Tehilim Perek 42B

Welcome to NachDaily, covering the entire TANACH one perek at a time. I’m Rabbi Shaya Sussman, and today we’ll continue to discuss chapter 42, which begins the second book of Tehilim. This is the second of two classes on the perek.

In this chapter the sons of Korach describe the longing of the soul to come close to its Creator. They emotionally recall and describe what it was like for them to be in the Beis Hamikdash, House of God.

The sons of Korach describe the misery of exile. In verse 7 they say “My soul is embittered in me when I remember the Jordan and Mount Chermon.”

As in many other chapters, Dovid asks God for increased emunah and strength to withstand the proverbial “night” of exile. The perek ends with the author affirming his hope in God’s goodness, that one day He will bring the final redemption.

There are so many beautiful pessukim in this perek.

In verse 2 and 3 it says:

כְּאַיָּ֗ל תַּעֲרֹ֥ג עַל־אֲפִֽיקֵי־מָ֑יִם כֵּ֤ן נַפְשִׁ֨י תַעֲרֹ֖ג אֵלֶ֣יךָ אֱלֹהִֽים׃

Like a hind crying for water, my soul cries longingly for You, God;

צָמְאָ֬ה נַפְשִׁ֨י ׀ לֵאלֹהִים֮ לְאֵ֪ל חָ֥י מָתַ֥י אָב֑וֹא וְ֝אֵרָאֶ֗ה פְּנֵ֣י אֱלֹהִֽים׃

my soul thirsts for God, the living God; O when will I come to appear before God?

The words themselves need little explanation, as these are the words of every Jewish neshama. “My soul longs and thirsts to come close to You.”

The Jewish soul is completely pure. No matter how much we may have messed up in life, there is a part of our souls in pristine condition, completely unscathed by the externalities of this world. This part of the soul, also known as the Yechida Sh’benifesh, the apex or highest part of a Jew’s soul, is intrinsically whole. It is never broken or lacking.

The Radak explains that thirst is stronger than hunger. A person can go several days without food, but not without water. Our souls are constantly thirsting to feel God’s presence in the strongest possible way.

Rashi and the Ramad Walli both say that the ayal, hind, or mountain goat, is different than all the other animals on the mountain. When other animals want water, they just go to a stream and drink. The ayal privately hides behind the hills, uncovers the earth that covers a fresh water spring, then drinks.

This is the process that everyone must go through to drink from the words of Torah and feel God’s Presence. First one must work to remove the dirt to allow the water to flow forth. Sure, life gets difficult at times, but we need to have a firm resolve to break through the barriers.

Every yerida is for the purpose of aliyah, every descent is for the purpose of ascent. Therefore, just as the ayal initially must dig to get to water, we go through many barriers in order to properly serve Hashem.

The prospect of hard work can be discouraging to people. It is hard work to have deep commitment to serving Hashem, but I think that the passuk gives us a hint towards a path that is perhaps an easier way to remove the dirt.

Tsama nafshi, my soul thirsts. When we truly see our Godly divine nature, the metaphoric dirt covering us falls off by the wayside. The problem is that many of us are not connected to our tselem Elokim, Godly image. We often think that we are lacking, and need more tools to get through life.

Nothing can be farther from the truth! God made each and every one of us perfectly whole. We are all part of God’s formless energy, and our souls are the essential part of who we are. We’re intrinsically healthy and wired for wisdom. We’re perfectly designed to handle this world, not only just to deal with life, but to thrive, to love life to the max! This energy comes from the part of our soul that is in pristine, perfect condition. At any moment that we come in contact to our divinity, the barriers that lay ahead seem to be less threatening. We feel more confident to navigate the storms of life.

May we merit being in touch with the yearning and thirsting of our souls, to realize our deeper nature and gain strength to serve God.

Thank you for listening and have a wonderful day.