Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Noah / Shir HaMa’alos - Songs of Ascents

Between Succos and Pesach, after the afternoon service on Shabbos, it is traditional to say Psalms 120 through and including 134. They are collectively called the Shir HaMa’alos שִׁיר הַמַּעֲלוֹת, literally a song of ascents, because all of them begin with that phrase. They tend to be very popular probably because of their brevity, rhythmic quality, simple beauty, appeal to the heart, and the repetition of their opening phrase.

The custom is brought in the Shulchan Aruch (אורח חיים רצב ב) which explains that it is a common practice to have a class in synagogue between the afternoon and evening services and on Shabbos one should learn Ethics of our Fathers in the summer and say the Shir HaMa’alos in the winter. The Mishna Berura adds that a class with a speaker may run late and cause a person not to perform the mitzvah of having a meal in the afternoon on Shabbos. He does bring a story that the saintly Rabbi Loew of Prague (מהר"ל) did in fact give a talk but, comments that because there are people who will engage in idle chatter between services and certainly it is better for them to listen to words of inspiration than to come to that. Similarly the Vilna Gaon explains that because winter days are short, and the Shir HaMa’alos are short therefore they are more appropriate then something that could be lengthy.

Rashi comments that this group of fifteen Psalms was sung by the Levi’im as they ascended the fifteen steps in the Holy Temple from the woman’s section to Israelite section, one Psalm per step. He then continues by referring to the following story from the Talmud (Succa 53):

Rabbi Hisda was talking to another rabbi who was pouring over old legends and asked him if he had heard the one explaining what the fifteen Shir HaMa’alos, written by King David, correspond to. He answered citing Rabbi Yochanan that, when King David was digging a well, the water in the depths rose up and threatened to flood the world. He then asked if anybody knows if it is permissible to write the Ineffable Name on a potsherd and throw it into the depths so the water will subside. When nobody responded David uttered a curse saying that if there is anybody who knows but does not answer, let him be suffocated. With that Achitofel made a logical argument saying, if concerning a suspected adulteress, the Torah commands that the sacred name be blotted out in order to make peace between a man and his wife, how much more so to make peace in the entire world. Therefore it is permitted.

King David then wrote the sacred name on a pot fragment, through it into the depths, and the water sank 16,000 cubits. When he saw how deep the water had sunk David thought wouldn’t it be better if it was higher so the earth could be properly watered. He then said the fifteen songs of ascent and with each one the water rose 1000 cubits, remaining 1000 cubits below the surface.

Ulla remarked that we can infer from this that the surface of the world in 1000 cubits but, we see that one need only dig a little to find water. Rabbi Meshaysheya then reasoned that this is due to the high level of the Euphrates River.  

The Redak brings an additional explanation saying that in the future Israel will go up from the exile to the land of Israel and these are the songs they will sing. Through these words they will remember the grief of the exile, the expectation of the redemption, and the promise that it will come in any case.

A person should eat their meals at a rational time and the ideal time to doven mincha and ma’ariv is around sunset. There are going to be times when sunset is not a good time to eat and if a person is already in shul they should spend the 45 minutes or so learning Torah. It’s also good for a person to learn subjects that are germane to the present time. Therefore it’s good to think about rain during the winter rainy season. Rain and water make plants grow. The Torah is likened to water because it makes the spirit grow.

This is the fifteen songs of ascent. They start with a condemnation of quarrel, character assassination, the vainglory of war, and the pain of the exile. They end with devotion to HaKadosh Baruch Hu, learning Torah, and Mount Zion. In the middle they also contain themes of faith in times of trouble, brotherly love, humility, and exhilaration upon returning to the land of Israel. These are the things that bring a person from the vestibule outside the Holy Temple to its innermost chamber, end a person’s persecution and exile, and in the end make the world a wonderful place to live.



לע"נ הדוד מאיר בן חיים ז"ל נלב"ע כה בתשרי תשנ"ב
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