Tehillim 90 or The Secret of Complete Teshuvah
Tehillim 90 or The Secret of Complete Teshuvah
Tehillim 90:1,3
- "Ad-nai ma'on atah hayita lanu bedor vador... Tashav enosh ad dakka, vatomer shuvu venei adam" - (My Master, You have been our dwelling place... You bring man low... Return to Me, sons of man!)
The secret of complete Teshuvah is contained in the “Prayer of Moshe”—Psalm 90.
The psalm begins with the words: "My Master, You have been our dwelling place..." And then it says: "You bring man low and say: \"Return to Me, sons of man!\"
The Kabbalistic work "Derech Emet" by Rabbi Meshulam-Faibush of Zbarazh explains: "You have been our dwelling place"—that is, we, or more precisely our souls, were part of the Almighty before He created us. But He "brings man low"—He brings him down to the lowest level of material existence, and then says: "Return, sons of man!"—commanding us to cast off our material garments once again and, through spiritual perception, return to the Creator's embrace, to our Source.
And the "Derech Emet" further teaches that the spiritual Universe was clothed in material coverings solely in order to return to its original state—through the pure perception of the tzadik, filled with sublime delight. Everything in the Universe was created solely for this closeness to G-d—not for material existence itself, but in order to return to its Source, resembling the state that existed before Creation.
This purpose of Creation was meant to be fulfilled by the first man—Adam.
("Glimpsing into Pardes," A. Katz)
Was this helpful?
100% of readers found this article helpful (10 votes).
Please note: some articles on our site contain the holy Names of the Almighty. If you print these articles, they may not be thrown away or destroyed. Please handle printed copies with care and respect.
Tags: The Hidden Meaning of Tehillim, Teshuvah, The Prayer of Moses, Tehillim 90, Tehillim 90 or The Secret of Complete Teshuvah
