Tehilim Perek 31A

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 30. Due to its length, this is the first of two shiurim on this perek.

The chapter corresponds to Shmuel Aleph, chapters 23 and 24. For more information, check out the NachDaily archives found at the bottom of the email.

Dovid said this chapter while he was fleeing from Shaul. Shortly after Dovid’s arrival in the town of Ziph, its residents revealed his hideout to King Shaul and he was again forced to flee for his life. Dovid was on one side of a mountain, while Shaul and his men were on the other side, anticipating the opportunity to kill him. Miraculously, Shaul suddenly received news that the Plishtim were attacking his city. With more imminent matters to take care of, he momentarily abandoned his chase of Dovid. Again, God had spared Dovid’s life.

This a good perek to say when you’re feeling alone, with only Hashem to rely on.

In this chapter, Dovid ardently articulates his feelings of closeness to God. When there is no one else on whom you can rely, He is with you. God was Dovid’s protection from the trap of his adversaries; just as it seemed that he would be caught and killed, Dovid’s prayers were answered.

Beginning with verse 10, Dovid expresses the feelings of shame and rejection that he felt when it seemed as if nobody cared about him or showed him any regard, yet alone respect!

“My eyes are worn out.” “My bones rot away,” “I’ve become like an object easily disregarded and lost!”

He expresses his hope for the great hidden goodness which God has stored away for people in the next world. Dovid awaits the day when his hidden reward for the hardships he endured will be revealed.

Dovid ends the perek with expressing his total rejection of people who turn towards idol worship, as if the idols have any power to make changes in the world. Dovid proclaims his unwavering emunah in God, and finishes the chapter by telling us to strengthen ourselves to have unwavering faith in Hashem as well.

The following verses really capture Dovid’s suffering. In passuk 11 he says:

כִּ֤י כָל֪וּ בְיָג֡וֹן חַיַּי֮ וּשְׁנוֹתַ֪י בַּאֲנָ֫חָ֥ה כָּשַׁ֣ל בַּעֲוֺנִ֣י כֹחִ֑י וַעֲצָמַ֥י עָשֵֽׁשׁוּ׃

My life is spent in sorrow, my years in groaning; my strength fails because of my iniquity, my body wastes away.

And again in passuk 13:

נִ֭שְׁכַּחְתִּי כְּמֵ֣ת מִלֵּ֑ב הָ֝יִ֗יתִי כִּכְלִ֥י אֹבֵֽד׃

I am forgotten from the heart like the dead; I am like an object given up for lost.

The simple meaning, the Meforshim explain, is that Dovid was emotionally and physically drained by the attempts on his life. He felt totally rejected and invalidated as a person in the eyes of the world.

On a deeper level, Dovid teaches us a great psychological and spiritual lesson. He doesn’t run away from or deny his feelings, but totally accepts every emotion he experiences, recognizing them as Divine in nature. He could thus accept and work through them, allowing himself to move on with life.

Feelings in themselves are not good or bad. Instead of focusing on why you have certain thoughts, it’s often more helpful to focus on the very fact that you can think!

We are much greater than our thoughts and feelings. They are not the totality of our beings, as we are also Divine in nature, manifestations of the formless energy of life. As mankind was created in the image of God, our deeper nature is our Neshama-Soul.

Being aware that the true origin of thought is from the Infinite Source of all life allows you to free your mind, feel more grounded, and know that God is with you in that very moment.

Dovid knew that there is a deeper order to our psychological experiences, and was thus unafraid of his thought and feelings. We constantly see Dovid’s emotional flexibility throughout Tehilim and his life because he knew that our thoughts and feelings are not who we are, but merely something that we experience. This left him free to accept the emotional gamut of life while experiencing the Oneness of God.

May we also merit seeing the interconnectedness of all of our lives’ experiences, and not fear any perceived negative emotions. By cleaving to God, Source of all life, we will follow in the path of Dovid Hamelech.

We will hopefully have another class to conclude this perek.

Thank you for listening and have a wonderful day.