the next stanza. Several dozen prayers are incorporated into the Psalm, e.g. "Open my eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of your law." Themes include opposition by man, affliction, delight in the law and the goodness of God, which sometimes run into each other: "I know, O Lord, that your rules are righteous, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me" (v. 75), or "If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction" (v. 92). It ends with an appeal to God to seek his servant who strayed. Uses Judaism Verse 66 is recited prior to the shofar blowing on Rosh Hashanah. Verse 72 is quoted in Pirkei Avot, Chapter 6, no. 9. Verses 89–91 are recited during the blessings before the Shema on the second day of Rosh Hashanah. Verse 99 is quoted in Pirkei Avot, Chapter 4, no. 1. Verse 108 is recited prior to the shofar blowing on Rosh Hashanah. Verse 122 is recited prior to the shofar blowing on Rosh Hashanah. Verse 142 is part of Uva Letzion and Tzidkatcha. Parts of verses 153–54 comprise the blessing Re'eh of the weekday Amidah. Verse 160 is recited prior to the shofar blowing on Rosh Hashanah. Verse 162 is recited prior to the shofar blowing on Rosh Hashanah. Verse 165 is part of Talmud Berachos 64a. Verses 166, 162, and 165 are recited in that order by the mohel at a brit milah. Eastern Orthodox The psalm (118 in the Septuagint) figures prominently in the worship of the Eastern Orthodox Church. There is a tradition that King David used this psalm to teach his young son Solomon the alphabet—but not just the alphabet for writing letters: the alphabet of the spiritual life. The psalm comprises an entire Kathisma (division of the Psalter) in Orthodox liturgical practice. In Orthodox monasteries it is read daily at the Midnight Office: "At midnight I arose to give thanks unto Thee for the judgments of Thy righteousness" (v. 62). It is read at Matins on Saturdays and is also chanted on many Sundays throughout the year. A major portion of Matins on Holy Saturday comprises chanting the entire psalm as a threnody, divided into three parts (stases) with Praises (Greek: Enkomia) interspersed between each verse. This chanting is done as all stand holding candles around a catafalque over which has been placed the Epitaphion (a