The Raised Ayin of the Forest Boar — Psalm 80:14 (80:13 in English Bibles)
מִיָּעַר
What to look for
In 'the boar from the forest ravages it,' the ayin of miya'ar is lifted above the line.
What it is
A suspended letter in the vine psalm, where Israel is a vine uprooted by a wild boar.
Why it matters
One Masoretic tradition counts this raised ayin as the middle letter of the whole book of Psalms — a landmark hung in the air at the Psalter's center.
How it has been understood
Ayin means 'eye.' Some readers hear in the hovering letter the eye of God suspended over the scene of devastation — watching, not absent — in a psalm that pleads three times, 'restore us, cause Your face to shine.'