Rabbi Roodyn

י) אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה אָקוּט בְּדוֹר וָאֹמַר עַם תֹּעֵי לֵבָב הֵם וְהֵם לֹא יָדְעוּ דְרָכָי:

For forty years I quarrelled with one generation and I though that they are a people of erring heart, and they, they still did not recognise my ways.

These final sentences are harsh ones, and it is somewhat ironic that we sing them oin Friday night without giving due care and attention to what we are saying. Interestingly some have the minhag that the chazzan does not chant these last couple of lines, rather just the last few verses due to their content. Even though that is not mainstream practice it is still crucial that we know what we are saying so that we can fill these words with the appropriate kavana and feeling.

Rav Hirsh explains that the root קוט means ‘to demonstrate one’s displeasure to another’ or ‘to quarrel with another’. Hashem says, for forty years I strove to effect the improvement of an entire generation of that era by showing them my displeasure with them and by making them feel my displeasure. I thought that they had simply erred and would therefore let themselves be cured of that error and recognise the truth.

Hashem speaks in human terms and says, ‘והם but this generation with whom I had taken such pains still did not recognise my ways’. דרכי are the ways of My sovereignty and they paths in which men should walk in accordance with My will.