Praise the name of the Lord! Praise Him for the war He fought for us, as it is said, "The Lord will fight for you" (Exodus 14:14). Blessed be the name of the Lord from now and forever. In this world, people may curse God and provoke Him, but in the world to come, it will not be so. God said, "You have blessed Me from now and forever, so too will I do the same" (Psalm 125:2). "The Lord surrounds His people from now until eternity" (ibid.).
"When the Israelites left Egypt," as it says in the verse (Psalms 105:38), "Egypt was glad when they departed." Rabbi Berechiah said, "This can be compared to a meat seller riding on a donkey..." When David saw how joyful the Israelites were when they left Egypt, he began to mock the Egyptians for their departure, as it says, "When the Israelites left Egypt." And the verse (Psalms 68:5) says, "Sing to God, sing praises to His name; extol Him who rides on the clouds." What does it mean, "extol Him who rides on the clouds?" It is similar to what is said (Job 7:7), "Do not gaze at me, and I shall not exist." Another explanation of "Sing to God" is that they said before Him songs and hymns. And what does "extol" mean? Rabbi Yehuda says it means "destroy," and Rabbi Nehemiah says it means "clear the way before Him," as it is said (Isaiah 62:10), "Clear the way, clear the way, remove the obstacles from the road of my people." The Sages say there are two heavens, as it says (Psalms 68:34), "Ascribe strength to God; His majesty is over Israel, and His strength is in the skies." The Sages say there are three, as it says (Deuteronomy 10:14), "Behold, the heavens and the heaven of heavens belong to God." Rabbi Eliezer says there are seven: heaven, firmament, clouds, throne, dwelling, place, and the wilderness. And the glory of the Holy One, blessed be He, is in the wilderness, as it is said (Psalms 68:5), "Extol Him who rides on the clouds; His name is the Lord, and exult before Him." What is meant by "wilderness?" Rabbi Tachlifa ben Yaakov said in the name of Rabbi Yehuda bar Simon that the Holy One, blessed be He, saw the deeds of the righteous and was pleased with them. Rabbi Pinchas HaKohen bar Chama said, "The sky, whose name is 'wilderness,' is sown with the deeds of the righteous, and it produces fruit." And in the verse (Psalms 68:5), "His name is the Lord," Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi asked Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachman what is meant by "His name." He said to him, "There is no place where a person is not appointed to oversee his coming, except for the Holy One, blessed be He, who is appointed to oversee His own coming, as it says, 'His name is the Lord.'" Therefore, do not read it as "His name," but as "His coming." Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi lamented that a certain tradition had been lost, as Rabbi Elazar had learned something from his teacher, but had not taught it to him. However, Rabbi Elazar's wife revealed it to him, saying, "Thus did my husband teach me." But Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi did not reveal the teaching, as he had been rebuked by his own teacher for revealing a secret. Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi said, "It is a shame that we lose things and they are not forgotten. A certain maiden once asked Rabbi Elazar his name, but did not tell me hers. Instead, she asked me, 'What is His name, composed of these two letters, by which God created two worlds?' As it is said, 'For in Yah the Lord created the worlds' (Isaiah 26:4), spelled with the letters yod and hei. We do not know if this world was created with the letter yod and the World to Come with the letter hei, or vice versa. However, since it is written, 'These are the generations of the heaven and the earth when they were created' (Genesis 2:4), 'when they were created' refers to God, meaning that this world was created with the letter yod. Why is the letter hei open on the bottom and closed on all sides? So too with this world, everything that is created in it goes down to Sheol (the grave). And that same prick that is in it is a hint to the resurrection of the dead. The World to Come was created with the letter hei. Why is the letter yod tall and bent over? So that the faces of the wicked will be bent in the future. Another interpretation: Why is the letter yod small and bent over? So that the faces of the wicked will be humbled in the future, as it is said, 'And the haughtiness of man shall be brought low' (Isaiah 2:17). When David saw that God created two worlds with these two letters, he began to praise God with hallelujah."