קבלה על אבות 1:3

The significance of this [passage] is that there are two ways to approach prayer. The first [way] is that of “slaves who serve their master in order to receive a reward” (Avot 1:3). Thus their prayer [is meant] according to the literal meaning with regard to their enjoyment [of the pleasures] of this world. To such [worshippers], prayer [consists] of asking God for their sustenance in the lower [world]. However, there are children [of God] whose entire purpose in prayer is to unify Malkhut with Tiferet. This is the mystery of “psalm” which he interpreted as partaking of the mystery of “praise” (hallel). Thus, through their prayer they abandon the matters of this world and occupy themselves with the Account of the Chariot, which is the mystery [of the divine name] Y’HDOVNHY.¹⁶This is a combination of the two divine names, YHVH and ADoNaY. On the Kabbalistic use of divine names, see Moshe Idel, Kabbalah: New Perspectives (New Haven, 1988), pp. 96-123. Concerning this particular divine name, see Mark Verman, “The Development of Yihudim in Spanish Kabbalah,” Jerusalem Studies in Jewish Thought 8 (1989): 25-42. For the union of the Holy One, blessed be He, and His Shekhinah is termed the Account of the Chariot, which is [equivalent to] “psalm.”