Tehilim Perek 37A

Welcome to NachDaily, covering the entire TANACH one perek at a time. I’m Rabbi Shaya Sussman, and today we’ll be discussing Tehilim, chapter 37. Due to the length of this chapter, we will review it in four parts.

This perek was written according to the aleph-beis. All of the letters are written twice, except for the letter “ayin,” which was omitted from the beginning of any verse.

It often seems as if those who bend the rules are succeeding, while people who walk with emunah are not. In this chapter, Dovid urges us not to be jealous of what other people have, especially if they obtained their wealth through improper means.

Dovid tells us to be content with our lives and to be happy with our mitzvos. In verse 4 he says to “delight in God because He’ll grant you good.” He recommends that we be “silent” before God, and patiently wait and yearn for Him.

Dovid contrasts the ultimate lot of the Tzaddikim with that of the reshaim. While it looks as if Tzaddikim are not always financially successful, it is they who will ultimately “inherit the earth.”

The wicked are cynical in regard to Hashem. They make snide jokes that undercut Tzaddikim, Torah and mitzvos. Although their comments may seem innocuous, and they claim that no harm was meant, they really harbor resentment towards God and a holy lifestyle.

Dovid continues to admonish us not to fall into the trap of looking at other people’s looks, jobs, homes, families, children, or marriages. We must not fall into the trap of looking outside ourselves, which will only bring us down. “The grass is greener on the other side” is precisely that, a trap. Rather, Dovid explains in this chapter, it is best to be content with your life. If God wanted it to be another way, it would be that way.

At the end of the day, Dovid reminds us, the wicked don’t win because God is going to bring strict judgment upon them. Dovid encourages us to glean lessons from simple, innocent people who have an honest lifestyle, good character, and maintain a positive demeanor through thick and thin. God helps these people because they take refuge in Him in their times of trouble.

In verse 2 Dovid says:

בְּטַ֣ח בַּֽ֭יהוָה וַעֲשֵׂה־ט֑וֹב שְׁכָן־אֶ֝֗רֶץ וּרְעֵ֥ה אֱמוּנָֽה׃

Trust in God and do good. Abide in the land and nourish yourself with faith.

Rebbe Nachman of Breslov explains that Eretz Yisrael is synonymous with emunah. Those who live in Eretz Yisrael are nourished with it.

As the Gemarah in Kesuvos 110B says, living in Eretz Yisrael is like living with God, because it is the perfect environment for emunah to flourish. The earth possesses the ability to allow a seed to sprout and grow, and Eretz Yisrael has that same property to allow one’s emunah to increase. Emunah is Eretz Yisrael’s national crop.

Anyone who has been to Eretz Yisrael, or lives there, can experience the increased levels of emunah that don’t exist outside of it. This fits in with the simple meaning of the passuk, shichon Eretz ur’ey eumnah, to live in the Land and nourish yourself with faith, because Eretz Yisrael is the land where our souls flourish with it.

Rav Yaakov Moshe Charlop, in his sefer Mey Marom on Tehilim, explains a valuable and awesome lesson about Eretz Yisrael from this passuk:

The Kedusha of Eretz Yisrael is unfathomable, and it cannot be seen by the naked eye. Physically, Eretz Yisrael looks like any other land. You need to truly believe in its holiness to really experience it. Your emunah allows the Land to reveal its beauty.

Similarly, I saw an explanation from the Mey Marom on parshas Lech Lecha, where Hashem told Avraham to “go to the land that I will show you.” Rav Yaakov Moshe Charlop explains that the only way that Kedushas Ha’aretz can be seen is if Hashem lifts the veil of physicality from it and allows you to see some of its intrinsic holiness. Hashem told Avraham go the land that He would show him because only when God decides to show its true Divinity can it be seen.

We should not mistakenly think that Eretz Yisrael is just like any other land. May our true emunah result in Hashem revealing the unique, Divine qualities of Eretz Yisrael which no other land possesses.

Thank you for listening and have a wonderful day.