Tehillim 41 — Ben Ish Hai on the Connection Between Illness and the Letter Yud
— “Hashem yis'adenu al eres devai; kol mishkavo hafachta vecholyo” — (G-d will sustain him on his bed of illness; when he lies down, He will heal his ailment).
Ben Ish Hai taught that illness is a manifestation of the distortion of the letter י “yud.”
This letter corresponds to the sefirah of Chochmah.
Both words in the expression “bed of illness” — ערש דוי — are distortions of the letter “yud.”
The word ערש (eres) is the result of rearranging the letters of the word עשר (eser) — 10 (the gematria of the letter “yud”).
And the word דוי (devai) consists of the letters of the word “yud” in reverse order — יוד.
A “bed of illness” arises when the letter “yud” is distorted and we are separated from the sefirah of Chochmah.
(Rav M. Glazerson, “Fiery Letters”)
