The Vilna Gaon
poskins in the “Works of the Rav”, laws of Pesach (section 194): The song of
the day for the days of Passover are on the first day Psalm 114 “When Israel
Left”, the second day Psalm 78 “Lesson of Asaph”, the third day Psalm 80
“Shepherd of Israel”, the fourth day Psalm 105 “Give Thanks to G-d Call to Him”,
the fifth day Psalm 135 “Praise the Name”, the sixth day Psalm 56 “Shout to
G-d”. . . the last day of Passover Psalm 18 “To the Conductor for the Servant”,
and for the additional day [of the Diaspora] Psalm 136 “Give thanks to Hashem
for He is Good”. Different communities have variations of this practice.
Psalm 114 is
included in Hallel, a group of Psalms, said during the Passover Seder. It’s
basically a poem of jubilation for leaving the slavery in Egypt. Psalm 18, said
on the seventh and last Biblical day of Pesach, is King David’s poem in which
he rejoices for being rescued from King Saul and his enemies. The theme is
conceptually similar to Israel being rescued from Pharaoh and Egypt, by the
parting of the Red Sea, which occurred on the seventh day of Pesach.
Some say Psalm
105 on the first day of Passover. It is basically a long historical poem of
thanksgiving, which among other things details the plagues in Egypt. Psalm 78
also details the plagues in Egypt in the format of a long historical poem which
in many ways mimics the themes of the Passover Seder. It is basically a sermon
by King David.
The psalm opens
by calling the people of Israel to pay attention to his lesson and incline
their ears to what he is saying. The lesson will contain allegories and discuss
the complex events of ancient times. The Malbim explains that his intention is
to correct the errors of earlier generations and to give a sense of purpose,
destiny and hope to future generations until the day of redemption. This song
will recount the historical events as they occurred, however the stories of
Israel are very different from that of the other nations. This is because
Israel is the nation of Hashem; therefore every situation is about divine
providence and miracles. The point is to know that the history of Israel is in
essence lessons in morality and faith, as well as the existence of G-d, His
abilities, providence, rewards, and punishments.
The psalm
continues that just like we have learned these lessons from our fathers, it is
incumbent upon us to teach them to our children, including children yet to be
born, until the final generations. The nation is cautioned not to be depraved
and rebellious as were previous generations. Rather they should tutor their
hearts and spirits to be faithful to G-d. The objective of this indoctrination
is that the nation will place their hopes and expectations in religion and the
hand of heaven. In other words that in the final analysis good things happen to
them because they were good people.
The psalm then
goes through a long list of kindnesses that the Holy One Blessed be He extended
to Israel. These include open miracles like the splitting the Red Sea, the
manna, the plagues in Egypt, and water from a rock. There are other gifts like
the holy land and the Temple. The reaction of the children of Israel, though,
typically is backsliding. They will call out to G-d on their day of trouble but
disregard the deliverance and the miracles shortly after.
The wrap up of
the psalm is that the final gift is King David himself, which is tied to the
rejection of the tent of Yosef. Material prosperity is associated with Yosef,
however the psalm points to abundant satisfaction as a vehicle for decadence.
Yosef is also associated with dreams and wisdom. That approach is rejected in
favor unsophistication, sincerity and skillful training.
לע"נ
ה אמה מלכה בת חיים ז"ל נלב"ע טז בנוסן תשנ"ח
העלון ניתן לקבל בדואר אלקטרוני וגם באתר
http://dyschreiber.blogspot.co.il
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