of the Second temple this partnership did not exist in the same way that it did during the first temple. That is why the second half of the verse, “From the dung hill he lifted the needy.”(The verb in the second part of the verse does not contain the extra yud- yarimi -like the first part of the verse). Ashpot, the dung hill refers to the refuse that is thrown away after one has eaten. It is a refuse to exile. We pray that God will lift us up because, “In every generation there are those who rise up against us to destroy us…” but the holy One saves us from them with God’s Divine Presence. **To cause us to dwell among the nidivim (princes):**This is a reference to the pious and righteous of the community. They are called nidivim because they do more than is required of them by the law. This is the difference between nedavah (free will) and hovah (obligatory). The righteous give freely of themselves; not because they are obligated to do so. They are the great ones of the generations who arouse others to repentance like prophets and seers. We hope that God **“will cause the childless of the household…”**Israel is called the childless of the household because she has not yet given birth. Sometimes a woman is childless for reasons that are not related to her ability to give birth but rather because of her husband. If she does not have a womb then it is obvious that it is because of her. Similarly, in the exile, Israel’s childless was caused by her and not her husband. Akeret also comes from the same root as akira, to uproot. We were uprooted from our Holy Temple where we could rejoice with the greatest of joy. And we hope for a day when Israel will again be a mother – that is, the people will again have Jerusalem and a Temple.

The happy mother (eim) of children: The word for mother is eim. It is a reference to those who will bring about Israel’s redemption: In Egypt there was Aaron and Moses; in the time Purim there was Esther and Mordechai; and in the Messianic era, Elijah and the Messiah. This verse is also a reference to the story of the Exodus. Yocheved was called “childless of the household” when Amram divorced her; but when he took her back she was called “happy mother.”²⁸² The Talmud offers another interpretation. Akeret is from eekar, the essence or the mainstay. In the Talmud we learn: “And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that He made them houses. Rab and Samuel [differ in their interpretation]; one said they are the priestly and Levitical houses, and the other said they are the royal houses. One who says they are the priestly and Levitical houses: Aaron and Moses; and one who says they are the royal houses: for also David descended from Miriam.”²⁸³ That is, Yocheved was the eekar, the main member of the household. When Amram took Yocheved back Aaron and Miriam danced with joy and the angels rejoiced – that is why the word eim is an abbreviation for Aaron and Miriam. “Halleluyah” can be read as two words: hallelu (praise) and Yah, the name of God. God dwells in the midst of a couple who love one another; the Yud is from the word eesh, husband, and the hay is from the word eeshah, wife.²⁸⁴ have two letters in common – aleph and shin; and two letters that distinguish them from one another – Yud and Hay. A couple that is united in love then brings the letters of God’s name together and God dwells with them. When Amram and Yocheved were reunited they became an expression of Hallelu-yah. It is through this uniting that Moses was born as a true child of God.

footnotes: ²⁸² BT Sotah 12a ²⁸³ BT Sotah 11b ²⁸⁴ The words eesh and eeshah