Tehilim Perek 19

Welcome to NachDaily, covering the entire TANACH one perek at a time. I’m Rabbi Shaya Sussman, and today we’ll be discussing Tehilim, perek 19. We will first summarize the perek, and then highlight a particular passuk.

In this perek Dovid explains that there are two primary ways that Kavod Hashem, God’s honor, is revealed in this world.

One way is through the creation itself, what we would call nature, the impeccable order and design as well as the aesthetic beauty that we see around us.

The creations themselves “communicate” the Hand and Glory of God without using words. The sun is described by Dovid as a chasson, groom, emerging from the marriage canopy. It shines brightly, radiating God’s Light.

The second way in which Kavod Hashem is revealed in this world is through Torah. Just as the creations point towards God’s supreme wisdom, the Torah points towards His infinite knowledge.

The Torah, which comes from outside this world and is beyond us, was revealed through the prophecy of Moshe Rabbeinu. God uses the Torah as a conduit to reveal His Glory to the world.

The Torah is completely whole and pure. It is better than fine gold and sweeter than honey.

There is no stream of knowledge more dynamic than Torah. Every week when I go through the weekly Parsha, I learn something new! Many of us must have heard, learned and studied the Parsha for thousands of hours throughout our lives. Each time that we study it, however, we gain fresh insights. The Torah is never old. It’s brand new every time you learn it. It is so enjoyable.

The perek ends with Dovid asking Hashem to forgive his intentional sins and a short tefilah for his prayer to be accepted.

Let’s look at passuk ches.

תּ֘וֹרַ֤ת יְהוָ֣ה תְּ֭מִימָה מְשִׁ֣יבַת נָ֑פֶשׁ עֵד֥וּת יְהוָ֥ה נֶ֝אֱמָנָ֗ה מַחְכִּ֥ימַת פֶּֽתִי׃

“God’s Torah is perfect, restoring the soul. God’s testimony is trustworthy, making the simple wise.”

The Radak explains the simple meaning of “meshivas nefesh – restoring the soul.” The Torah teaches us how to avoid the pitfalls of this world and how to properly guide our lives so that we can live life to the fullest. The word “meshivas” comes from the word “shevi,” which literally means imprisoned, or trapped. The Torah has the ability to unleash our human potential and set our souls free from the confines of our limitations.

The Ramad Walli elucidates that the Torah revitalizes our souls because it is mazon ruchney, spiritual food which God prepared for us to feed and nourish our neshamas.

There is no need to fill ourselves up on other things. The Torah contains the perfect vitamins and minerals that our souls need to feel properly satiated and content with life.

This brings us to one of my favorite teachings from the Ba’al Shem Tov. The passuk says that God’s Torah has the ability to make the simple person wise. The Torah is “mach’kimas pesi.” If you want the Torah to make you smarter, says the Ba’al Shem, first you need to make yourself into a “pessi” A fool or simpleton!

The Torah of Hashem is perfect, but we need to have the proper attitude or perspective. We need to have emunah that the Torah contains what we need, and put aside our own agendas. We must learn to approach life and Hashem’s Torah with great simplicity, utter joy, and an open heart.

Thank you for listening and have a wonderful day.