R. Judah and R. Jose once met together in K’far-hannan, and whilst they were sitting in the inn there entered a certain man who had come with a laden ass. R. Judah was then saying to R. Jose: ‘Tradition tells us that King David used to sleep fitfully, like a horse. If so, how did David sleep till midnight, and not wake when a third of the night was passed?’
R. Jose replied: ‘When night-time arrived, David used to be sitting with the princes of his household dispensing justice and discussing the Torah, and afterwards he slept until midnight, when he would rise, and remain awake, absorbed in the service of his Master, singing songs of praise and hymns.’
The stranger here interposed, saying: ‘Is your exposition correct? Hardly. The real truth of the matter is this. King David lives for ever and ever. All his days he was on his guard so as not to have a foretaste of death, and therefore David, whose place is “living”, only slept sixty breaths at a time. For up to the fifty- ninth breath the sleeper is still completely alive, but from that point he has a foretaste of death, and the spirit of impurity obtains power over him.’
King David therefore guarded himself so that the side of the unclean spirit should not obtain dominion over him. For the first sixty breathings less one are symbolic of heavenly life, of sublime breathings on high, on which life proper depends; they represent the mystery of life. But beyond that number they are associated with death.
Hence King David measured out the night so as to remain in life and to prevent any foretaste of death coming over him. At midnight he was in his place, as he was anxious that at the arrival of midnight, when the holy Crown is awakened, he should not be found attached to another place, the place of death.
For at midnight, when the supernal holiness is awakened, the man who remains asleep in his bed without regarding the glory of his Master falls under the spell of death and is attached to the other place. David thus rose up to contemplate continually the glory of his Master, who was a Living One like himself, and so never slept long enough to have a foretaste of death. He only slept like a horse, sixty breaths at a time.’
R. Judah and R. Jose came up to him and kissed him. They asked him his name. He said: ‘Hezekiah (lit. strengthened by God).’ They said: ‘May you be strong and may your knowledge of the Torah augment.’ When they sat down again, R. Judah said to the man: ‘Having made a start, tell us more of the sublime mystical doctrines you alluded to.’
The stranger then began to discourse on the verse: The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens (Prov. 3, 19). ‘When God’, he said, ‘created the world, He saw that it could not exist without the Torah, as this is the only source of all laws above and below, and on it alone are the upper and lower beings established. Hence, “the Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens”, inasmuch as it is through Wisdom that all things are enabled to exist in the universe, and from it all things proceed.
An alternative exposition is as follows. “The Lord by wisdom founded the earth”, that is, the upper world has been created through the higher Wisdom and the lower world through the lower Wisdom, so that all things came into being out of the higher Wisdom and the lower Wisdom. “By understanding he established the heavens”; literally, He establisheth (konen), to wit, day by day, without ceasing; they were not made complete at once, but He continues perfecting them each day.
This is alluded to in the verse: “Yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight” (Job 15, 15). Think not that this verse implies any disparagement of the heavens. On the contrary, its purpose is to indicate their importance and the great love and affection in which God holds them, in that, notwithstanding that He is perfecting them every day, they are not yet deemed in His eyes to have reached the utmost perfection of which they are capable. In His great affection for them it is His delight to irradiate them continually and without ceasing, the world to come radiating day by day bright streams of light in order to make the heavens resplendent. Hence the heavens, pure as they are, in God’s sight are not yet pure.
Again, the heavens here symbolize the patriarchs, and the patriarchs find their centre in Jacob, who embraces them all, he being the choice of the patriarchs, and the one who causes light to radiate into the world.
And after he was raised to the next world there issued from him a branch beauteous in appearance, from which radiate all illumination and all plenteousness. That branch is Joseph the Righteous, who gave the world abundance and by whom it was sustained. Thus whatever God does in the world has a deep symbolic significance and is all as it should be.
At this point R. Eleazar entered. As soon as he saw them he said: ‘Assuredly, the Shekinah is here present. What have you been discussing?’ They told him all that had passed between them. He said: ‘Assuredly, what he said was right. The first sixty respirations are those of life both above and below, but beyond these there are sixty other respirations that are of the side of death and over which hovers the grade of death. They are called “dormit”, and contain a foretaste of death;
King David, however, attached himself to the sixty respirations that are of life, after which he did not sleep any more. Thus he said: “I will not give sleep to mine eyes, nor slumber to my lids” (Ps. 132, 4). Hence what the stranger said was correct, as David is living, belonging to the side of life and not to the side of death.’ So they sat together studying the Torah.
R. Eleazar then discoursed on the verse: O Lord, God of my salvation, what time I cry in the night before thee (Ibid. 88, 2). ‘King David’, he said, ‘used to rise from his bed at midnight and study the Torah, and sang praises and hymns so as to cause joy to the King and the Matron. And this promoted the joy of faith throughout the earth.
For at that time numberless celestial angels break joyously forth into song on high, and correspondingly praises should be sung here below; and whenever anyone offers up in the night praises on earth, the Holy One, blessed be He, finds pleasure in him, and all those holy angels that sing praises to the Holy One hearken to the one that sings praises to Him in the night on earth.
When David wrote: “O Lord, God of my salvation, etc.”, he said, in effect: “When is He my salvation? On that day when I rise up early in the night to offer thanksgiving to Thee; it is then that He is my salvation in the daytime.”
And observe further that whoever offers praises to his Master in the night is fortified in the daytime by the Right side, as a cord issues from the Right side which is drawn round him and by which he becomes strengthened.
Hence again David said: “The dead praise not the Lord” (Ibid. 115, 17), inasmuch as it is the due of the living to praise the Living One, but not of the dead. Hence “The dead praise not the Lord…. But we will bless the Lord” (Ibid. 17), we who are alive and have no lot or part in the side of death. Hezekiah also said: “The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day” (Is. 38, 19), as the living has kinship with the living; King David is living, and hence he has kinship with the life principle of the universe. And he that has brought himself near to Him is alive, as it is written: “But ye that did cleave unto the Lord your God are alive every one of you this day” (Deut. 4, 4). It is also written: “And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a living man1According to the K‘tib. of Kabzeel” (II Sam. 23, 20).’
רִבִּי יְהוּדָה וְרִבִּי יוֹסֵי אִעָרְעוּ בִּכְפַר חָנָן. עַד דְּהֲווּ יָתְבֵי בֵּי אוּשְׁפִּיזַיְיהוּ, אֲתָא חַד בַּר נָשׁ וְחַד מָטוּלָא דְחַמְרָא קַמֵיהּ וְעָאל בְּבֵיתָא. אַדְּהָכִי, אָמַר רִבִּי יְהוּדָה לְרִבִּי יוֹסֵי, הָא תָּנִינָן, דְּדָוִד מַלְכָּא הֲוָה מִתְנַמְנֵם כְּסוּס, וְשֵׁינְתֵיהּ זְעֵיר, הֵיךְ הֲוָה קָם בְּפַלְגּוּת לֵילְיָא. הַאי שִׁעוּרָא זְעֵיר אִיהוּ וְלָא הֲוָה אִתְעַר אֲפִילּוּ בִּתְלָתוּת לֵילְיָא.
R. Judah and R. Jose once met together in K’far-hannan, and whilst they were sitting in the inn there entered a certain man who had come with a laden ass. R. Judah was then saying to R. Jose: ‘Tradition tells us that King David used to sleep fitfully, like a horse. If so, how did David sleep till midnight, and not wake when a third of the night was passed?’
אָמַר לֵיהּ, בְּשַׁעְתָּא דְּעָאל לֵילְיָא, הֲוָה יָתִיב עִם כָּל רַבְרְבֵי בֵיתֵיהּ וְדָאִין דִּינָא, וְעָסִיק בְּמִלֵּי דְאוֹרַיְיתָא. וּלְבָתַר הֲוָה נָאִים שֵׁינְתֵיהּ עַד פַּלְגוּת לֵילְיָא, וְקָם בְּפַלְגוּת לֵילְיָא וְאִתְעַר, וְאִשְׁתְּדָּל בְּפוּלְחָנָא דְמָארֵיהּ, בְּשִׁירִין וְתוּשְׁבְּחָן.
R. Jose replied: ‘When night-time arrived, David used to be sitting with the princes of his household dispensing justice and discussing the Torah, and afterwards he slept until midnight, when he would rise, and remain awake, absorbed in the service of his Master, singing songs of praise and hymns.’
אַדְהָכִי אָמַר הַהוּא בַּר נָשׁ, וְכִי הַאי מִלָּה דְקָאַמְרִיתּוּ, הָכִי הוּא. רָזָא דְמִלָּה הָכָא, דְּהָא דָוִד מַלְכָּא חַי וְקַיָּים לְעָלַם וּלְעָלְמֵי עָלְמִין. וְדָוִד מַלְכָּא הֲוָה נָטִיר כָּל יוֹמוֹי דְּלָא יִטְעַם טַעַם מִיתָה. בְּגִין דְּשֵׁינְתָא חַד מִשִּׁתִּין בְּמִיתָה אִיהוּ. וְדָוִד בְּגִין דּוּכְתֵּיהּ דְּאִיהוּ חַי, לָא הֲוָה נָאִים אֶלָּא שִׁיתִּין נִשְׁמֵי. דְּעַד שִׁתִּין נִשְׁמֵי חָסֵר חַד, אִיהוּ חַי. מִתַּמָּן וּלְהָלְאָה, טָעִים בַּר נָשׁ טַעְמָא דְמוֹתָא, וְשַׁלִּיט בֵּיהּ סִטְרָא דְרוּחַ מְסָאֲבָא.
The stranger here interposed, saying: ‘Is your exposition correct? Hardly. The real truth of the matter is this. King David lives for ever and ever. All his days he was on his guard so as not to have a foretaste of death, and therefore David, whose place is “living”, only slept sixty breaths at a time. For up to the fifty- ninth breath the sleeper is still completely alive, but from that point he has a foretaste of death, and the spirit of impurity obtains power over him.’
וְדָא הֲוָה נָטִיר דָּוִד מַלְכָּא, דְּלָא יִטְעַם טַעְמָא דְמוֹתָא, וְשַׁלִּיט (ס"א דלא ישליט) בֵּיהּ סִטְרָא דְרוּחָא אָחֳרָא, בְּגִין דְּשִׁתִּין נִשְׁמֵי חָסֵר חַד, אִיהוּ רָזָא דְחַיִּים דִּלְעֵילָא. עַד שִׁתִּין נִשְׁמֵי, דְּאִינוּן שִׁתִּין (ד"א ל"ג חסר חד נשמי) נִשְׁמֵי עִלָּאִין, וְאִילֵין רָזָא דִלְהוֹן, דְּתַלְיָין בְּהוֹן חַיֵּי. וּמִכָּאן וּלְתַתָּא, רָזָא דְמוֹתָא הוּא.
King David therefore guarded himself so that the side of the unclean spirit should not obtain dominion over him. For the first sixty breathings less one are symbolic of heavenly life, of sublime breathings on high, on which life proper depends; they represent the mystery of life. But beyond that number they are associated with death.
וְעַל דָּא, דָּוִד מַלְכָּא הֲוָה מְשַׁעֵר שִׁעוּרָא דְלֵילְיָא, בְּגִין דְּיִתְקַיֵּים בַּחַיִּים, דְּלָא יִשְׁלוֹט בֵּיהּ טַעְמָא דְמוֹתָא. וְכַד אִתְפְּלִיג לֵילְיָא, הֲוָה דָּוִד מִתְקַיֵּים בְּאַתְרֵיהּ. בְּגִין דְּכַד אִתְעַר פַּלְגוּ לֵילְיָא וְכִתְרָא קַדִּישָׁא אִתְעַר, בָּעָא דְלָא לְאַשְׁכָּחָא לֵיהּ לְדָוִד מִתְקַשַּׁר בְּאֲתַר אָחֳרָא, בְּאֲתַר דְּמוֹתָא.
Hence King David measured out the night so as to remain in life and to prevent any foretaste of death coming over him. At midnight he was in his place, as he was anxious that at the arrival of midnight, when the holy Crown is awakened, he should not be found attached to another place, the place of death.
בְּגִין דְּכַד אִתְפְּלִיג לֵילְיָא וּקְדוּשָּׁה עִלָּאָה אִתְעַר, וּבַר נָשׁ דְּנָאִים בְּעַרְסֵיהּ וְלָא אִתְעַר לְאַשְׁגָּחָא בִּיקָרָא דְמָארֵיהּ. הָא אִיהוּ אִתְקַשַּׁר בְּרָזָא דְמוֹתָא וּמִתְדַּבַּק בְּאֲתַר אָחֳרָא, וְעַל דָּא דָּוִד מַלְכָּא הֲוָה קָאִים לְאַשְׁגָּחָא בִּיקָרָא דְמָארֵיהּ תָּדִיר. חַי לְגַבֵּי חַי, וְלָא נָאִים בְּשֵׁינְתָא לְטָעֲמָא טַעְמָא דְמוֹתָא. וּבְגִין כָּךְ, הֲוָה מִתְנַמְנֵם כְּסוּס שִׁתִּין נִשְׁמֵי, וְלָא בִּשְׁלִימוּ.
For at midnight, when the supernal holiness is awakened, the man who remains asleep in his bed without regarding the glory of his Master falls under the spell of death and is attached to the other place. David thus rose up to contemplate continually the glory of his Master, who was a Living One like himself, and so never slept long enough to have a foretaste of death. He only slept like a horse, sixty breaths at a time.’
אָתוּ רִבִּי יְהוּדָה וְרִבִּי יוֹסֵי וּנְשָׁקוּהָ, אָמְרוּ לֵיהּ, מַה שְּׁמָךְ. אָמַר לְהוֹן, חִזְקִיָּה. אָמְרוּ לֵיהּ, יִתְיַישֵּׁר חֵילָךְ וְיִתְתַּקַּף אוֹרַיְיתָךְ. יְתִיבוּ. אָמַר רִבִּי יְהוּדָה, הוֹאִיל וְשָׁרִית, אֵימָא לָן מֵהַנֵּי רָזִין עִלָּאִין דְּקָאֲמַרְתְּ.
R. Judah and R. Jose came up to him and kissed him. They asked him his name. He said: ‘Hezekiah (lit. strengthened by God).’ They said: ‘May you be strong and may your knowledge of the Torah augment.’ When they sat down again, R. Judah said to the man: ‘Having made a start, tell us more of the sublime mystical doctrines you alluded to.’
פָּתַח וְאָמַר, (משלי ג׳:י״ט) ה' בְּחָכְמָה יָסַד אֶרֶץ כּוֹנֵן שָׁמַיִם בִּתְבוּנָה. תָּא חֲזֵי, כַּד בָּרָא קוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא עַלְמָא, חָמָא דְלָא יָכִיל לְאִתְקָיְימָא, עַד דְּבָרָא אוֹרַיְיתָא. בְּגִין דְּמִנָּהּ נָפְקִין כָּל נִמּוּסִין עִלָּאִין וְתַתָּאִין, וּבָהּ קָיְימֵי עִלָּאֵי וְתַתָּאֵי. הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב, ה' בְּחָכְמָה יָסַד אָרֶץ כּוֹנִן שָׁמַיִם בִּתְבוּנָה. דְּהָא בְּחָכְמָה קָיְימִין כָּל קִיּוּמִין דְּעַלְמָא, וְכֻלְּהוּ נָפְקֵי מִגַּוָּהּ.
The stranger then began to discourse on the verse: The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens (Prov. 3, 19). ‘When God’, he said, ‘created the world, He saw that it could not exist without the Torah, as this is the only source of all laws above and below, and on it alone are the upper and lower beings established. Hence, “the Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens”, inasmuch as it is through Wisdom that all things are enabled to exist in the universe, and from it all things proceed.
דָּבָר אַחֵר ה' בְּחָכְמָה יָסַד אֶרֶץ, עַלְמָא עִלָּאָה לָא אִתְבְּרֵי אֶלָּא מִגּוֹ חָכְמָה. וְעַלְמָא תַּתָּאָה לָא אִתְבְּרֵי אֶלָּא מִגּוֹ חָכְמָה תַּתָּאָה. וְכֻלְּהוּ נָפְקָן מִגּוֹ חָכְמָה עִלָּאָה וּמִגּוֹ חָכְמָה תַּתָּאָה. כּוֹנֵן שָׁמַיִם בִּתְבוּנָה. כּוֹנֵן, מַאי כּוֹנֵן. אֶלָּא, כּוֹנֵן כָּל יוֹמָא וְיוֹמָא וְלָא פָּסִיק, וְלָא אִתְתַּקַּן בְּזִמְנָא חָדָא, אֶלָּא בְּכָל יוֹמָא וְיוֹמָא אַתְקִין לֵיהּ.
An alternative exposition is as follows. “The Lord by wisdom founded the earth”, that is, the upper world has been created through the higher Wisdom and the lower world through the lower Wisdom, so that all things came into being out of the higher Wisdom and the lower Wisdom. “By understanding he established the heavens”; literally, He establisheth (konen), to wit, day by day, without ceasing; they were not made complete at once, but He continues perfecting them each day.
וְהַיְינוּ רָזָא דִּכְתִיב, (איוב ט״ו:ט״ו) וְשָׁמַיִם לֹא זַכּוּ בְעֵינָיו. וְכִי סַלְקָא דַעְתָּךְ, דִּגְרִיעוּתָא אִיהוּ מִשָּׁמַיִם, אֶלָּא חֲשִׁיבוּ מִשָּׁמַיִם אִיהוּ, בְּגִין חֲבִיבוּ וּרְעוּ סַגְיָא, דְּקוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא רָעֵי בְּהוּ, וַחֲבִיבוּתַיְהוּ לְגַבֵּיהּ. דְּהָא אַף עַל גַּב דְּאִיהוּ מַתְקִין לוֹן כָּל יוֹמָא וְיוֹמָא, לָא דָמֵי בְּעֵינוֹי דְּאִינוּן מִתְתַּקְנָן כְּדְקָא יְאוּת. בְּגִין דִּרְחִימוּתָא דִלְהוֹן לְגַבֵּיהּ, וּרְעוּתֵיהּ לְאַנְהָרָא לוֹן תָּדִיר בְּלָא פְּסִיקוּ. דְּהָא עַלְמָא דְאָתֵי אַפִּיק נְהוֹרִין זְהִירִין כָּל יוֹמָא וְיוֹמָא תָּדִיר בְּלָא פְּסִיקוּ, בְּגִין לְאַנְהָרָא לוֹן תָּדִיר. וְעַל דָּא לא זַכּוּ בְּעֵינָיו. לא זַכּוּ בִּלְחוֹדוֹי לָא כְּתִיב, אֶלָּא לא זַכּוּ בְעֵינָיו. וּבְגִין כָּךְ, כּוֹנֵן שָׁמַיִם בִּתְבוּנָה.
This is alluded to in the verse: “Yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight” (Job 15, 15). Think not that this verse implies any disparagement of the heavens. On the contrary, its purpose is to indicate their importance and the great love and affection in which God holds them, in that, notwithstanding that He is perfecting them every day, they are not yet deemed in His eyes to have reached the utmost perfection of which they are capable. In His great affection for them it is His delight to irradiate them continually and without ceasing, the world to come radiating day by day bright streams of light in order to make the heavens resplendent. Hence the heavens, pure as they are, in God’s sight are not yet pure.
מַאן שָׁמַיִם. דָּא הוּא רָזָא דְּאֲבָהָן, וְרָזָא דְּאֲבָהָן דָּא הוּא יַעֲקֹב דְּאִיהוּ כְּלָלָא דִלְהוֹן. בְּגִין דְּיַעֲקֹב תּוּשְׁבַּחְתָּא דְּאֲבָהָן אִיהוּ, וְאִיהוּ קָיְימָא לְאַנְהָרָא עַל עַלְמָא.
Again, the heavens here symbolize the patriarchs, and the patriarchs find their centre in Jacob, who embraces them all, he being the choice of the patriarchs, and the one who causes light to radiate into the world.
וּבְגִין דְּאִיהוּ אִסְתָּלַּק גּוֹ עַלְמָא דְאָתֵי, נָפַק מִנֵּיהּ עֲנָפָא חָדָא שַׁפִּירָא בְּחֵיזוּ, וְכָל נְהוֹרִין מִינֵיהּ נָפְקִין. וְכָל שָׂבְעָא וּמְשַׁח רְבוּ לְאַנְהָרָא לְאַרְעָא, וּמַאן אִיהוּ. דָּא יוֹסֵף הַצַּדִּיק, דְּאִיהוּ יָהִיב שָׂבְעָא לְכָל עַלְמָא, וְעַלְמָא מִנֵּיהּ אִתְּזָן. וּבְגִין כָּךְ, קוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא כָּל מַה דְּעָבַד בְּעַלְמָא, כֹּלָּא אִיהוּ בְּרָזָא עִלָּאָה, וְכֹלָּא כְּדְקָא חָזֵי.
And after he was raised to the next world there issued from him a branch beauteous in appearance, from which radiate all illumination and all plenteousness. That branch is Joseph the Righteous, who gave the world abundance and by whom it was sustained. Thus whatever God does in the world has a deep symbolic significance and is all as it should be.
אַדְהָכִי אֲתָא רִבִּי אֶלְעָזָר, כֵּיוָן דְּחָמָא לוֹן אָמַר, וַדַּאי שְׁכִינְתָּא הָכָא. בְּמַאי עַסְקִיתוּ. אָמְרוּ לֵיהּ כָּל עוֹבָדָא. אָמַר, וַדַּאי שַׁפִּיר קָאֲמַר. אֲבָל אִינוּן שִׁתִּין נִשְׁמֵי, וַדַּאי שִׁתִּין נִשְׁמֵי אִינוּן דְּחַיִּין, בֵּין לְעֵילָא בֵּין לְתַתָּא. מִכָּאן וּלְהָלְאָה, אִיכָּא שִׁתִּין נִשְׁמִין אָחֳרָנִין, דְּאִינוּן כֻּלְּהוּ מִסִּטְרָא דְמוֹתָא, וְדַרְגָּא דְמוֹתָא עֲלַיְיהוּ, וְאִקְרוּן דּוּרְמִיטָא, וְכֻלְּהוּ טַעֲמָא דְמוֹתָא.
At this point R. Eleazar entered. As soon as he saw them he said: ‘Assuredly, the Shekinah is here present. What have you been discussing?’ They told him all that had passed between them. He said: ‘Assuredly, what he said was right. The first sixty respirations are those of life both above and below, but beyond these there are sixty other respirations that are of the side of death and over which hovers the grade of death. They are called “dormit”, and contain a foretaste of death;
וּבְגִין כָּךְ דָּוִד מַלְכָּא הֲוָה אִיהוּ מִתְדְּבַּק בְּאִינוּן שִׁתִּין נִשְׁמִין דְּחַיִּין, וּמִתַּמָּן וּלְהָלְאָה לָא נָאִים כְּלַל. הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב, (תהילים קל״ב:ד׳) אִם אֶתֵּן שְׁנָת לְעֵינָי לְעַפְעַפַּי תְּנוּמָה. וְעַל דָּא שַׁפִּיר קָאֲמַר, בְּגִין דְּיָקוּם דָּוִד חַי, בְּסִטְרָא דְחַי וְלָא בְּסִטְרָא דְמוֹתָא. יָתְבוּ כֻּלְּהוּ וְאִשְׁתַּדְּלוּ בְּאוֹרַיְיתָא וְאִתְחַבָּרוּ כְּחֲדָא.
King David, however, attached himself to the sixty respirations that are of life, after which he did not sleep any more. Thus he said: “I will not give sleep to mine eyes, nor slumber to my lids” (Ps. 132, 4). Hence what the stranger said was correct, as David is living, belonging to the side of life and not to the side of death.’ So they sat together studying the Torah.
פָּתַח רִבִּי אֶלְעָזָר וְאָמַר, (תהילים פ״ח:ב׳) ה' אֱלֹקֵי יְשׁוּעָתִי יוֹם צָעַקְתִּי בַלַּיְלָה נֶגְדֶּךָ. תָּא חֲזֵי, דָּוִד מַלְכָּא הֲוָה קָם בְּפַלְגּוּת לֵילְיָא, וְאִשְׁתְּדָּל בְּאוֹרַיְיתָא בְּשִׁירִין וְתוּשְׁבְּחָן, לְחֶדְוָה דְמַלְכָּא וּמַטְרוֹנִיתָא. וְדָא הֲוָה חֶדְוָה דִמְהֵימְנוּתָא בְּאַרְעָא. בְּגִין דְּהַאי אִיהוּ שְׁבָחָא דִמְהֵימְנוּתָא דְּאִתְחֲזֵי בְּאַרְעָא.
R. Eleazar then discoursed on the verse: O Lord, God of my salvation, what time I cry in the night before thee (Ibid. 88, 2). ‘King David’, he said, ‘used to rise from his bed at midnight and study the Torah, and sang praises and hymns so as to cause joy to the King and the Matron. And this promoted the joy of faith throughout the earth.
דְּהָא לְעֵילָא פָּתְחֵי בְּחֶדְוָה שִׁירָתָא כַּמָּה מַלְאָכִין עִלָּאִין, בְּכַמָּה זִינִין דְּקָא מְשַׁבְּחָן בְּלֵילְיָא בְּכָל סִטְרִין. כְּהַאי גַּוְונָא לְתַתָּא בְּאַרְעָא, מַאן דִּמְשַׁבַּח לֵיהּ לְקוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא בְּאַרְעָא בְּלֵילְיָא, רָעֵי בֵּיהּ (בעי) קוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא. וְכָל אִינוּן מַלְאָכִין קַדִּישִׁין דְּקָא מְשַׁבְּחָן לֵיהּ לְקוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא, כֻּלְּהוּ צַיְיתִין לְהַהוּא דְקָא מְשַׁבַּח לֵיהּ בְּלֵילְיָא בְּאַרְעָא. דְּהַאי תּוּשְׁבַּחְתָּא אִיהוּ בִּשְׁלִימוּ, לְסַלְקָא יְקָרֵי דְּקוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא מִתַּתָּא, וּלְזַמְּרָא בְּחֶדְוָה דְּיִחוּדָא.
For at that time numberless celestial angels break joyously forth into song on high, and correspondingly praises should be sung here below; and whenever anyone offers up in the night praises on earth, the Holy One, blessed be He, finds pleasure in him, and all those holy angels that sing praises to the Holy One hearken to the one that sings praises to Him in the night on earth.
תָּא חֲזֵי, דָּוִד מַלְכָּא כָּתַב, ה' אֱלֹהֵי יְשׁוּעָתִי וְגו', ה' אֱלהֵי יְשׁוּעָתִי, אֵימָתַי אִיהוּ יְשׁוּעָתִי. בְּהַהוּא יוֹמָא דְאַקְדֵּמִית תּוּשְׁבַּחְתָּא בְּלֵילְיָא לְגַבָּךְ, כְּדֵין אִיהוּ יְשׁוּעָתִי בִּימָמָא.
When David wrote: “O Lord, God of my salvation, etc.”, he said, in effect: “When is He my salvation? On that day when I rise up early in the night to offer thanksgiving to Thee; it is then that He is my salvation in the daytime.”
וְתָּא חֲזֵי, דְּהָא בְּלֵילְיָא, מַאן דִּמְשַׁבַּח לְמָארֵיהּ בְּתוּשְׁבַּחְתָּא דְאוֹרַיְיתָא, כְּדֵין אַתְקַף בִּתְקִיפוּ בִּיְמָמָא בְּסִטְרָא דִּימִינָא. דְּהָא חוּטָא חַד נַפְקָא מִסִּטְרָא דִּימִינָא, וּכְדֵין אִתְמָשַּׁךְ עֲלֵיהּ וְאִתְתַּקַּף בֵּיהּ. וְעַל דָּא אָמַר, ה' אֱלֹהֵי יְשׁוּעָתִי יוֹם צָעַקְתִּי וְגו'.
And observe further that whoever offers praises to his Master in the night is fortified in the daytime by the Right side, as a cord issues from the Right side which is drawn round him and by which he becomes strengthened.
וּבְגִין כָּךְ אָמַר, (תהילים קט״ו:י״ז) לא הַמֵּתִים יְהַלְּלוּ יָהּ. לא הַמֵּתִים, בְּגִין דְּאִצְטְרִיךְ לְשַׁבְּחָא חַי לְחַי. וּמֵת לְחַי לָאו הָכִי, דִּכְתִיב לֹא הַמֵּתִים יְהַלְּלוּ יָהּ. וַאֲנַחְנוּ נְבָרֵךְ יָהּ, דְּהָא אֲנַן חַיִּין וְלֵית לָן חוּלָקָא בְּסִטְרָא דְמוֹתָא כְּלַל. חִזְקִיָּהוּ אָמַר, (ישעיהו ל״ח:י״ט) חַי חַי הוּא יוֹדֶךָ כָּמוֹנִי, בְּגִין דְּחַי אִתְקְרַב לְחַי. דָּוִד מַלְכָּא אִיהוּ חַי, וְקוּרְבָא דִילֵיהּ לְחַי הָעוֹלָמִים. וּמַאן דְּאִתְקְרִיב לְגַבֵּיהּ, אִיהוּ חַי. דִּכְתִיב, (דברים ד׳:ד׳) וְאַתֶּם הַדְּבֵקִים בַּה' אֱלֹהֵיכֶם חַיִּים כֻּלְּכֶם הַיּוֹם. וּכְתִיב, (שמואל ב כ״ג:כ׳) וּבְנָיָהוּ בֶּן יְהוֹיָדָע בֶּן אִישׁ חַי רַב פְּעָלִים מִקַּבְצְאֵל.
Hence again David said: “The dead praise not the Lord” (Ibid. 115, 17), inasmuch as it is the due of the living to praise the Living One, but not of the dead. Hence “The dead praise not the Lord…. But we will bless the Lord” (Ibid. 17), we who are alive and have no lot or part in the side of death. Hezekiah also said: “The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day” (Is. 38, 19), as the living has kinship with the living; King David is living, and hence he has kinship with the life principle of the universe. And he that has brought himself near to Him is alive, as it is written: “But ye that did cleave unto the Lord your God are alive every one of you this day” (Deut. 4, 4). It is also written: “And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a living man1According to the K‘tib. of Kabzeel” (II Sam. 23, 20).’