There’s one largely unknown work of his in which Ramchal waxes poetic about the line, published as Tiktu Tephillot (515 Prayers) in 1979 by R’ Shlomo Ulman, and republished in 1997 as Tephillot Ramchal (Ramchal’s Prayers) by R’ Mordechai Shriki (Machon Ramchal). The latter retains R’ Ulman’s comments and insights (as well as his invaluable essay on Ramchal’s Kabbalistic system), and it includes a number of other prayers written by Ramchal (hence the change of title), a voluminous index, and R’ Shriki’s own insights.
The line — known as the Kav — is seen there as being the symbol of the great hope (as in the correlative term Tikveh) of the Jewish Nation for its redemption. In fact, each of the 515 original prayers ends with the verse, Lishuatcha Kiviti — “I hope for Your salvation, God” (Genesis 49:18). It speaks to the ultimate role that the dynamic of the line will play in that redemption and in the ultimate revelation of God’s sovereignty, which is its goal.
(c) 2011 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman
Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org
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