Tehilim Perek 107

Hello everybody, I’m Rabbi Shaya Sussman, covering the entire TANACH one perek at a time. Today’s NachDaily is Tehilim Chapter 107.

This perek begins the 5^th and final book of Tehilim. As we’ve mentioned earlier, Dovid wrote 5 books of Tehilim that correspond to the 5 books of Torah to teach that we need to turn our Torah into tefilos to daven for what we’re learning. Therefore, when we finish this Sefer of Tehilim, it’ll be like finishing the Torah.

This is a more famous perek of Tehilim, and was said about 4 different types of people who were saved from tragedy. These people are obligated to give thanks and show proper gratitude to Hashem for sparing their souls. They were punished because of their sins, and it was the chessed of Hashem that saved them. It is incumbent upon these people, therefore, to publicly admit their indebtedness to Hashem and celebrate the fact that they were saved.

Verses 4 through 9 are about a person who was traveling through the desert. This includes one who was in a dangerous situation. Hashem is constantly saving us from all sorts of perilous situations without our even realizing it.

Verses 10 through 16 are about a freed prisoner. This can be also refer to the Neshama, soul, which is held in captivity by the body.

Verses 17 through 22 are about a person who was seriously sick, then recovered. The body is so complicated and fragile that certainly, without Hashem’s help, the doctors would have no ability to properly assess and treat it. Only because Hashem allows the treatment to work and your body to restore itself does it get better!

Verses 23 through 32 are about someone who completed a trip on the ocean.

When we find ourselves in a dangerous situation, it’s important to acknowledge just how bad it was and not to downplay its severity. When you actually recognize how bad the situation was, you can now have that much more praise and gratitude to Hashem!

This prayer opens with the words “Hodu l’Hashem ki tov, ki l’olam chasdo, give thanks to God because He is good, His kindness is forever!”

The Gemarah in Brachos 54B learns that the 4 people mentioned here are obligated to bring a Korban Todah, Thanks Offering, for being saved.

Rebbe Nachman in Tinyana lesson 2 explains the following connections between the Korban Todah and being saved from danger. When we are in trouble, all our blood rushes to our hearts to get “advice” on how to handle the situation. This can shock a person, causing a heart attack chas v’shalom. When we give thanks to Hashem, however, the blood circulates throughout the body properly, leading to calmness.

It’s the hoda’ah, praise, to Hashem which causes the blood flow to go back to normal and thus end the tsarah. It is only fitting to give thanks to Hashem on being saved from danger because the thanking itself is what has the ability to bring a tikkun, rectification, to the situation.

It also should be noted that both the Malbim and Sforno suggest that all 4 categories of people will apply to all of Am Yisrael when we are fully redeemed from galus, because all of Am Yisrael will sing in unison to God.

Now we can understand why the Medrash says that the only sacrifice that will exist in the future is the Korban Todah, the Thanksgiving Offering. When all of Am Yisrael is saved, order will be restored to our national body and all will give proper thanks to Hashem for His kindness.

May we merit recognizing God’s hand throughout our lives, to give Hoda’ah before suffering strikes. In this wa, any judgment on us will be completely mitigated.

Thank you for listening, and have a wonderful day.