Shuvoo Sights & Sites

Journeys Through Photo & Word

 

People & Places from the Past and the Present by Ashirah Yosefah

 

Issue No. 5, June 22^nd, 2006

 

The Heavens Declare

 

The heavens declare the glory of G-d,

and the expanse of the sky

relates His handiwork.

(Tehillim 19:2)

 

Appearing like two massive outstretched arms, these amazing clouds

in the morning sky overlooking the Judean desert remind one of

G-d’s Providence.  (© Ashirah Yosefah Photo)

 

 

INTRODUCTION

 

It was suggested to me recently that some of the content on the Shuvoo website might be a bit too “Zionist”; the intent being that the outlook has been a bit too starry-eyed, with perhaps a blind eye towards the less pleasant aspects of reality in Eretz Yisrael at present.  Certainly, this suggestion gave me food for thought. 

 

True, there is much in Eretz Yisrael that we are not delighted about:  The daily threat of terror, the political situation, the widespread secularization of the Israeli people, the sometimes shocking lack of tznius (modesty).  Still, the Sages tell us that until this world is perfected, where there is tremendous kedushah (holiness), you will also find its counterpart.  This is part of what contributes to the palpable tension one can feel in Jerusalem ~ despite Jerusalem air being the softest, most spectacular thing imaginable.  How something so invisible and intangible can have such an obvious feel and presence never ceases to amaze me.

 

Make no mistake, a Torah-observant person here in Israel is painfully aware of the shortcomings of our present society and political situation.  The article by Rabbi Avraham Greenbaum entitled “Will the Real Israel Please Stand Up?” sets forth our dilemma in crystal-clear terms and represents Shuvoo’s position regarding same.  (The article is available in the Shuvoo articles section under “Getting Started”.)  Still, the Torah commands us to observe and to relate Hashem’s praise, which all Creation proclaims faithfully day and night. 

 

Many of our Shuvoo subscribers are not Jews, but they represent, to coin a phrase spoken by Rabbi Even Adin Steinsaltz at the Sanhedrin’s swearing-in of the Bnei Noach High Council this past January, “brothers in faith, not brothers in blood”.  These friends of Israel and lovers of the G-d of Israel are bombarded on a daily basis by mainstream media news reports criticizing Jews and condemning Israel’s right to exist in our own Land.  Many of them have never set foot in the Promised Land and they yearn for even a virtual glimpse of the “land flowing with milk and honey”; this Land where the Temple once stood and will one day stand again because Hashem is faithful to His Covenant.  Jews can become jaded amidst the turmoil over our Land, but we also need to express righteous anger at the evil being perpetuated here.  Yet, we must be mindful that at no point, no matter how discouraging, are we to forget to recognize and be thankful for the Land G-d has appointed to us as an eternal inheritance.

 

After Shavuot, I began davening Perek Shirah (Chapter of Song) on a daily basis.  This new part of my daily routine has opened my physical and spiritual eyes to be far more attuned to recognition, appreciation and thankfulness for Hashem’s Hashgach Pratis (Divine Providence) that sustains the Universe and administers both good and bad, reward and chastisement, as His perfect Justice deems appropriate.  Perek Shirah is the song that is sung everyday by G-d’s creations; each species of Creation having its own unique song that collectively blend together into a universal symphony.  The other species are faithful to sing their songs according to their nature and the symphony as a whole is not complete without mankind fulfilling our purpose.  The sad reality is that it is man alone who has the power to turn the symphony into a cacophony when we demean the purpose of G-d’s Creation by our sin and rebellion against Hashem’s wishes and commandments.

 

Perek Shirah is attributed to David haMelek, z”l.  There is proof that the Song is at least 1800 years old and predates the Mishna.  There are references to Perek Shirah at the time of the editing of the Mishna.  In the Schottenstein Edition of Perek Shirah, there is a lengthy and beautiful Introduction to the Song.  Part of this Introduction explains why it is that at Israel’s highest moments there has always been an acknowledgement of our suffering, but also the constant underpinning of knowing that Hashem is faithfully guiding history to its ultimate Redemption.  As part of  this week’s Shuvoo Sights & Sites, I would like to share these thoughts with you.

 

The Day declares …

 

Day following day utters speech,

And night following night declares knowledge.

(Tehillim 19:3)

 

The morning sun arises above the Judean desert, ready

to sing its song and utter speech to proclaim its Maker.

(© Ashirah Yosefah Photo)

 

 

REALIZATION MAKES MUSIC

(Introduction, Perek Shirah, Schottenstein Edition)

 

THE TORAH’S FIRST GREAT SONG came after the Splitting of the Sea of Reeds (Exodus ch. 15).  The preamble to the Song was

 

“… and the people feared (i.e., revered) Hashem and they had

faith in Hashem and in Moses, His servant.” (ibid. 14:20)

 

Throughout the Ten Plagues, the Torah does not tell us the Jews felt reverence and had faith, though they surely did.  Clearly, the miracle at the Sea raised them high enough to reach the level of Shirah.

 

Moses inspired the entire nation to sing with him:  “Then Moses and the Children of Israel chose to sing this song …” (ibid. 15:1).  It was in this aspect of leadership that Hezekiah fell short.  He was unquestionably one of Israel’s great historic figures, but he was unable to bring the people up to his own level.

 

Harav Gedaliah Schorr (Ohr Gedalyahu, Beshalach) notes that Moses’ Song at the Sea, contains allusions to the suffering in Egypt.  Would the people not have preferred to forget those ordeals?  Should not the miracles of salvation have been the exclusive theme of the Song?

 

To the contrary, the great spark of realization at the Sea was that everything is part of G-d’s plan, the good and the ostensibly bad.  In Egypt, the people wondered why they had to suffer so, but after the miracles at the Sea, they understood their difficult history with unprecedented clarity.  Then the Children of Israel perceived that even the most painful moments in Egypt were part of the Divine master plan that made them free and would bring them to Mount Sinai.

 

Until the Final Redemption, we thank G-d for good fortune by reciting the blessing  [G-d] is the One Who is good and Who does good.  For tragic events, we recite the blessing that calls Him the true Judge.  But when Messiah comes and we understand the meaning of tragic events, we will recite Who is good and Who does good even for tragedies (Pesachim 50a).

 

This concept also explains why one of the most frightening chapters of the Torah is called a song.  Parashas Ha’azinu (Deuteronomy 32:1) is a long litany of Israel’s future travail and torment, yet the Torah repeatedly calls it a song (Deuteronomy 32:19, 20, 21, 22, 30).

 

The reason is clear.  Man rises to the level of shirah when he perceives that the world never spins haphazardly.  Unseen but always present, G-d guides history toward the Final Redemption, when each event will be acknowledged as an ingredient in the brew of goodness.  An elderly rebbitzin who lost her relatively young daughter said, “What is, must be.  Whatever G-d does is good.”  This is shirah.  Moshes and the people sang it at the Sea, and in Parashas Ha’azinu Moses sang it to the people on the last day of his life.

 

It is true that the creatures of the universe sing their own songs constantly, never failing to serve G-d.  It is also true, however, that the center of the universe is man.  To the extent that he recognizes G-d in everything he does, he energizes and elevates all of Creation.

 

The creatures singing Perek Shirah cannot achieve their complete purpose without man.  His virtue ennobles Creation; his sin demeans it.  When he heeds the message of the sun and the ant and everything in between, Creation becomes G-d’s symphony.  But when man sees everything but perceives nothing, when his telescopes show him stars that are thousands of light years away, and he can recite all the data about whether or not life can exist on Mars – but he does not see that the heavens declare the glory of G-d, then the symphony of Creation is playing to a tone-deaf audience.  He hears sound, but not music; cacophony, but not harmony (Yavetz; Sfas Emes).

 

The Night declares …

 

To relate Your kindness in the dawn

and Your faith in the nights.

(Tehillim 92:3)

 

A lone stork sits high on a tree branch as the sun dips below the horizon.

(© Ashirah Yosefah Photo)

 

The Stork declares …

 

Speak consolingly of Jerusalem and proclaim to her

that her period of exile has been completed,

that her iniquity has been forgiven;

for she has received double for her sins

from the hand of Hashem. (Isaiah 40:2)

 

(All Scripture quotations have been excerpts from Perek Shirah.)