Tehilim Perek 63

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 63.

This perek is appropriate to say when thirsting to come close to Hashem.

Dovid wrote this chapter when he was on the run from king Shaul in the Judean Desert. Dovid wasn’t bothered by the lack of water, but because his soul yearned and thirsted to come close to the Creator. Dovid wanted to come close to the Ark, which was then located in the city of Kiryas Yearim.

Dovid wasn’t able to visit the Mishkan because he was in the desert, but he had longed to be physically close to holiness. He states, in verse 4, that God’s loving kindness is better than life itself.

He continues to express being mindful of the Torah, God’s ways, and his innermost desire to cleave to God.

In verse 10 until the end of the psalm, Dovid asks God to punish his enemies. Once they end up in the depths of the earth, the king will be able to rejoice in God more easily.

Verse 2 and 3 say:

אֱלֹהִ֤ים ׀ אֵלִ֥י אַתָּ֗ה אֲ‍ֽשַׁחֲ֫רֶ֥ךָּ צָמְאָ֬ה לְךָ֨ ׀ נַפְשִׁ֗י כָּמַ֣הּ לְךָ֣ בְשָׂרִ֑י בְּאֶֽרֶץ־צִיָּ֖ה וְעָיֵ֣ף בְּלִי־מָֽיִם׃

God, You are my God; I search for You, my soul thirsts for You, my body yearns for You as a parched and thirsty land that has no water.

כֵּ֭ן בַּקֹּ֣דֶשׁ חֲזִיתִ֑יךָ לִרְא֥וֹת עֻ֝זְּךָ֗ וּכְבוֹדֶֽךָ׃

I shall behold You in the sanctuary, and see Your might and glory,

The Alshich Hakodesh explains that Dovid wondered how he can come close to God in the desert. The desert obviously represents spiritual devastation, where it seems that coming close to God is virtually impossible.

The Commentators explain that by expressing his deep desire to come close to God, he was drawing God’s Divine light upon himself.

It is through the deep longing to be one with the Creator, to do His will and fulfill your tikkun in this world, that the tikkun is made. Your desire is what keeps you connected to God.

If you rearrange the letters in the word “ratzon,” desire or will, you can find the word “tsinure,” pipeline. A person’s ratson is a tsinure, conduit, for kedusha, drawing down the Divine flow.

All too often, we become distracted by life. We have multiple and conflicting desires for all sorts of things: money, honor, respect, a better job, good kids, a spouse, marital harmony, better relationships, a nicer house or even a new car. The list goes on.

Dovid wasn’t bothered by the fact that he found himself in the middle of the desert with no water, food or shelter. He wasn’t concerned about his honor or revenge against those who harmed him.

His driving desire was to come close to God, to fulfill His ratzon. This is what the deeper sources call a “ratson ha’elyon,” the deepest desire to do what the soul was born to do in this world, to thirst for God as one thirsts for water.

When a person works on cultivating the ratson, desire, for Hashem, then baser desires seem to diminish and fall by the wayside.

May we merit seeing the One Source of our lives. Wherever we find ourselves, be it in a desert or in a city, may we use our desires to connect with God and realize that he is always with us.

Thank you for listening, and have a wonderful day.