The Sacred Covenant
The Three Stages of Bris and the Three Cries of David HaMelech
In Adir Bamarom, the Ramchal explains that David HaMelech’s cry in Tehillim (Psalm 74:10–11) is not just a lament, but a map of three spiritual stages that parallel the process of Bris Milah—milah, priyah, and dam—and the cosmic battles against three primary sources of spiritual blockage: Esav, Yishmael, and the Erev Rav.
Each phrase of David’s cry matches one stage exactly:
First Stage: Milah (Cutting the Foreskin) – Esav – “Until when, O God, will the enemy blaspheme?”
Milah is the cutting and removal of the thick outer foreskin (arlah).
This act symbolizes removing the most external klipah—the coarse, obvious enemy that smothers holiness.
Esav represents this level of opposition: a power of raw, brutal denial that covers and opposes G-dliness openly.
David’s first cry, “Ad matai Elokim yecharef tzar?” (“Until when, O God, will the enemy blaspheme?”), corresponds to this.
It refers to the external enemy (Esav) who blasphemes by covering and concealing the Divine presence in the world.
At this stage, the foreskin is cut, but a deeper blockage remains.
Second Stage: Priyah (Peeling Back the Inner Membrane) – Yishmael – “Will the enemy blaspheme Your Name forever?”
Priyah is the second, crucial step: after the foreskin is cut, the thin inner membrane that still covers the crown (atarah) must be torn and peeled back.
Without priyah, the crown remains hidden, and the bris is incomplete.
Yishmael corresponds to this stage: he underwent milah (cutting) but not priyah. Thus, he appears connected to Hashem but distorts that connection.
David’s second cry, “Ye’na’atz oyvecha shemecha lanetzach?” (“Will the enemy blaspheme Your Name forever?”), fits this precisely.
Yishmael’s descendants blaspheme G-d’s Name by pretending to uphold it, but without true inner connection.
They have a bris in form, but not in full revelation, leaving the Divine Name misrepresented.
Third Stage: Dam Bris (Blood of the Covenant) – Erev Rav – “Why do You withdraw Your right hand?”
After priyah is performed, blood flows from the revealed crown—this is the Dam Bris.
Dam seals the covenant by infusing it with life-force (dam = nefesh, soul).
Without Dam, there is no full binding to Divine chesed.
The Erev Rav corresponds to this stage: they are not external enemies like Esav and Yishmael but internal corrupters, draining spiritual life from within.
David’s third cry, “Lama tashiv yadcha veyeminecha mikerev cheikecha kaleh?” (“Why do You withdraw Your hand, Your right hand from Your bosom—consume them!”), points to this final blockage.
It is a plea for Hashem’s right hand of chesed to once again flow freely—to shed the blood of the bris, to overcome the inner saboteurs (Erev Rav) who prevent the completion of Divine revelation.
In Closing
The bris milah is not complete with just the cutting of the foreskin. It requires:
Milah to remove the thick external covering (defeating Esav),
Priyah to reveal the hidden crown (correcting Yishmael’s distortion),
Dam to seal life into the exposed place (overcoming the inner sabotage of the Erev Rav).
David HaMelech’s three cries are not separate—they form a single escalating prayer for the full revelation of Hashem’s covenant with the world: that the light of holiness should no longer be hidden, distorted, or drained, but fully revealed, alive, and flowing.
