Tehilim Perek 114

Hello everybody, I’m Rabbi Shaya Sussman, covering the entire TANACH one perek at a time. Today’s NachDaily is Tehilim Chapter 114.

The chapter continues with the Hallel. The author explains how Hashem changes the order of the natural world for Am Yisrael to show His special relationship with us. When we were taken out of Egypt the sea split and the mountains trembled. In the time of Yeshoshua, the Yarden flowed backwards. The whole world should tremble before God, Who changes hard rock into liquid water, and flint into a fountain.

Verse 3 says:

הַיָּ֣ם רָ֭אָה וַיָּנֹ֑ס הַ֝יַּרְדֵּ֗ן יִסֹּ֥ב לְאָחֽוֹר׃

The sea saw and fled, the Yarden turned back.

The Medrash Rabba asks what it was that the sea saw that it split? It saw the bones of Yosef. Yosef greatly desired to buried in Eretz Yisrael, so he commanded that his bones be brought there. It was in his merit that the sea split. Without this, Am YIsrael would have been killed by the oncoming onslaught of the Egyptians.

We see from here that going to kivrey tzaddikim, the graves of the righteous, has the ability to bring redemption. This cannot be understated – there is something special that can occur to a person at the kever of Tzaddik. It often is a very powerful experience.

“Tzaddikim b’mesosam nikra chayim, Tzaddikim after they die are considered alive!” Although they are not alive in the flesh. Hashem gives them expanded capabilities in the heavens to advocate on behalf of Am Yisrael and anyone who davens at their graves. The main part of any person is the neshama, soul. This is certainly true for one who spent his whole life working on his neshama. Yosef’s kever was able to bring about a full redemption for Am Yisrael.

The only two people to be saved after the sin of the meraglim, spies, were Calev and Yehoshua. It was they who stopped to ask for help at Kever Rochel and the Macharas Hamachpeila!

May we all merit connecting to true tzaddikim by davening at their burial places and receiving personal redemption. May the seas of our lives split for us as it did for our forefathers.

Thank you for listening, and have a wonderful day!