Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Metsorah \ Psalm 78 - Sincerity and Schooling

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
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