During the Shacharit L’Chol שחרית לחול
or the Weekday Service,
as the Torah is carried to the Ark,
the congregation recites Psalm 24.
Why is this particular psalm chosen
for this important event every weekday?
The key to the answer to this question
lies in the word Shaar שער or gate.
In this psalm the gates are equated
to the everlasting doors פתחי עולם .
The everlasting doors are then equated
to the Messiah משיח who is
the King of Glory מלך הכבוד .
The statement is repeated two times
at the end of this psalm to confirm
that its importance and occurance
is established by HASHEM.
“Lift up your heads, O you gates;
and be lifted up, you everlasting doors;
and the King of glory shall come in.
Who is the King of glory?
HASHEM strong and mighty,
HASHEM mighty in battle.
Lift up your heads, O you gates;
even lift them up, you everlasting doors;
and the King of glory shall come in.
Who is this King of glory?
HASHEM, master of legions of armies,
He is the King of glory.
שאו שערים רושיכם
והנשאו פתחי עולם
ויבוא מלך הכבוד:
מי זה מלך הכבוד
יהוה עזוז וגבור
יהוה גבור מלחמה:
שאו שערים ראשיכם
ושאו פתחי עולם
ויבא מלך הכבוד:
מי הוא זה מלך הכבוד
יהוה צבאות
הוא מלך הכבוד סלה:
These important connections between
the Messiah and the Gates, and in particular
the Eastern Gate, can be seen in Psalm 118:19-26,
which is the great and the last psalm of the Hallel הלל .
Verse 19 calls them the Gates of Righteousness.
“Open to me the gates of righteousness:
I will go into them,
and I will praise HASHEM.
פתחו לי שערי צלק
אבא בם אודה יה:
This is an important connection
to the Messiah המשיח
because he is totally righteous.
In Verse 20 the psalm says
“This is the Gate of HASHEM”
meaning the Messiah המשיח,
“and the righteous shall go into it.”
זה שער ליהוה
צדיקים יבאו בו:
Isaiah the Prophet corroborates this
when he says in Isaiah 26:2-4:
“Open you the gates,
that the righteous nation or people
who keeps faith may enter in.
You will keep him in perfect peace,
whose mind is stayed upon you:
because he trusts in you.
Trust in HASHEM forever:
because in HASHEM THE LORD
is the rock of strength
that lasts forever.”
פתחו שערים
ויבא גוי צדיק
שומר אמונים:
יצר סמוך תצור שלום
שלום כי בך בטוח:
בטחוּ ביהוה עדי־עד
כי ביהּ יהוה צור עולמים:
Verse 21 of Psalm 118 shows
the results of entering into this gate שער
which is praise,
and it reveals
the name of the Messiah משיח
who is Yeshua ישוע .
“I will praise you:
because you have heard me,
and become to me Yeshua.”
אודך כי עניתני
ותהי לי לישועה:
This further identifies
the gate with the Messiah המשיח .
The Prophet Ezekiel also identifies
the Messiah המשיח as the Prince הנשיא
in Ezekiel 44:1-3:
“Then he brought me back
the way of the gate
of the outward sanctuary
which looks toward the East;
and it was shut.
Then said HASHEM to me:
This gate shall be shut,
it shall not be opened,
and no man shall enter in by it;
because HASHEM the G-D of Israel,
has entered in by it,
therefore it shall be shut.
It is for THE PRINCE ;
THE PRINCE shall sit in it
to eat bread before HASHEM;
he shall enter by the way
of the porch of that gate,
and shall go out
by the way of the same.”
וישב אתי דרך שער
המקדש החיצון
הפונה קדים
והוא סגור:
ויאמר אלי יהוה
השער הזה סגור יהיה
לא יפתח
ואיש לא יבא בו
כי יהוה אלהי ישראל בא בו
והיה סגור:
את־הנשיא
הנשיא הוא ישב בו
לאכול לחם לפני יהוה
מדרך אולם השער יבוא
ומדרכו יצא:
This special status of The Prince הנשיא
indicates that he is the Messiah המשיח .
Then Psalm 118 reveals a mystery.
Verse 22 of Psalm 118 speaks
about the Messiah המשיח as being
the stone האבן who the builders rejected,
but HE is become the head of the corner.
This is the cornerstone
of the temple of HASHEM.
“The stone who the builders rejected
is become the head of the corner.”
אבן מאסו הבּונים
היתה לראש פנה:
Verse 23 declares that this is from HASHEM,
AND IT IS A WONDER.
“This is the doing of HASHEM,
it is a WONDER in our eyes.”
מאת יהוה היתה זאת
היא נפלאת בעינינו:
The Messiah Yeshua המשיח ישוע
is the stone who the builders rejected,
but he is become the cornerstone
of the temple of HASHEM.
Isaiah the Prophet speaks about
the Messiah Yeshua המשיח ישוע becoming
the cornerstone
of the Temple
as a sign to be wondered at
in Isaiah 24:14:
“Therefore, behold,
I will proceed to work a Wonder
among the people:
even a Wonder that shall be Wondered at;
For the wisdom of their wise men
shall perish,
and the understanding of all their prudent men
shall be hid.”
לכן הנני
יוסף להפליא את העם הזה
הפלא ופלא
ואבדה חכמת חכמיו
ובינת נבניו תסתתר:
Verse 24 of Psalm 118 reveals
that those who do understand this
and do not reject the Messiah המשיח
will declare that this is the day
that HASHEM has made,
and they will be glad and rejoice in it.
“This is the day that HASHEM has made,
we will be glad and rejoice in it.”
זה היום עשה יהוה
נגילה ונשמחה בו:
Gladness and joy enter
the hearts of all
who receive him.
Verse 25 reveals that the petitions
for salvation and prosperity come
as a result for those
who have entered into the gate
by receiving the Messiah המשיח.
“We beseech you, HASHEM,
SAVE NOW;
we beseech you, HASHEM,
SEND NOW PROSPERITY.”
אנא יהוה
הושיעה נא
אנא יהוה
הצליחה נא:
This tells us that HASHEM
will bring salvation and prosperity
to all who believe.
Finally Verse 26 is the great blessing
of the Messiah Yeshua המשיח ישוע
as he enters through the gate.
This blessing is the portion
of all who receive him.
The people bless him from the
House of HASHEM.
This is the inheritance of all who
open the gates of their hearts
to the Messiah Yeshua המשיח ישוע.
“Blessed be he who comes
in the Name of HASHEM:
WE HAVE BLESSED YOU
OUT OF THE HOUSE OF HASHEM.”
ברוך הבא בשם יהוה
ברכנובם מבית יהוה:
Yeshua ישוע declared this when he said
“Truly, truly I say to you,
I am the Shaar השער the gate.
By me if any man enter in,
he shall be saved,
and shall go in and out,
and be fed in green pastures.
Truly, truly, I say to you,
he who does not enter by the Shaar
into the sheepfold,
but climbs up some other way,
the same is a thief and a robber.
But he who enters
by the Shaar השער the gate,
is the shepherd of the sheep.
To him the porter, HASHEM, opens;
and the sheep hear his voice;
he calls his own sheep by name,
and he leads them out.
And when he puts forth his own sheep,
he goes before them,
and the sheep follow him:
for they know his voice.
And a stranger they will not follow,
but they will flee from him:
for they do not know
the voice of strangers.
Truly, truly, I say to you,
I am the Shaar השער the gate
of the sheep.
All that ever came before me
are thieves and robbers:
but the sheep did not hear them.
The thief comes not
but to steal, and to kill,
and to destroy:
I am come that you may have life,
and that you may have it
more abundantly.“
ישוע דבר
אמן אמן אני אומר לכם
אנכי השער:
איש אם יכנס דרכי יושע :
הוא יכנס ויצא
וימצא מרעה:
אמן אמן אני אומר לכם
מי שאינו נכנס אל מכלא הצאן
דרך השער
אלא מטפס בדרך אחרת
גנב הוא ושודד:
הנכנס דרך השער
הוא רועה הצאן:
לו יפתח יהוה השומר השער
והצאן שומעות בקולו:
הוא קורא לצאנו בשם
ומוציא אותן:
לאחר שהוציא את כל אשר לו
הוא הולך לפניהן
והצאן הולכות אחריו
כי מכירות הן את קולו:
אחרי זר לא תלכנה
כי אם תברחנה ממנו
מפני שאינן מכירות
את קולם של זרים:
הוסיף ישוע ואמר
אמן אמן אני אומר לכם
אני הוא שער הצאן:
כל אשר באו לפני
גנבים הם ושודדים:
אין הגנב בא אלא
לגנוב ולהרוג ולהשמיד:
אני באתי שיחיו להם חיים
ובשפע שיחיו להם:
The conclusion is that
the Messiah Yeshua המשיח ישוע
shall cause to live forever
all who through him
enter into the kingdom
of David King of Israel מלך ישראל .
The Prophet Micah says
in Micah 2:12-13:
“I will surely assemble, O Jacob,
all of you:
I will surely gather
the remnant of Israel:
I will put them together
as the sheep of Bozrah,
as the flock
in the midst of their fold
under his word;
they shall make great noise
by the reason of the
multitude of men.
the breaker is come up before them:
they have broken up,
and have passed through the gate,
and are gone out by it:
and their king shall pass before them,
and HASHEM on the head of them.”
אסף אאסף יעקב כלך
קבץ אקבץ שארית ישראל
יחד אשימנו כצאן בצרה
כעדר בתוך הדברו
תהומנה מאדם:
עלה הפורץ לפניהם
פרצו ויעברו שער
ויצאו בו
ויעבור מלכם לפניהם
ויהוה בראשם:
The Messiah Yeshua המשיח ישוע
is the LEADER into
the Kingdom of David מלכות דוד .
If you have him
as your leader,
then HASHEM rests on your head,
and upon your head
rests the crown
of eternal life.
כתר חיי עולם