Tehilim: Psalms and the Staff of Healing.

Welcome to NachDaily, covering the entire TANACH one perek at a time. I’m Rabbi Shaya Sussman, and for today’s shiur I wanted to do something a little different. As I’ve been preparing these shiurim for Tehilm and NachDaily, I come across gems of emunah.

The Gemarah in Brachos 32B tells us that there are four things which need constant chizuk, encouragement: Torah, good deeds, prayer and derech eretz.

Rashi explains B’kol kocho to mean that we put all our energy into constantly strengthening and renewing themselves into something.

Therefore, it’s only appropriate while learning Tehilim that occasionally I’m going to add words of encouragement, insight and perspective about emunah, faith, tehilim, prayer and Dovid Hamelch.

We need to constantly be renewing and updating our perspective on tefilah, which is interesting because most people know how to daven. It’s really simple: just open your mouth and start speaking to Hashem. The truth is, however, that many of us feel worn out, uninspired and unmotivated in this area, and especially when it comes to just saying simple words of Tehilim.

Rebbe Nachman of Breslov says, in Sichos Haran Lesson 98, that when you say Tehilim it’s considered as great as if Dovid Hamelech himself, who wrote the words with ruach Hakodesh, Divine inspiration, was saying them.

Ruach Hakodesh literally means, “Holy Breath,” and it is still contained in the words of Tehilim themselves. When you recite them, the Ruach from your words arouses, connects, and joins with the breath of Dovid and the holiness that he imbued in those words. Therefore, when you simply recite the words of Tehilim it’s as if Dovid Hamelech is saying them with you.

Rebbe Nachman continues to explain that saying Tehilim is synonymous with emunah, which is like a staff. Just as one leans on a staff or a cane to support him or herself, so too a person with true emunah has the ability to only rely on God for support.

In Tehilim 18, passuk 19, Dovid says, “God has been my staff,” because he was able to lean on Him as on a staff for physical support.

One of the reasons that saying Tehilim brings healing to the sick is because it brings the ill person to place trust in Hashem alone.

Rebbe Nachman goes on to explain how the staff of emunah, which is activated through saying Tehilim, has the power to bring Mashiach.

When Yeshaya Hanavi speaks about the sprouting of Mashiach he says, in chapter 11 verse 1, “A staff shall come forth out of the stock of Yeshai.” This is a clear reference to the healing staff of trust and prayer that Dovid Hamelech brought down to the world through Tehilim. This is the staff of trust that Mashiach will use to spread the understanding of the oneness of God in the entire creation.

The same idea that saying Tehilim has the power to bring Mashiach is found in Migilas Eichah, where Mashiach is referred to as “ר֤וּחַ אַפֵּ֙ינוּ֙ מְשִׁ֣יחַ יְהוָ֔ה the breath of our nostrils, God’s Mashiach.” Connecting our breath with that of Dovid allows his staff to sprout and bring the final redemption.

I hope that we all found this helpful, and received encouragement to increase our emunah in Hashem. Just simply recite the words of Tehilim even if you don’t fully understand them, as saying Tehilim has become a lost art.

We’ll be moving forward in Tehilim in the next shiur.

Thank you for listening and have a wonderful day.