Tehilim Perek 77

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 77.

In this chapter, Asaph yearns for personal redemption by calling out to God from the midst of his pain. This is why it starts with the words “Laminatzeach al yadusun.” Yadusun is the name of a musical instrument, but it also means “din,” judgment. This is a good perek to say when feeling a lot of pain and judgment in life.

There are essentially three parts to the perek.

In the first, Asaph raises his voice to God, calling out to Him when he’s in trouble. He feels no relief from his wounds, and has a deep sense of emptiness within his soul.

Asaph feels so distraught that he can’t even open his mouth. He also questions God’s role in this world, and wonders of there is still Divine providence.

In the second part of the perek, Asaph finds comfort in recalling God’s goodness. He reflects upon God’s omnipotence, how He is constantly doing wonders in the world. God is pure and will redeem His people with strength.

In the last part of the perek, he relates God’s complete control over the weather. The Meforshim point out that these are references to the splitting of the sea when Hashem took the Jewish nation out of Egypt.

The waters were immediately frightened when they saw Hashem. Your thunder was heard by the sky and Your lightening lit up the earth. The earth quaked when it saw You. Asaph then emphatically states at that time Hashem saved us through none other than Moshe and Aharon.

Verse 7 says;

אֶֽזְכְּרָ֥ה נְגִינָתִ֗י בַּ֫לָּ֥יְלָה עִם־לְבָבִ֥י אָשִׂ֑יחָה וַיְחַפֵּ֥שׂ רוּחִֽי׃

I recall the music in the night; I meditate in my heart, my spirit searches.

Rebbe Nachman explains that this passuk is about the practice of hisbodedus, speaking to Hashem by yourself in your own language.

When we focus on our good points, it is considered like making music. When making music, we separate the high points from the low, the good notes from the bad, until we get the exact melody or song desired.

When we sift and clarify our good points from the bad, we are also clarifying the ruach tov from the ruach ra, the positive energy from the negative.

Therefore, Asaph was saying, at night I recall my music, I pour my heart out to God in hisbodedus, personal prayer.

He uses the word “ezkira,” I remember. The main thing to remember is the “alma di’asid,” the world to come, to constantly think of our purpose here and our mission in life.

May we all merit fulfilling our missions in life, focusing on our good points and not being overwhelmed by our negative ones. May we engage in a one on one meaningful relationship with God every day of our lives through the practice of hisbodedus, personal prayer.

Thank you for listening and have a wonderful day.