Chapter 134 is the final Psalm of Ascents, containing a mere three verses - yet the Malbim notes that in this song, David "established a wondrous cornerstone upon the foundations of faith." A "corner" (pinah) denotes a foundation and a matter of supreme importance, as in the liturgical phrase "the corners of the hosts who exalt the Almighty" (referring to army commanders), and as in, "The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone." Why is the corner specifically so crucial? Because at the corner of a wall, where two walls meet at a right angle, builders would place the strongest and finest stone, which binds the two walls together and prevents them from separating. Therefore, the "cornerstone" is paramount. And here, in just three verses, lies a cornerstone of faith: how human deeds down below draw down Divine abundance (shefa) from Above.
שִׁיר הַמַּעֲלוֹת הִנֵּה בָּרְכוּ אֶת־יְהֹוָה כׇּל־עַבְדֵי יְהֹוָה הָעֹמְדִים בְּבֵית־יְהֹוָה בַּלֵּילוֹת׃ - A song of ascents: Behold, bless Hashem, all you servants of Hashem, who stand in the House of Hashem in the nights.
The Radak explains: When Hashem commands blessing upon you - as seen in the previous psalm, where the Holy One, blessed be He, bestows blessing "like the dew of Chermon descending upon the mountains of Zion, for there Hashem commanded the blessing, life forevermore" - then you, too, should bless Him through the praise you utter, each person according to his level of comprehension. This is why the verse states "all you servants of Hashem": both the sages and the pious who stand in the House of Hashem in the nights, and the common folk who come to pray before Him. All of them should praise, laud, bless, and thank Hashem for the blessing He bestows upon them.
The Malbim explains: The supernal source whose waters never fail - the divine spiritual flow - multiplies and is blessed through the deeds of those below. Anyone who has studied Nefesh HaChaim knows that everything done in this world is in the category of "ascribe strength to God" - it arouses the flow within the supernal sefirot, and that is what pours the abundance down here below. Conversely, if, heaven forbid, there are sins and spiritual blemishes, they puncture the upper channels of abundance, and through those perforations the Sitra Achra (the other side) and the kelipah (the husk) siphon off the flow, redirecting it to them instead of to us - in the sense of "a maidservant when she displaces her mistress."
The Holy One, blessed be He, bestows goodness upon the good and pours abundance upon those who are prepared, and whoever is worthy receives it. When a generation is unworthy of receiving this flow, the spring becomes muddied and the source corrupted, and the channels of abundance do not pour forth their blessing. This is the inner meaning of the blessing that Israel confers upon Hashem: through our good deeds, the Holy One, blessed be He, as it were, fills the supernal reservoir (bereikhah) - echoing the words recited in the Friday night Kiddush, flow from the supernal reservoir. The Kabbalists speak of this extensively: there is an aspect of a supernal reservoir that serves as the fountainhead of abundance, and from there we draw and pour downward through our actions, our prayers, and our Torah study.
The essence of shefa (abundance) is increase, which is why it is called berachah (blessing), related to bereikhah (reservoir) - something that multiplies from within itself and overflows. It has been explained previously why these letters specifically express increase: If we examine the single units, Alef (1) is the first, while Beit (2) doubles it. From that point on, every addition represents a diminishing ratio: Gimel (3) adds only one-third to Beit, Dalet (4) adds only a quarter to Gimel, and Hei (5) adds only a fifth to Dalet. The letter representing the greatest increase is the leap from Alef to Beit - doubling. The same is true in the tens: Yud (10), Kaf (20), Lamed (30), Mem (40) - the doubling occurs from Yud to Kaf (from 10 to 20), whereas Lamed adds only one-third to Kaf, and Mem only a quarter. Likewise in the hundreds: Kuf (100), Reish (200), Shin (300), Tav (400) - the doubling occurs from Kuf to Reish, whereas Shin adds only one-third to Reish. Thus, the letters representing the greatest doubling are Beit, Kaf, and Reish - the root letters of Baruch (bless). In blessing, we expand the Divine flow to the highest degree, by doubling it.
Based on this, the Vilna Gaon (Gra) explains the term bechor (firstborn): the letters Beit, Kaf, and Reish are the letters of doubling, which is why the one who inherits a double portion is called by this name - every other heir receives one portion, while the firstborn receives a double share. The letter Vav in the word is an addition, while the core letters are Beit, Kaf, and Reish, which signify the concept of increase.
And this is the meaning of our praying and blessing Hashem: through good deeds and prayers, the Holy One, blessed be He, so to speak, fills the upper pool, and it pours out the waters of chesed upon us. But when Israel corrupts their deeds - "the water channels have dried up, and a river shall be parched and dry" - they cause dryness in the spiritual forces on High. As Chazal said, Israel adds strength to the Gevurah on High and to the Heavenly retinue. Blessing is a Heavenly need, and prayer is a Heavenly need, for they add shefa to the upper worlds. This is also what the Malbim wrote in his work Artzot HaChayim regarding the meaning of the word baruch, bringing several proofs. And this is also what we say: "Baruch Atah Hashem" - that He is the Source of blessing, the Source of shefa, the upper pool from which the shefa descends to here by virtue of our deeds.
Therefore, Chazal said that one who does not recite a blessing robs the Holy One, blessed be He, and the Community of Israel: he blocks the conduits of shefa, and the bounty ceases to descend upon Klal Yisrael. From this one must also realize that there is no reason to be frightened by those who threaten, protest, and present themselves as the ones keeping the economy afloat - they are not the conduits of shefa; they are the ones who block the conduits of shefa. Outwardly it may seem that they bring the money and the investments, but this is an illusion. It is like Zevulun imagining that the bounty comes from him, when in reality it comes in the merit of Yissachar. "Chanina, My son, is satisfied with a kav of carobs" - yet he sustains the entire world. And this person who ostensibly supports and helps, and is convinced that everything comes from him - from where do you have it? If you have anything, it is in the merit of that avrech, in the merit of that ben Torah. You live under the illusion that you are the provider and giver; the shefa here exists in the merit of the bnei Torah, and this is the sustenance of the world. And if you failed to recite a blessing, you robbed the shefa from Klal Yisrael.
The Malbim explains: "Behold, bless Hashem" - give blessing to the Holy One, blessed be He, over the upper springs and the lower springs. This is a poetic expression referring to water reservoirs, the upper sources of shefa that flow down below as well. And how? Through good deeds. And who performs them? "All servants of Hashem who stand in the house of Hashem in the nights" - you are like faithful servants who serve Hashem day and night. The emphasis on "in the nights" does not mean at night and not by day, but rather that they stand in the House of Hashem during the nights as well, meaning "he departed not out of the Tent" at all, never leaving their post for a moment. And in doing so you bless Hashem - drawing down the shefa and lowering it from Above, giving strength to God through your deeds and diligence.
And in Midrash Shocher Tov this is stated explicitly: "'Who stand in the house of Hashem in the nights' - these are talmidei chachamim who engage in Torah at night; Scripture considers it as if they are engaged in the Avodah." A person is not physically in the House of Hashem - he sits in the kollel or studies at home - and Scripture says to him: It is as if you are in the House of Hashem, as if you are performing the service in the Beit HaMikdash. The Midrash adds: These are talmidei chachamim who engage in the laws of the Temple service; I consider it for them as if the Beit HaMikdash were rebuilt in their days. Whoever engages in the laws of the Avodah and the laws of the korbanot, it is as if the Beit HaMikdash were built in his days and as if he offered sacrifices.
And we must understand: the fact that sustenance and resources arrive through people who are far from mitzvot is to our disadvantage. The shefa will always descend, and the Holy One, blessed be He, promised, "For it shall not be forgotten from the mouth of his seed." There is no possibility that the voice of Torah will fall silent; it has never happened throughout the generations and it will never happen. There is a guarantee: this Torah shall not be replaced, and the Torah will not be forgotten. The only question is who will merit to support it. Whoever does not merit it will prefer the luxuries of abroad; and whoever remains here and supports it, it is a sign that he still possesses some merit, perhaps the merit of the forefathers, perhaps in the merit of his ancestors who perished in the Holocaust, and he still retains a connection to the Torah such that he supports and gives. Sometimes this happens unwittingly and even against his will, while he might even protest against those whose Torah study is sustained in part by his money. But in any case, this shefa will never cease, for the Holy One, blessed be He, has promised that the Torah will endure forever.
Therefore, in his day, when the debate arose over whether to introduce secular studies into the Volozhin Yeshiva, the Netziv stood up and declared: We are handing back the keys. Close the yeshiva, but secular studies will not enter, for this is not the character of a yeshiva. And what will become of the Torah? Our duty is to transmit the Torah to future generations in its purity, and concerning its very existence we have a promise: "It shall not be forgotten from the mouth of his seed." The Holy One, blessed be He, will ensure that it continues; there is no need for schemes and clever maneuvers to preserve it - you are not the one who preserves it, but rather the Holy One, blessed be He, and your duty is simply to do what is required of you. And the Chafetz Chaim remarked: In retrospect, one can see how this proved itself. In those days, there was Volozhin and one other yeshiva. When Volozhin closed, the immense shefa that had converged upon it could no longer go there, so countless yeshivot opened across Europe, and that shefa produced an enormous multiplication of Torah everywhere. Because there is a promise. Our duty is to preserve the Torah in its purity and do what is required, but to say, "From him I live, and from him I make my livelihood" - no. I am sustained by the Holy One, blessed be He, and He has many ways to provide a livelihood. And if we receive sustenance through those who have no appreciation for Torah or even disdain it, this is merely a reflection of the diminished spiritual state in which we find ourselves; but the Torah will not be forgotten, and livelihood will always be provided under all circumstances.
שְׂאוּ־יְדֵכֶם קֹדֶשׁ וּבָרְכוּ אֶת־יְהֹוָה׃ - Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless Hashem.
This seems to be an expression we are accustomed to, but what does it mean - are the hands themselves holy? The Radak explains: it means in the holy place - lift up your hands in the holy place. And for what purpose? One explanation is that this refers to Birkat Kohanim, where the Kohanim raise their hands to bless the people in the holy place. A second explanation is that this does not refer specifically to Kohanim, but to all of Israel who raise their hands in prayer, as in the verse, "Let us lift up our heart with our hands to God in heaven" - lifting up our heart together with our hands; and similarly, "When I lift up my hands toward Your holy sanctuary," and "I spread out my hands to You." The expression of prayer is a person spreading out his hands, as though extending his hands to the Master of the Universe. And a third explanation in the Radak: "Lift up your hands in holiness" - toward the holy place, as in the phrase "toward Your holy sanctuary." Just as we pray facing the Beit HaMikdash, so too, lift your hands toward the sanctuary, so that the direction of your face and hands will be toward it at the time of prayer.
The Malbim describes this in the manner of people who raise their hands and place them upon the head of the person receiving the blessing - like someone placing his hand on the head of a youth and blessing him, or like Aharon, of whom it is said, "And Aharon lifted his hands toward the people and blessed them." However, the verse is telling us: do not lift physical hands alone, but holy hands. The Malbim describes holiness as an abstract reality, an abstract substance: holiness raises its hands upward and blesses Hashem in holiness, to the Holy of Holies.
This idea parallels what the Malbim wrote on the passage, "You shall be holy, for I, Hashem your God, am holy." What does the demand to be holy actually mean? Being holy means elevating oneself above physical matter, above nature. When a person simply does whatever he feels like doing, he is acting according to nature, for nature consists of desires, pleasures, and physical impulses; one who merely flows with nature will not sanctify himself. Holiness means rising above nature. And the Holy One, blessed be He, says: You shall be holy, for I am holy - I am exalted above nature, and nature is subservient to Me; and if you are holy, you too will be able to influence nature, for one who causes spirituality to triumph over nature can rule over nature, because spirituality is higher than it.
And this is what is stated here: by conducting ourselves in holiness - and the definition of holiness, in the words of the Malbim, is that one overcomes and sanctifies oneself over physical matter and its natural inclinations, contending with desires and matter, and acting through intellectual and spiritual guidance - through this we lift our hands to bless in the supernal realms. That is to say, we fill and draw down the bounty from Above from the aspect of holiness, to bestow bounty, satiety, favor, blessing, and generosity. You, as it were, fill the reservoir of bounty Above so that He will pour it down below, and by what power? By virtue of sanctification: by rising above nature, you channel spiritual bounty that reaches down below.
יְבָרֶכְךָ יְהֹוָה מִצִּיּוֹן עֹשֵׂה שָׁמַיִם וָאָרֶץ׃ - May Hashem bless you from Zion, Maker of heaven and earth.
The Radak cites that according to the commentators, these are the words of the kohanim to the Jewish people in their blessing: "May Hashem bless you from Zion." Yet according to his own approach, this is the continuation of the Psalmist's words: Bless Hashem - and if you bless Him, may Hashem bless you from Zion. You offer blessing and thanksgiving to Hashem, and as is known, thanksgiving always draws down bounty. We have discussed this more than once: when a person thanks Hashem, he draws bounty toward himself, and the Holy One, blessed be He, pours out more upon him. We see this in human nature as well: to whom do we love to give? To someone who is always saying thank you, who genuinely appreciates it - for him, you actively look for ways to give more, and even ask him if he needs another loan. But one who took from you and feels he did you a favor by taking, and did not even say thank you - when he comes next time, you will tell him you have nothing to give. You simply have no desire to give him. In the same way, the Divine desire to bestow bounty is directed toward one who is genuinely grateful: one who thanks Hashem merits additional blessing; one who gives thanks merits more children. Thanksgiving draws down bounty. And that is the meaning: bless Hashem, and if you bless Him - He will bless you.
And what is the meaning of "Maker of heaven and earth"? The Radak explains: He made the heavens, from which bounty and blessing descend to the world, and He made the earth, to yield its produce - which is also a source of bounty. Hashem will command the heavens and the earth to pour out bounty upon you, in a physical sense as well: the heavens will give their dew and their rains, and the earth will yield its produce. In this way, Hashem makes heaven and earth bless you in all your handiwork, if you bless and thank Him for every good thing He has done for you. From there, from Zion, blessing will come to all of Israel and to the entire earth.
The Metzudat David maintains that the verse should be read inverted: "May Hashem, Maker of heaven and earth, bless you - from Zion." For there is a difficulty here: what is the connection between "from Zion" and "Maker of heaven and earth"? Therefore, he explains: May Hashem, Maker of heaven and earth, bless you, and from where? From Zion - from the place of Jerusalem, the site where the Shechinah rests, from where the bounty descends and flows to the entire world.
The Malbim explains here in what manner one blesses Hashem: we give in the aspect of "Ascribe strength to God" - giving, as it were, bounty to the Heavenly court so that it may pour bounty upon us, and everything depends on one's actions. You bless Him and fill that reservoir, and then the supernal reservoir can bestow upon you, "May Hashem bless you from Zion." And what is "from Zion"? That the blessing will not come through the celestial order. As we have explained several times in the name of the Malbim, there is bounty that comes by virtue of the celestial order, through the power of the stars - certainly everything is from Him, blessed be He, but it is an influence operating, as it were, according to astrological destiny and the natural order of the heavens. Here, however, it is said: no, for us it will be from Zion, through a transcendent, spiritual bounty. When bounty comes through the celestial order, it is granted only if the timing is suitable for bounty; but when it comes directly from Him, blessed be He, this is individual Divine providence (hashgachah pratit). It is possible that the entire world could be in famine while here there is abundance, because it comes directly from Him. When it follows the stars, everything depends on the circumstances: if it is the rainy season, you will have it; if it is not the rainy season, you will not have it. But when the matter comes from Him, it is complete Divine providence.
And by virtue of what does this blessing arrive? The Malbim says: through the subtle vapors rising from below, from the deeds and service of Zion. Through our actions, we raise, as it were, vapors upward, and then spiritual rain descends upon us. This bounty comes from the Maker of heaven and earth, for the blessing is not drawn down from heaven to earth - which would once again be bounty mediated through the celestial system of heaven, earth, and clouds - but rather from Hashem, Who made heaven and earth, Who is exalted above them. This is a providential blessing, a miraculous blessing that is above nature, born of our deeds. And this is what the Kabbalists describe: through the elevation of Mayin Nukvin (feminine waters) and the drawing down of Mayin Duchrin (masculine waters) - our actions arouse love Above and bring about an awakening in the supernal unifications of the sefirot and divine attributes, which brings forth a unification that channels bounty down to this world below.
In the sefer Tehilot Maharitz, the author asks: Why does the chapter open in the plural - "Bless Hashem, all you servants of Hashem who stand in the house of Hashem by night" - and conclude in the singular, "May Hashem bless you from Zion" (yevarechecha), rather than "May He bless you all" (yevarechchem)? He resolves this based on what the Keli Yakar writes on the verse, "And you [plural] shall serve Hashem... and He will bless your [singular] bread and your water" - there too, the opening is in the plural, yet the blessing is in the singular. The explanation is that in avodat Hashem, the public must perform the mitzvah together, for there is no virtue like the virtue of the collective - an action performed by many is worth thousands of times more than the action of an individual: "In a multitude of people is the king's glory." Not so with blessing, which each person desires for themselves; one is not satisfied with a general distribution to all, but seeks personal blessing and individual abundance. Scripture therefore says: "And you shall serve Hashem" - serve the Holy One, Blessed be He, together, as one person with one purpose; but do not worry, each individual will receive the blessing personally: "and He will bless your bread." So it is here: "Bless Hashem, all you servants of Hashem who stand in the house of Hashem by night" - the prayers, the Torah study, everything united together as servants of Hashem; but "May Hashem bless you from Zion, Maker of heaven and earth" - in the singular, so that each and every person receives a personal blessing uniquely tailored to them.
Chapter 134, in just three verses, lays a cornerstone of faith: Divine abundance multiplies and is blessed through the actions of those below. "Bless Hashem" - through good deeds, prayer, and study, and especially through the servants of Hashem who stand in the house of Hashem even by night and do not depart from their watch, we, as it were, fill the heavenly reservoir, and from it abundance pours down here. "Lift up your hands in holiness" - not merely with physical hands, but with holy hands, rising above the material and its nature; for holiness is transcending nature, and whoever rises above nature is also privileged to affect it. Through this, "May Hashem bless you from Zion, Maker of heaven and earth" - a blessing that does not stem from astrological constellations or natural fortune, but from direct and complete Divine Providence from the Creator of heaven and earth; a unified service of all of Israel, and a personal blessing for each and every individual. May Hashem grant us this merit.