Psalms · Psalm 77

"on jeduthun" — Concerning the decrees and the laws that pass over Israel.

"For the leader, according to Jeduthun" — [referring] to the melody of a poem that begins with "Jeduthun."

"For the leader, on Jeduthun" — like "for Jeduthun." And this psalm was said concerning the theme of the exile.

"For Jeduthun" — On account of the laws and judgments that passed over Israel; or it is the name of a musical instrument.

"For the leader, of Asaph" — this psalm was established concerning the exile.

"My voice" — [stated] twice, for this is [said] one time after another. Some say: "veha'azin" ("and He gave ear") — it should properly be read as "veha'azin," like "lo he'emin" ("he did not believe"), a past-tense verb. And Rabbi Moshe said: that it is in the imperative form. But in my opinion: it is an infinitive.

"My voice" — He said it twice for emphasis, meaning: my voice is only to You; therefore [Scripture continues] "that He may give ear to me" — that is, I cry out to You, and You will give ear to me.

"My voice" — I will lift up my voice to God and cry out to Him, and when I lift up my voice He will give ear with His ears to hear me.

"My voice is to God" — he does not cry out about his own affairs, but only about what concerns the affairs of God. "And I cried out" — I too cried out in this way, saying in my crying that "my voice" is "to God" regarding what concerns the honor of His name; and therefore his request was "that He give ear to me."

"my wound" — Heb. ידי, lit. my hand; my wound. "my wound oozes" — In this exile, which is like night, it oozes pus and gall. "and does not abate" — Its oozing does not abate.

"In the day" — A great sage composed an esteemed book, but it contains errors; for he said that "yadi" (my hand) [means] "the place of my eye" — and this is not something a person of understanding could say, even in ordinary conversation, let alone in the holy books. And some say: that "yadi" [means] my strength and my power, as though it melted until it flowed, by way of metaphor, like: "and his bonds melted"; or [the word] may be missing a bet, as though it were "beyadi" ("by my hand"), on account of my wound and my affliction. "In the night it poured (nigrah)" — I cried out; for above it is written: "ve'etz'akah" ("and I cried out"), and so the word "crying" is present there even though it was not [again] written, in the manner of "u-verekh berakhah ve-lo ashivenah" ("and he blessed [with] a blessing, and I will not take it back") — there are many such cases — and it [nigrah] is a metaphor, like: "my roars poured forth like water"; or the meaning is that "yadi" means "my place," like: "and a place shall be for you." And the sense is: that my place poured forth on account of my tears; therefore, after it, [it says]: "my soul refuses to be comforted," in the manner of: "and her tears are on her cheeks; she has no comforter."

"In the day" — for He is Master over all, and it was Him that I sought in the day of my trouble. "My hand streamed in the night" — [this refers to] my wound, and the wound is the sighing and heartache over the exile. Therefore he said "night," because at night a person is free from the affairs of the world and reflects on his own concerns. And he said "streamed" as a figure of speech for the continuousness of the sighs, one after another. "And it did not cease" — a term of slackening and weakness, meaning: my wound does not slacken or weaken, but rather continually streams. "My soul refuses to be comforted" — even though I bring to my heart words of comfort, that God will bring me out of the exile, even though it be long, [still] my soul refuses to be comforted, from the abundance of troubles.

"In the day of my trouble" — At the time trouble came, I sought out Hashem. "My hand" — That is to say, my wound flows upon me all night long and does not diminish, and therefore my soul refuses to accept comfort.

"My hand" — because a blow is dealt with the hand, an affliction is referred to, in this expression, by the term "hand." "Streams" — an expression of flowing and pouring, as in "poured from this" (above, Psalm 75). "Ceasing" — an expression of slackening and weakening, as in "the law is slacked" (Habakkuk 1). "Refuses" — from the language of "refusal."

"In the day" — although "in the day that trouble came upon me I sought Hashem," and from Him I requested relief and rescue, nevertheless "at night my hand streamed" — he portrays that his hand streamed and oozed from the wound upon it, and did not cease from streaming. (He employs the metaphor of his illness, as though he had a fresh wound oozing pus and blood upon his hand, and this is an image for what he thought — that the hand of Hashem which supports him had become sick and weakened, as it says afterward, "my sickness is that the right hand of the Most High has changed.") And therefore "my soul refuses to be comforted," for he sees that the hand has grown feeble — signifying, as it were, that the upper hand too, which had been his help, had become weakened and lost its strength.

"I remember God" — The kindness that He used to do for me in the days of my love. "I speak" — about those acts of kindness and the favors. "and my spirit becomes faint" — Pasmer in Old French, to faint or swoon.

"Ezkerah" ("I will remember") and "ve'ehemiyah" ("and I moan") — [written] fully (plene), with the yod in place of a heh. "And it faints (vatit'atef)" — like "ha'atufim bara'av" ("those who faint from hunger").

"I will remember" — with my mouth, and I moan to Him. And the word "ve'ehemyah" [and I moan] — the third root letter [lamed ha-po'al] appears as a yod in place of a heh. "I muse" — I speak and lament in my trouble. "And my spirit fainted" — for a person, at a time of trouble, is bent over and afflicted, as if he were wrapped, part of him within another part of him.

"I remember" — When I remember the heaviness of the destruction, my heart moans. "I muse/speak" — I recount my hardships, and my spirit has been bent and afflicted for a long time.

"I muse" — an expression of recounting one's troubles, as in "pours out his complaint" (below, Psalm 102). "My spirit faints" — its meaning is bent and afflicted; because of the greatness of the distress, it appears as though the spirit is wrapped, folded over upon itself, on account of the bending.

"I remember" — he explains why his soul refuses to be comforted: for "I remember God," who used to support him with His upper hand, and it seemed to him that the right hand of the Most High had changed. Because of this, "and I moan" — he portrays that from the greatness of his weakness the power of speech ceased in him, so that he could only "moan and murmur" — a moan and a sigh alone — and afterward "my spirit faints," as though he had fallen into a weakness bordering on death.

"You held fast the awakenings of my eyes" — Heb. שמרות, an expression of the watch (אשמרת) of the night, for [when] a person awakens from his sleep his mind is settled and his heart returns to him, but I am not like that. In this night of exile, my eyes are always stuck together, like a man sleeping from a clogged heart, and in the troubles that I see, my spirit throbs and I have no speech within me.

"You hold fast" — Rabbi Moshe said: that "shemurot" (the guards) is an adjective for "the eyes," like "atzumot" (shut); for the eyelids guard the eyes when they close, and the sense is: You hold them fast so that my eyes did not close and I did not sleep. "I am troubled (nif'amti)" — like "vatipa'em rucho" ("and his spirit was troubled"); I was so stricken that I was not able to speak.

"You held the watches of my eyes" — these are the periods and divisions [of the night]; just as one who stays awake at night is called a watchman [shomer], so too the divided periods [of the night] are called "mishmarot" and "ashmurot" [watches]. He said, as it were: You held and grasped the watches of my eyes, so that they would remain awake continually, and I would not sleep, from the abundance of the troubles of my heart. "I am troubled and cannot speak" — I am awake at night thinking about my troubles, and in the morning I am broken and unable to speak.

"You hold" — Because of the greatness of my grief I cannot sleep, as though You held fast the coverings of the eyes that guard them from dust, so that I am unable to close them the way a sleeper does. "I am troubled/stricken" — I am broken and stricken so that I cannot speak.

"I am troubled" — an expression of breaking and striking, as in "and his spirit was troubled" (Genesis 41:8); and it is from the language of "bell" (pa'amon), which rattles and strikes.

"You held" — he portrays that from this great weakness he arrived at the gates of death and is dying, to the point that "the watches of my eyes" — the eyelids that guard the eyes — were seized and shut, and also "my spirit was overwhelmed," until "I could not speak" any longer — like one dying at the moment the soul departs, who ceases to see and to speak.

"I think of the days of yore" — to remember the kind acts that You performed for our forefathers.

"I have pondered (chishavti)" — from the root of "cheshbon" (calculation/reckoning) and dividing matters in the thought of the heart. "Olamim" (ages/times) — that have passed; for the sense is doubled, and "olamim" is like "times."

"I have considered" — while I am still amid my troubles in exile, I consider the days of old. "The years of ancient times" — a repetition of the matter in different words; and "olamim" means long spans of time.

"I have pondered" — I think about the good days I had in ancient times. "The years of ancient times" — This repeats the same idea in different words.

"I thought" — in this depiction, in which he portrays himself as though dying with his soul close to departing: then one going the way of all the earth, his thoughts wander in the final moment over all that has passed over him in the days of his life. So too he likens the nation as a whole, that it is close to becoming nothing, as though it never was — that is, the expiring and nullification of the general body of the nation — and it thinks, in its final moment, of what passed over it "in the days of old," in Egypt, and afterward "in the generations of ages past." "I remember my music in the night" — that there still remains with me the melodies and songs, a memory of the miracles that passed and the greatness of the people and their success in the days of old. "And I mused with my heart" — why has the sun of my success set? "And my spirit searched" — and investigated every possible angle, whether it could be imagined that Hashem would abandon [the nation] and remove it from being a people before Him; and after the search and investigation, he establishes with arguments that this is a thing impossible according to the nature of the Godhead.

"I recall my music at night" — In the days of this exile, which is like night, I remember my melodies that I used to play in days of yore in the Temple. "I speak with my heart" — I think, and my spirit searches [to ascertain] what is the manner of the Holy One, blessed be He, and I wonder: will He forsake [me] forever?

"I will call to remembrance (ezkerah)" — a hint that he used to play music at night; or [the phrase is] "balailah ezkerah" ("in the night I will call to remembrance"), meaning that I used to play music in ancient days to serve Hashem, in the manner of "I will awaken the dawn." "And my spirit searches" — it [my spirit] is the one doing the searching, and it is connected with what comes after it, namely "la'olamim" ("for the ages"); and the object [of the search] is missing, and it is "me" [i.e., my spirit searches me].

"I will call to mind my song" — I recall that after the exile in Egypt I used to make music and rejoice; and I think about this at night, and converse about it with my heart. "And my spirit searched diligently" — a repetition of the matter in different words, for "my spirit" is like "my heart," in which resides the spirit of thought; and it is that which searches out matters in thought — and this is what I converse about with my heart.

"In the night" — That is the time when a person's thoughts are free [unoccupied], and then I remember what I used to sing/play in the Temple, and I speak with my heart, and my spirit searches to know what the end of the matter will be.

"Makes diligent search" — an expression of investigation.

"Will Hashem cast off forever" — His people, in exile, forever? "And will He add no more [favor]" — as He once favored Israel in times past?

"Will it be forever" — Will Hashem forsake me forever, and will He no longer be pleased with me as He was in days of old?

"Cast off" — an expression of abandonment. "Be favorable" — from the language of "favor."

"Will it be forever" — Argument one: this is a thing impossible from the side of the divine will. For since He has already once desired us, how could He change from desiring to not desiring? And Hashem does not change; therefore His will must still stand as it did at first — except that there was a condition in His will, that He desired us so long as we improve our deeds. Thus, if we return to walk in the way of the good, His will stands toward us for good, as at first, without change. And this is what it says: "Will Hashem cast off forever, and will He continue to be favorable no more?" — for is it possible that the casting off would be forever, on condition that He would never again be favorable? This is impossible; rather, He cast off on condition that He would return and be favorable to us if we improve our deeds. (Argument two) — from the side of the supernal kindness: since Hashem's kindness is not dependent on anything and cannot be exhausted, he therefore asks, "Has His kindness ceased forever?" (Argument three) — from the side of the truth of His promise: since He promised us that we would be a people to Him, could it then be that "His word has come to an end" — that this promise has come to an end "for all generations"? Was the promise only for particular generations, such that one could say the generations have ended and been exhausted, and the promise and the word have ended? Surely the promise was forever. (Argument four) — from the side of His graciousness: since we already once found favor in His eyes, then "has God forgotten to be gracious"? It is impossible that He should forget this graciousness; for even though we are not worthy now, surely we found favor in the days of old, as it is written, "I remember for you the kindness of your youth." (Argument five) — from the side of His mercy, in His looking upon our condition and our distress: could it be that "in anger He has shut up His mercies"? Surely it is His way to show mercy. Now here he has enumerated five attributes of mercy: "Merciful" — corresponding to "has He in anger shut up His mercies"; "and Gracious" — "has God forgotten to be gracious"; "Slow to anger" — "will He cast off forever"; "and Abundant in kindness" — "has His kindness ceased forever"; "and Truth" — "His word has come to an end." And also, within the substance of the statement, he clarifies straightforward arguments: that Hashem's forsaking us could be conceived only through a change in His will — and so it says, "will He continue to be favorable no more" — or through a change in His capacity — and so it says, "has His kindness ceased," "His word has come to an end," meaning one might say the kindness and the truth have ceased and come to an end because He no longer has the capacity — or on account of forgetfulness — and so it says, "has He forgotten" — or on account of anger — and so it says, "if in anger He has shut up." "Selah" — with this he concludes all the arguments and lines of inquiry that arose in his thought, and from this he proves that this forsaking was not on His part but on ours. Therefore, "and I said" — I resolved in my mind — that "my sickness is that the years of the right hand of the Most High [have changed]": for in truth the right hand of the Most High, which performed wonders in the days of old, has not changed; and what seemed to me to be a change in the right hand of the Most High — the cause of this is my sickness, my illness. For the poet portrayed the nation's illness in the words "my hand streamed in the night and did not cease" — as though its left hand had a fresh wound continually streaming. And in this image, in which he portrays that Hashem always stands facing us to save us, the right hand of the Most High is directed opposite our left hand, in which the wound is. And when the right hand of the Most High performed wonders, it would clothe itself, as it were, in our left hand, for it acted through our hand and for our sake. And it is necessary that our left hand, which receives strength from the right hand of the Most High, be healthy and strong and ready, so that the right hand of Hashem might work valiantly through it — not if it is sick and streaming from its wound. And since I am sick and my hand is faint, it seemed to me that the right hand of the Most High, which is directed opposite our sick hand, had changed. But this is a mistake, for the cause of the change is the sickness of our hand, not a change in the right hand of the Most High — as he will go on to explain.

"Has...ended forever" — Perhaps His kind acts have ended? "Has He issued a decree" — a perpetual decree that He will never again repent of His anger?

"Is it ended (ha'afes)" — like: "ki afes kasef" ("for the money is gone"). Rabbi Moshe said: that "gamar omer" ("His word has ended") is like [saying]: "if His comforts have ended and passed." But in my opinion: "gamar omer" means that He has decreed/declared that He will forsake me forever.

"Has it ceased" — has His kindness that was for Israel come to an end forever, such that He no longer commands His kindness toward them? "Has [His] word come to an end" — have the words of His consolations ended and ceased, such that they are not destined to come again?

"Has it ceased" — Has His kindness ended forever, and has He exhausted the words of comfort for generation after generation — that is to say, will the comforts forever come to an end, never to be fulfilled?

"Clean gone" — an expression of ending, as in "the money is at an end" (Genesis 47). "Come to an end" — an expression of completion.

"Has...forgotten to be gracious" — Heb. חנות, to be gracious, like עשוֹת, to do; ראוֹת, to see. Another explanation: חנות means gracious acts. "Has He, in anger, shut off His mercy forever" — Heb. קפץ, an expression of (Deut. 15:7): “and do not close (תקפץ) your hand,” i.e., has He shut off the mercy forever because of the anger?

"Has He forgotten to be gracious (chanot)?" — [this is] a noun, and in its full form it would be "chaninot" (gracious acts); and the sense is from the root of "chanun" (gracious), and "chanun" is the object of the word "shakhach" (He has forgotten). Likewise, "rachamav" (His mercies) is the object of the word "kafatz" (He has shut up).

"Has [God] forgotten" — has He forgotten the grace and compassion that He was accustomed to show? "Has He in anger shut up His compassions" — has He, in His anger, closed up His compassions, so that they will never again open to us?

"Has He forgotten" — Has Hashem forgotten to be gracious to us, and because of the anger that burned against us has He shut up His mercies forever? [This is phrased as a rhetorical question.]

"To be gracious" — from the language of "graciousness." "Shut up" — an expression of closing, as in "you shall not shut your hand" (Deuteronomy 15:7).

"And I said, “This is to terrify me”" — My thoughts tell me, “This is only to terrify me and frighten me into returning to Him.” "to terrify me" — Heb. חלותי, like לחלוֹתי, to terrify me, an expression of sickness and terror. "the change of the right hand of the Most High" — How the right hand of the Most High changed. It was mighty with strength and now He has withdrawn His right hand.

"And I said" — Rabbi Moshe said: "challoti" is from the root of [the phrase] "asher chalah Hashem bah" ("which Hashem has made sick"), like "anotai" ("my affliction"); and the interpretation of "shenot" is from the root of "shenat olam" ("eternal sleep"). But this is far-fetched in my eyes, for how could the right hand — which is the arm — sleep? And others say: that "shenot" is like "hishtanut" (changing), from the root of [the phrase] "shonot mikol am" ("different from every people"). And the sense of "yamin elyon" ("right hand of the Most High") is that the right hand is the one that wages war; and the sense is: that I was made weak/sick because the arm changed, so that its strength would not be seen in our exile. And others say: that "challoti" is from the root of [the phrase] "rabim yechalu penei nadiv" ("many entreat the favor of a generous man"), like "my prayer"; and this grammatical pattern, in this sense, is not found anywhere else in Scripture except with the word "panim" (face). But in my opinion: this [word "challoti"] alludes to the word "chishavti" ("I have pondered"); for indeed, I pondered a thought, and it made me weak/sick, and it is the thought of "the change of the right hand of the Most High," just as he mentioned [earlier] "the years of ancient times."

"My weakness" [challoti] — a noun on the pattern of "chanot," from the root ח-ל-ל; and its meaning is as if to say: my death is this exile, and I shall never leave it, and there I shall die. "The years of the right hand of the Most High" — I will remember the years that have passed, when God, may He be blessed, aroused His right hand and brought us out of the exile of Egypt; so too will He bring us out of this exile. And the word "I will remember" [ezkor], which is [also] the beginning of the next verse, applies in sense both to what precedes it and to what follows it.

"And I say" — I answer my own words to myself: this is nothing but [meant] to bring upon me terror and trembling, so that I should turn back from my sin; and because of this there was a change in the right hand of the Most High from what it had been formerly — glorious in power, crushing the enemy.

"My weakness" — from the language of "trembling and shaking." "Could change" — change, alteration.

"I will remember," "Your wonders" — this is connected with the word "mikedem" ("of old"), not with "ezkerah" ("I will call to remembrance").

"I will mention" [azkir] — written with a yod, meaning "I will recount to others"; but read as "ezkor," with a vav, meaning: when I remember the deeds of Hashem, I am comforted. "For I will remember Your wonders of old" — the wonders that You performed of old in Egypt. When I remember those wonders that You performed of old to bring us out of Egypt — wonders the like of which never entered any man's heart, comparable to the wonders that the Holy One, blessed be He, will yet perform for the sake of Israel — then, just as He performed those wonders after despair and the loss of hope, so will He act with us in this exile.

"I will remember" — For I will remember the deeds of Hashem, whose hand has never been too short [to save]. "Your wonders of old" — The wonders that You performed for me in ancient days.

"I will make mention" — that is to say, he will inquire into "the deeds of Hashem," for the category of "deeds" consists of the actions that emerge through the traits of the soul and its attributes; and with respect to Hashem, it refers to the actions He performs by virtue of His own attributes — for mercy, graciousness, and kindness, or to punish, and the like. Now, the deeds of Hashem divide into two: first, the deeds that He conducts according to the fixed laws of nature established from the six days of creation; second, the deeds that He performs by way of miracle, wonder, and the breaking and overturning of nature. Therefore he first said, "I will call to mind the deeds of Hashem, for I will remember Your wonders of old" — these are the deeds He performs through miraculous governance. And this is the second: "I will meditate on all Your work" — these are the actions He performs according to nature, following the order and laws He fixed at the time of creation. "And I will speak of Your doings" — I will speak of and inquire into Your attributes as they operate through this [natural] governance. Now, according to natural governance we see that His attribute is that His actions have a fixed nature, enduring forever and never changing; but according to His attributes in miraculous governance we see that His way is to break the fixed order of governance and to conduct a governance that is not permanent, for the miracle lasts only for a time. But in truth, the divine act, by virtue of its perfection, ought to be complete, well-ordered, and fixed in the utmost perfection, such that it would never need to be broken or nullified — for it is a condition of a wise craftsman that his workmanship be complete, never requiring him to break it and repair it, since that would indicate that he found some flaw in his work. If so, it is difficult to conceive how it could be that Hashem sometimes overturns the laws of nature, as though He had not completed His work in every respect and needed to repair, alter, and demolish it. However, the answer is clear: from the perspective of the Maker and Builder Himself, blessed be He, there was never any possibility that He would sometimes change the order of workmanship that He fixed in the days of creation, for His workmanship is arranged and preserved in the utmost wisdom, sufficient to conduct the governance of the world forever. Rather, the need for miracle arises only on account of man, who possesses free choice, and who sometimes disrupts the order by his choice, since he was granted license [to do so]; and then the Maker must repair His work as necessary, in response to the deeds of those who possess free choice. And so it says: "God, Your way is in holiness" — Your way, in and of itself, is in holiness (for holiness indicates that it is set apart from everything, and that it proceeds according to fixed, all-encompassing laws); "for who is a great God like God" — for the category of greatness means that from Him emerge all effects down to the very last of causes, so that it is impossible that Your deeds should ever require repair by way of miracle, wonder, or the nullification of the orders of nature, since there is no effect or cause apart from You, and everything is bound up in You from the first of causes to the last of effects. Rather, "You" — that is, that "You are the God who performs wonders," whereby You alter the fixed laws — this is for the sake of those who possess free choice. First, because thereby "You made known Your strength among the peoples" — so that the nations, who attribute everything to nature, will recognize through the wonder Your strength, that it is in Your power to overturn nature and change it. Second, because thereby "You redeemed Your people with Your arm" — accordingly it becomes clear that the purpose of the wonders is for our sake, not on account of God's own essence and perfection. And therefore, because of my sickness — that my hand has become drained — and since I am not prepared to receive the wonders, Hashem does not lift up His right hand to perform signs and wonders. "Selah" — the conclusion of the matter.

"And I meditate over all Your works" — that You have already done for us.

"And I will meditate" — I remembered the deeds that You performed, and I meditated on them, so as to comfort, through them, one man to his brother. "On all" — meaning: among all the mighty works that You performed in Egypt, and at the splitting of the Sea of Reeds, and at the standing at Mount Sinai, and in the wilderness. "And Your work" [ufo'olecha] — written defectively, lacking the yod of the plural. "And Your doings" — a repetition of the matter in different words.

"And I will meditate" — I think about all Your deeds, and I speak of them, and they serve to restore my soul.

"I will meditate" — an expression of thought. "Muse" — an expression of speech and utterance.

"Your way is in sanctity" — Your manner is to sanctify Your name in the world, to execute justice upon the wicked.

"O God" — in the manner of "ne'dar bakodesh" ("glorious in holiness"), because of Your ways which we see in the heavens forever; for who is a god as great as You?

"God" — it is possible to explain "in holiness" as referring to the standing at Mount Sinai, as it is said, "...among them, at Sinai, in holiness" — meaning: when His glory descended upon Mount Sinai, all Israel said, "Who is a great God like God?"

"God" — You are God; behold, I know that Your way is to sanctify Your name by executing judgment upon the wicked; I also know that there is no god as great as God, who has the power in His hand to forgive [wipe away transgression] rather than to take vengeance.

'You' — The meaning is that You perform wonders that are hidden from human eyes, and also wonders that are seen; and this [latter kind] is [the meaning of] 'You have made known Your strength among the peoples.'

"You" — He is truly capable, for You performed wonders at the standing at Mount Sinai. Also, "You have made known Your strength among the peoples" — for the sake of Israel, in Egypt and against the kings of Canaan.

"You are the God" — and not another. "You have made known" — You publicized Your strength among the nations.

'You redeemed,' 'Your people' — this [i.e., 'Your people'] is the object [of the verb], as if it were written: 'You redeemed Your people with an outstretched arm.' And the reason for mentioning Joseph together with Jacob is that he [Joseph] sustained Israel alive, as it is written, 'from there, the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel' (Genesis 49:24). And the meaning is that in the merit of Jacob and Joseph You redeemed their descendants — and similarly also, 'the seed of Jacob, and David My servant, will I cast away... than that I should take rulers from his seed' (Jeremiah 33:26), the meaning being one who is among the noble/generous descendants; and the proof is that it says, 'than that I should take rulers from his seed.' And one who says that 'Jacob' [here] stands for 'Aaron' has not spoken correctly.

"You redeemed" — Your people, not by the consent of those who enslaved them, but with great force and an outstretched arm You redeemed them. And it says, "the sons of Jacob and Joseph" — for it was on account of Joseph that they went down to Egypt, and he sustained them all the days of his life, as though they were his own sons.

"With Your arm" — With the strength of Your arm You redeemed Your people from Egypt. "The sons of Jacob and Joseph" — For Jacob fathered them and Joseph sustained them during the famine; therefore they are called after both of them. "Selah" — That is to say, a complete redemption forever, and they never again returned to be enslaved among them [the nations].

"The waters perceived You" — [The] mighty [waters perceived You] when You were revealed by the sea.

'They saw You' — According to Rabbi Moshe [ha-Kohen], this alludes to the time when Hashem drove back the sea with a strong east wind. But in my opinion, it speaks of the time [described in], 'and the sea returned to its strength when morning appeared' (Exodus 14:27), for [the phrase] 'Your way was in the sea' speaks of the time [the sea parted] for Israel's sake, as I explained regarding the phrase 'and the children of Israel walked on dry land' (Exodus 14:22, 29), which is stated twice; and likewise from the [Song at the] Sea is the verse, 'for the horses of Pharaoh went in [with his chariots and his horsemen into the sea]' (Exodus 15:19).

"The waters saw You" — the Sea of Reeds saw You and writhed before You and split. "The depths also trembled" — even the deep waters, which are the depths, trembled before You and split.

"The waters saw You" — When the waters of the sea saw You, they writhed and trembled and recoiled in their place. "The depths" — The depth of the waters raged and feared; and the matter is repeated in different words.

"Trembled" — they quaked; an expression of shuddering and shaking. "The depths" — the depth of the sea.

"They saw You" — the sense of the verse is: "The waters saw You — that You are God; the waters saw You — that You are water! They were in pain." He portrays, in his figurative language, that God revealed Himself to the waters in the form of water — for since Hashem is the very source of all existing things, and the root of every existing thing is found within Him, all existing things are therefore nullified before Him. In this way he depicts that at the time He wishes to nullify the nature of some existing thing, He reveals Himself to it in its root power, the power by which that existing thing continues to exist: at the time He wishes to nullify the power of fire, He reveals Himself in the root power of fire, in the form of fire, and then "Hashem your God is a devouring fire" — for the particular nature is nullified through the revelation of the whole. At the time He wished to nullify the nature of water, He clothed Himself in the form of the root waters, the source from which the existence of water comes. And so it says that through "the waters seeing You, God," in the form of elemental water, "and seeing that You are water," thereby "they were in pain, and the depths also trembled."

"They poured forth thick waters" — The skies poured forth a stream of thick waters. "Your arrows" — Heb. חצציך, like חִצֶיךָ.

'They poured forth' — because of fire and cloud. 'Your arrows' — these are the lightning bolts, and this refers to the pillar of fire, for '[the] thick clouds' (avot) is like 'in the cloud' [i.e., the pillar of cloud]. And the word 'zoremu' [they poured forth] follows the pattern of 'ki gorashu' [for they were driven out] (Exodus 12:39). And some say it is from the root 'zerem' [flood/storm]; or, according to the sense of the passage, 'Your arrows' are like a falling fire whose scent kills.

"[The clouds] poured forth" [zoremu] — from the pu'al pattern, in a quadriliteral form, from the sense of "the flow (zerem) of water" — indeed, the waters poured forth. And what was the tumult that they experienced? For they had the fire, the cloud, the water, and the thunders, as it says: "The skies gave forth a sound; Your arrows also went abroad" — the stones of the river [hailstones], even though this is not mentioned in the Torah.

"The clouds poured forth waters" — The clouds dripped water like a torrent when they [Israel] crossed through the sea, to confound the Egyptians. "A sound" — This is the sound of thunder. "Your arrows" — These are the lightning bolts, which are the arrows of the Omnipresent.

"Flooded forth" — an expression of the surging of water, as in "from the flood of the mountains" (Job 24). "The clouds" — clouds, as in "a swift cloud" (Isaiah 19). "The skies" — the firmaments. "Your arrows" — from the language of "arrow."

"They flowed" — he depicts that the splitting of the sea's waters below came about through the revelation of this same nature at its root above, from which the miracle originates — as it is written, "the waters saw You... the waters saw You" [see the preceding comment]. Accordingly, he depicts that the splitting of the waters in the sea below descended in a chain from the splitting of the waters in the clouds within the cycle of respiration [the atmospheric water-cycle]: just as the waters are split in the thick cloud and the cloud through wind, thunder, and lightning, so were they split and divided in the depths below. He then further depicts the actions that occur in the thick clouds and clouds of the cycle of respiration, which extend and descend from ever higher above them — proceeding in a chain from the splitting and dividing of upper clouds that lie above the natural clouds in the heavens, [descending] only from the clouds that are in the sheḥakim (it has been explained elsewhere by us that the term sheḥakim always designates the place higher than the heavens, where nature and the natural order cease, for that is the place of wonders, miracle, and providence). And it is as if, through the thunder and lightning and splitting of clouds in the upper sheḥakim, there occurred thunder and lightning and the splitting of clouds among the lower vapors that are in the natural firmament; and through the splitting of the clouds and waters in the firmament, all the waters of the sea and the waters of the great deep were split. This is a wondrous figure of speech, depicting that everything descended in a chain from the higher, miraculous governance whose root is in the sheḥakim — from which it descended to the heavens to clothe itself in the orders of nature, and from there, when necessary, it is transformed — like clay under a seal — from nature to miracle, so that providence and wonder are transformed into nature, and then nature is transformed once more and becomes a wonder. And so it first says, "The thick clouds flowed with water" — the high, thick clouds flowed with water in great abundance, since the upper clouds were split open; and this came about through the upper, miraculous thunder and lightning. Of the miraculous thunder it says, "the skies gave forth a sound," and of the miraculous lightning it says, "indeed, Your arrows went abroad." Afterward it descended, proceeding in a chain from the miracle to nature: from the sound of the thunder in the sheḥakim there descended, in a chain, "the sound of Your thunder in the wheel" — the lower wheel that is in our own firmament (so that even this sound is called "the sound of Your thunder," because it descended in a chain from the upper thunder that comes from You). Likewise, from Your upper arrows and lightning-flashes, the lightning-flashes below descended in a chain, through which "the lightnings lit up the world" (as if they were only the illumination and revelation of the upper arrows and lightning-flashes); and thereby "the earth trembled and quaked" below. And thereby, "Your way was in the sea" — Your great way — "and Your path" — Your singular path — was seen "in many waters," whereby all that happens in the sea, both in general and in particular, is from You — even though "Your footsteps were not known"; it is all the work of the Creator of the beginning. From this you may understand what our Sages said in the Mekhilta (parashat Beshalach) concerning the splitting of the Sea of Reeds: that at the time Moses prayed, the Holy One, blessed be He, showed him the legions (turmoi) of the ministering angels standing before them, as it is said, "Out of the brightness before Him, His thick clouds passed, hail and coals of fire." And it says further there: And from where do you say that even the upper and lower waters were split? As it is said, "The waters saw You, God; the waters saw You, they were in pain" — these are the upper waters; "the depths also trembled" — these are the lower waters. Rabbi Natan says: From the sound of the thunder above, the channels below burst forth, as it is said, "the sound of Your thunder was in the wheel." And this is to be understood in light of what has been said.

"like a wheel" — Heb. בגלגל, like כגלגל. The sound of Your thunder [rolled] like a wheel on the sea to confuse the camp of the Egyptians.

'The voice' — Do not be puzzled that he mentions 'in the wheel' [i.e., 'whirlwind'], for the thunders are not [literally] in a wheel; rather, it is because it [the sound] is in the air, which rolls/rotates.

"In the whirlwind" [galgal] — with a patach under both the first and second gimel. And the heavens — each one of the nine [spheres] is called a "galgal," because they revolve and turn continually. And even though the thunder, the lightning, the hailstones, and the hail are not actually in the celestial sphere but rather in the air, the air is called, by borrowed usage, "galgal," because of its height toward the heavens; while the air, in its true designation, is called "raki'a" [firmament], as it says, "Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters," and it is called "shamayim" [heaven], as it is written, "And God called the firmament Heaven." "The lightnings lit up the world" — as it is written, "and it lit up the night." "The earth trembled and shook" — for Egypt trembled and shook.

"In the wheel" — The sound of thunder came into the wheels of Pharaoh's chariots, as it is written, "and He took off their chariot wheels" (Exodus 14:25). "Lit up" — The lightning bolts were so great that they illuminated the whole world, and the whole earth quaked and trembled.

"In the whirlwind" — the wheel of the cart.

"and Your steps were not known" — The steps are not recognizable on the water. [The word] ועקבותיךָ means trazes in Old French, footprints.

'In the sea' — Hashem showed a path through the sea for the redeemed to cross. And the meaning of 'and Your footsteps' is that the sea immediately returned to its former strength [so that no trace of the path remained].

"In the sea" — for the sea split at Your command, and Israel passed through. "And Your path in the great waters" — a repetition of the matter in different words; and it is written "Your paths" in the plural, for there was not one path but many paths, as it is written, "to Him who split the Sea of Reeds into pieces" — and they said it was split into twelve pieces. "And Your footsteps were not known" — Your movements in the sea were not discernible, for the waters of the sea returned upon the Egyptians, and thus the path was no longer visible in the sea.

"Your way was in the sea" — You made Your way through the sea. "And Your path" — The matter is repeated in different words. "Were not known" — The track of footprints was not discernible, for the sea immediately returned to its full strength to cover over the Egyptians.

"And Your path" — an expression of a highway and a road. "And Your footsteps" — the heel of the foot.

'You led' — According to Rabbi Moshe, this refers to the time of crossing the sea, in the manner of [an animal that] goes down into a valley. But it is also possible that it refers to their being led through the wilderness, as in 'You led (nachita) in Your lovingkindness' (Exodus 15:13). And Moses and Aaron are the ones who brought the people out of Egypt, with Moses [named] before Aaron because of the greatness of his level of prophecy.

"You led" — after they came out of the sea, You led them in the wilderness by the hand of Moses and Aaron, just as a shepherd leads and guards his flock.

"You led like a flock" — Just as a shepherd leads the flock, so You led Your people by the hand of Moses and Aaron. (And this returns to the beginning of the matter — to say that when I remember all these things, I will know that it was not because His hand was too short that He did not redeem us [now], but rather to arouse our hearts to repentance.)

"You led" — You guided.