תהלים, פרק ל״ג, פסוק ב׳

Music and song in the service of God are far more than technical performances. They are powerful tools designed to awaken the human soul and help it reach higher spiritual levels [רד״ק, מאירי]. Through this lens, different forms of musical praise and their specific instruments carry distinct spiritual meanings.

There is a deep difference between offering thanks and singing praises. Giving thanks is an expression of gratitude for the kindnesses experienced in daily life and for the natural order of the world. This level of gratitude is accompanied by the harp, which traditionally has six strings. The number six symbolizes the natural order established during the six days of creation. It also represents the eventual return of six good things that were lost to humanity after the sin of the first man. Singing praises, however, represents a higher spiritual step focused on declaring God's ultimate greatness [מלבי״ם].

This higher level of song requires instruments associated with the number ten. These instruments symbolize the ten cosmic spheres and point toward ten future blessings that God will grant the world. Because these future blessings do not merely restore what was lost, but bring an entirely new level of abundance and goodness, they demand a deeper, more special type of song beyond standard gratitude [אלשיך, מלבי״ם].

When exploring the specific instruments used for this higher praise, commentators discuss the exact nature of the ten-stringed instrument and its relationship to the lyre. The primary approach among commentators is that it simply refers to an instrument with ten strings. However, other traditions suggest it is an instrument capable of producing ten distinct types of melodies [רש״י]. Another view proposes it was a lyre with ten holes, though this idea is generally rejected by other scholars [אבן עזרא בשם ר' משה].

There is also a discussion about whether these represent a single instrument or two distinct ones. While some view it as one ten-stringed lyre [ביאור שטיינזלץ, אלשיך], the primary approach among commentators is that they are two separate instruments played together. This is supported by other places in the biblical text where the lyre and the ten-stringed instrument are clearly listed individually [רד״ק, אבן עזרא, מצודת ציון, מאירי, מלבי״ם]. Ultimately, these various instruments are brought together in harmony to capture the full spectrum of gratitude and praise directed toward God.