Psalm, a song of the sons of Korah. Its foundation is on the holy mountains, the Lord loves the gates of Zion. The Almighty said, "I love the gates that are prominent in the law, of all synagogues and houses of study." Another interpretation of the verse, "A turbulent city is one without comfort" (Isaiah 54:11), Rabbi Isaac said, "Turbulence refers to actions and being unsettled." Just as it is said, "There was a great storm on the sea and there was no comfort" (Jonah 1:4), so too, the Almighty said to Israel, "In this world, I chastise you" (Isaiah 54:11). "I will lay your foundation with sapphires and make your pinnacles of rubies, your gates of crystal and your walls of precious stones" (Isaiah 54:11-12). "I will make your battlements of rubies, your gates of gems, and all your walls of precious stones" (Isaiah 54:12). There was a man who took a sapphire stone to test it. He put it on a sandstone and struck it with a hammer, and the sandstone broke, but the sapphire did not. "I will make your suns like shards of glass" (Isaiah 54:12). Rabbi Berachiah said in the name of Rabbi Abba bar Kahana, "Michael and Gabriel disagreed about this. Some say they will be made of sapphire and some say they will be beautiful." The Almighty said to Isaiah, "Both will be made, and I will make your suns like shards of glass, and your gates like the stones of a gun." Rabbi Yehuda said in the name of Rabbi Shmuel, "The great gate of Jerusalem has two mezuzot and two carvings of one stone." Rabbi Yochanan said, "Your gates will be made of large, good stones, ten by twenty cubits, and will be placed at the gates of Jerusalem." One of his disciples scoffed at this and said, "We don't remember a simple tradition, how can we remember something so complex?" Later, his ship sailed out to sea and he saw the ministering angels chiseling large and good stones, ten by twenty cubits. He asked them, "For whom are you doing this?" They answered, "These will be placed at the gates of Jerusalem." When he returned and saw the fulfillment of the prophecy, he said, "Blessed are those who believe." Rika said to him, "If you had not seen it, you would not have believed it. You scoffed at the words of the sages, but when you set your eyes on it, a pile of bones was made." Rabbi Pinchas HaKohen Bar Chama related a story about a certain pious man who was traveling and was amazed at the following thought: "Is it possible that a gate with two mezuzahs and a stone threshold could rise ten cubits high?" He then saw a single stone rising from the sea to a height of twenty cubits. Be careful not to use your gates as gunstones, and let all your borders be made of precious stones. Rabbi Benjamin Bar Levi said, "In this world, people are busy digging their fields, but in the future, all your borders will be made of precious and good stones." Rabbi Yudan said, "In the future, if a person owes his friend two or three gold coins, he will say to him, 'Let us go to the King Messiah.' And they will go to him, and he will say to him, 'What do I owe you two or three gold coins for?' Take it from here that gold and silver before the King Messiah are like dust, as it is said, 'The Lord is your boundary and your peace.'" The sons of Korach asked him, "When will you do this?" He replied, "I will tell you that we will sing and praise." Woe to the sons of Korach who sing a psalm whose foundation is in the holy mountains. The foundation of the world is in the merit of the two mountains of holiness, Mount Sinai and Mount Moriah. Rabbi Pinchas said in the name of Rabbi Reuben, "God will bring to Sinai, Tabor, and Carmel and give Jerusalem precedence over them, as it is said, 'The mount of the Lord's house shall be established at the top of the mountains.'" Rabbi Chanina said, "Not only that, but it will be a time of singing, and they will respond to him with songs and praises, as it is said, 'And he will lift up from the hills.'" The word "lift up" only means singing, as it is said, "And Chenaniah, chief of the Levites, was for the singing."

Another interpretation of the foundation of the world is based on the holy mountains - Mount Sinai and Mount Moriah, which are both symbols of holiness. Rabbi Pinchas, citing Rabbi Reuven, said that God will bring Jerusalem to the forefront and place it on Mount Sinai, Mount Tavor, and Mount Carmel, as it is said in Isaiah 2:2, "And it shall come to pass in the end of days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established as the top of the mountains." Rabbi Chanina added that this will be a time of singing, and the people will sing and make music after Him, as it is said in the same verse, "and all nations shall flow unto it." The word "flow" here can also be translated as "sing," as it is written in 1 Chronicles 15:22, "And Chenaniah, chief of the Levites, was for song."

"The Lord loves the gates of Zion. In every country, there is one palace that the king loves more than all of them, which is in the heart of his own country. So said the Lord, 'I love the gates of synagogues and houses of study, and of all of them, I love Zion which is my palace.'"

“Glorious things are said about you, the city of God, forever.” (Psalms 87:3) This refers to Hezekiah, as it says “…and how he made the conduit and the pool, and he brought the water into the city…” (Kings II 20:20) Hezekiah sealed up the waters of the Gihon spring and it says ‘he brought the water into the city’ because he was a collector of traditions and this verse is actually referring to words of Torah, which are compared to water, as it says “Ho! All who thirst, go to water…” (Isaiah 55:1) It also says “Come, partake of my bread…” (Proverbs 9:5) What would Hezekiah do? When he saw that it was well ordered, he brought it to the city; that it was well taught, he brought it to the city. This is what is written “These too are Solomon's proverbs, which the men of Hezekiah, king of Judah, maintained.” (Proverbs 25:1) Another explanation. ““Glorious things are said about you…” (Psalms 87:3) R’ Huna said in the name of R’ Idi: why did Israel express Gd’s name explicitly in the Holy Temple and use a cognomen outside of the Temple bounds? Because it is written “…to fear this glorious and awesome name, the Lord, your God.” (Deuteronomy 28:58) This is ‘glorious things are said about you.’ And where is it said? In the city of God, in the city of Zion. And where? “…the city of God, forever.” (Psalms 87:3)

Mentioning Rahab and Babylon. Rabbi Yosei bar Simon said: "All nations are destined to bring gifts to the Messiah, as it is written (Song of Songs 4:8): 'Come with me from Lebanon, my bride, come with me from Lebanon. Descend from the top of Amana, from the tops of Senir and Hermon, from the dens of lions, from the mountains of leopards.' " Rabbi Simon said, "Why is a gift called a dorein?" Because it is compared to a woman who looks at herself and sings, as it is written (Job 7:8): 'The eye that saw me shall see me no more; your eyes are upon me, and I am not.' And when the nations come before the Messiah, he will say to them, 'Is there among you any Israelite who brought them to me?' as it is said (Psalm 96:7), 'Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.' The peoples brought me the families of Israel. Rabbi Aha said, "And he tells them, 'Bring them to me with honor, not with shame,' as it is said (Psalm 29:2), 'Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name; worship the Lord in holy splendor.' Those who honored him in this world and gave glory to his name." Rabbi Berechiah said in the name of Rabbi Judah (Isaiah 18:7), "In that time shall a present be brought to the Lord of hosts by a people tall and smooth, even from the beginning onward, a nation meted out and trodden underfoot, whose land the rivers divide, to the place of the name of the Lord of hosts, the mount Zion." The letters of "jubilee year" spell "with them," because they bring gifts to the Messiah, as it is said (Zechariah 14:16), "And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles." Rabbi Berechiah said, "The elders among them who cannot walk, what do they do? They bring gifts and carry them in their hands. What is the meaning of honor when they bring gifts? And when they bring them and they go to leave, and he says, 'This one is a priest, this one is a Levite, this one is an Israelite,' it is as if they were sold into slavery and forgotten and made into Gentiles by force, I accept them. For it is said (Isaiah 56:7), 'Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt-offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon my altar: for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.' And where did it say (Deuteronomy 29:28), 'The secret things belong to the Lord our God'?

"The Lord shall count in the register of the peoples: 'This one was born there.' (Psalm 87:6) With regard to those nations who bring Israel [back to their land], it is written that they will be counted together with Israel. This means that they are born [again] with Israel, as if they were born at the same hour. 'This one was born there.' 'Selah.'" (Talmud, Tractate Megillah 14a.)

"And they sing like the flowing of springs in you." Rabbi Yehuda, son of Rabbi Simon, said in the name of Rabbi Meir: Just as a well springs forth fresh water every hour, so too does Israel sing a new song every hour. This is derived from the verse, "And they sing like the flowing of springs in you." The rabbis said: Just as men sing a song, so too do women sing a song, as it is written, "All the springs in you." And it is said, "A locked garden is my sister, my bride; a locked garden, a sealed spring." (Song of Songs 4:12)