In the Amidah, right before we prayer that we may witness G-d’s return to Israel, we read this intriguing phrase: “Accept the prayer of Your people Israel as lovingly as it is offered. Restore worship to Your sanctuary.” The literal phrase for “Your sanctuary” is “dvir beytecha.” “Beytecha” is easy to translate: “Your house.” But what’s a “dvir”?
Traditionally, it is taken to refer to the innermost sanctuary of the Temple, the Holy of Holies. And why is it called a “dvir”? Because, according to the commentary of Metzudat Zion, the “word” (“dibbur”) of the Lord came forth from there.
It’s a lovely explanation, but a little unlikely. Why invent an otherwise unknown word to express this idea? It’s probably not the original meaning. More likely, the term comes from the world of shepherding. A dvir is safe space for sheep, a protected meadow. Isaiah says, “The Lord of Hosts is exalted in justice, and G-d the Holy One is sanctified in righteousness. The sheep will graze in their own pasture (“dovro”)” (Is. 5:16-17).
With this kind of vocabulary, our thoughts are inevitably drawn to Ps. 23: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside the still waters.”
This idyllic picture is echoed in Ps. 92, the psalm we read just as shabbat begins (right after Lecha Dodi). Here, the imagery shifts from animal husbandry to the world of agriculture. “The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree; they shall thrive like a cedar in Lebanon. Planted in the house of the Lord, they shall flourish in the courts of our G-d.”
All this underscores and enriches the pious wish mentioned above: “Accept the prayer of Your people Israel as lovingly as it is offered.” When all is said and done, the relationship between the people of Israel and the G-d of Israel is all about love.