Tefilos Shabbos – Psukei Dezimro 1

Tefillos Shabbos Shiur 13 – Psukei Dezimro 1

The main part of pesukai dezimrah during the week are the ‘hallelukahs‘.

The first of the halleukahs (haleli nafshi) speaks about the nefesh. The second speaks about history. The third speaks about the whole world. The fourth speaks about how the world will change from the Geulah. The fifth speaks about the neshamah. In other words, during the week, we talk about the world that we live in.

On Shabbos, we daven in a different way. We speak about how Torah builds a person in a way totally different from man’s nature. We then talk about how we live in the world of Hashem and that we are guarded from everything in His world. We then speak about praising Hashem in a way appropriate to the World to Come, praising Him as if we are found in the Beis Hamikdash. In other words, on Shabbos, we praise Hashem from a base where we exist in a different realm.

In this vein, at Shacharis on Shabbos, during birchas kriyas shema, we say ein keerkecha, etc.; here we mention techiyas hameisim. During the week, we only mention techiyas hamesim in the shemoneh esrei. On Shabbos, in birchas kriyas shema, where we speak about the world we live in (we say details about our world- that Hashem gives us sun and light, etc.), we mention techiyas hamesim. This is because, on Shabbos morning, our existence is like being in Olam Habo. 

Another connected idea is that at shacharis on Shabbos in nusach Ashkenaz, there are seven mizmorim, and the eighth one is mizmor shir leyom hashabbos. Eight denotes being above nature. This is because Shabbos, in the morning, is above nature- it’s olam habo. We enter a different world on Shabbos. With this basis, we daven the pesukai dezimrah on Shabbos morning, literally from a different world.

 As an aside, when taking davening seriously, we are prone to invest a lot of energy in understanding each word that we say. This often results in a person exhausting all of his energy, and by the time he reaches the shemoneh esrei, he is exhausted and has no more energy. This is wrong since shemoneh esrei is the pinnacle of the davening.

When I was Mashgiach in yeshivah, for Rosh Hashonah, they set aside 40 minutes for pesukeh dezimrah. I (after having told the bochurim beforehand what I was going to do with the explanation) arrived in the beis hamedrash 20 minutes before Borchu. I know that the shemoneh esrei is the pinnacle of the davening and if I invest all my energy and great time in understanding the meaning when saying each word, when I arrive at shemoneh esrei I will have no kochos left.

The best advice is to understand the topics of the pesukai dezimrah and to know how the picture evolves throughout it. This way we can daven a good pesukai dezimrah and still have kochos left for birchas kriyas shema and for shemoneh esrei.

Now we wil begin with lamenatzeach mizmor ledovid:

הַשָּׁמַיִם מְסַפְּרִים כְּבוֹד אֵ-ל וּמַעֲשֵׂה יָדָיו מַגִּיד הָרָקִיעַ

The heaven tells of the honour of Hashem, and the skies tell of His actions

We think that shomayim is essentially about where the sun, the moon and the stars exist. This is not the case. Shomayim is about telling of kovod Hashem.

אֵין אֹמֶר וְאֵין דְּבָרִים, בְּלִי נִשְׁמָע קוֹלָם

No saying and no words, without their sound being heard

The world is not made that everything is clearly revealed on the surface. Rather, the world is a penimius world, meaning that it’s hidden and quiet.

בְּכָל הָאָרֶץ יָצָא קַוָּם וּבִקְצֵה תֵבֵל מִלֵּיהֶם, לַשֶּׁמֶשׁ שָם אֹהֶל בָּהֶם

Their line goes forth throughout the land and their words reach the furthest ends of the land 

Despite the world being quiet, its influence goes everywhere.

תּוֹרַת יְ-יָ תְּמִימָה מְשִׁיבַת נָפֶשׁ, 

The Torah of Hashem is perfect

While it is true that Torah is a great intellectual endeavour, this is not what we focus on in this tefillah. Rather, the focus here is on how Torah influences the person. Torah is what expresses and influences the penimius of the world.

הַנֶּחֱמָדִים מִזָּהָב וּמִפַּז רָב, וּמְתוּקִים מִדְּבַשׁ וְנֹפֶת צוּפִים׃ גַּם עַבְדְּךָ נִזְהָר בָּהֶם 

Better than gold and silver and sweeter than honey, etc.

Torah penetrates and makes us to shine.

גַּם מִזֵּדִים חֲשֹׂךְ עַבְדֶּךָ, אַל יִמְשְׁלוּ בִי אָז אֵיתָם 

Also from intentional sins restrain Your servant

Torah also penetrates into things that we are not aware of.

לְדָוִד, בְּשַׁנּוֹתוֹ אֶת טַעְמוֹ לִפְנֵי אֲבִימֶלֶךְ 

Of Dovid, when he disguised his sanity before Avimelech

It goes through the aleph–beis. Aleph–beis means Torah, just like oshamnu, bogadnu goes through the aleph-beis as if to say that we have sinned against all the letters of the aleph-beis, that is the Torah.

Dovid Hamelech changed ‘taamo’, his penimius, in front of Avimelech. Dovid Hamelech understood that a person can change their tzurah through Torah. He made himself be meshugah, although he was not really so. 

(Rav Wolbe zt’l was very impressed by a particular psychiatric book. The author writes that in even the worst cases, such as schizophrenia, a certain part of the person’s character, from a point deeper than the illness, still shines forth, and from this the person can be healed through building him back up.)

So, too, Dovid Hamelech made himself into a mashugenah. Through Torah, a person can make themselves into a different person. Dovid saw this from how he made himself into a different person in front of Avimelech.

בַּי-יָ תִּתְהַלֵּל נַפְשִׁי, יִשְׁמְעוּ עֲנָוִים וְיִשְׂמָחוּ 

My soul will praise Hashem

Dovid found a way how he could have gaavah when connected with Hashem.

מִי הָאִישׁ הֶחָפֵץ חַיִּים, אֹהֵב יָמִים לִרְאוֹת טוֹב׃ נְצֹר לְשׁוֹנְךָ מֵרָע וּשְׂפָתֶיךָ מִדַּבֵּר מִרְמָה 

Who is the man who desires life etc.

The medrash says that a merchant was calling out, ‘Who wants life?’ Rav Yosef came and asked what he was selling. The merchant replied by quoting the possuk ‘Who is the one that wants life? Guard your tongue from evil, etc.’ Rav Yosef said that he knew this possuk, but he had never realised how simple and literal it was. He realised now that it meant simply what it said and required no explanation, that guarding one’s tongue gives life.  In other words, Torah affects a person’s life in very simple ways.

קָרוֹב י-ְיָ לְנִשְׁבְּרֵי לֵב, וְאֶת דַּכְּאֵי רוּחַ יוֹשִיעַ 

Hashem is close to the heartbroken

When a person calls out to Hashem, He will listen, even when the person is not so great.

In this piece, Dovid Hamelech describes to us how a person can have life from Torah in a very simple way, but different from how his simple life would be without Torah.

תְּפִלָּה לְמֹשֶׁה

אֲדֹנ-ָי מָעוֹן אַתָּה

You are my fortress

Hashem is my fortress. Dovid Hamelech is saying that he lives in Hashem‘s world and not his own. Therefore, Hashem is his fortress.

כִּי אֶלֶף שָׁנִים בְּעֵינֶיךָ כְּיוֹם 

1000 years in Your eyes is like a day

A thousand years by Hashem is like one day. We live in Hashem’s world, and our 70-year life is very short in Hashem‘s eyes.

מִי יוֹדֵעַ עֹז אַפֶּךָ, וּכְיִרְאָתְךָ עֶבְרָתֶךָ

Who knows the power of Your fury 

Who knows how strong the middas Hadin of Hashem is and how much yiras shomayim I (Dovid Hamelech) have, and even still, You are still in rage against me, Dovid Hamelech says to Hashem. If so, Dovid Hamelech doesn’t want to be in such a world.

שׁוּבָה יְ-יָ עַד מָתָי, וְהִנָּחֵם עַל עֲבָדֶיךָ

Return, Hashem. How long? 

Dovid Hamelech was asking Hashem to return to Him. Living in Hashem’s world isn’t simple, and living according to His standards is very hard.

שַׂבְּעֵנוּ בַבֹּקֶר חַסְדֶּךָ, וּנְרַנְּנָה וְנִשְׂמְחָה בְּכָל יָמֵינוּ

Satisfy us in the morning with Your kindness etc. 

What Hashem really wants though is our tovah.

שַׂמְּחֵנוּ כִּימוֹת עִנִּיתָנוּ, שְׁנוֹת רָאִינוּ רָעָה

Make us happy like the days of our affliction 

Even the bad that we do in the world of Hashem (keyom inisonu) is part of the big plan that Hashem wants.

 וּמַעֲשֵׂה יָדֵינוּ כּוֹנְנָה עָלֵינוּ, וּמַעֲשֵׂה יָדֵינוּ כּוֹנְנֵהוּ

May He establish for us our handiwork

The Maharam Mipano says that despite our failure to do certain actions, nevertheless, Hashem considers it as if we also did them.

יֹשֵׁב בְּסֵתֶר עֶלְיוֹן

Whoever sits in the refuge of the most high

Since we are living in Hashem’s world nothing can reach and harm us. 

לֹא תִירָא מִפַּחַד לָיְלָה, מֵחֵץ יָעוּף יוֹמָם

Don’t be afraid from the night

We are getting regular attacks from the Houthis. We hear the sirens, and we don’t know what might happen. However, since we are living in the world of Hashem, nothing will happen.

יִפֹּל מִצִּדְּךָ אֶלֶף וּרְבָבָה מִימִינֶךָ, אֵלֶיךָ לֹא יִגָּשׁ

Let a thousand encamp at your side

Even though there are diseases around the world, they will not come to us.

כִּי אַתָּה יְ-יָ מַחְסִי, עֶלְיוֹן שַׂמְתָּ מְעוֹנֶךָ    

Because You, Hashem are my shelter

Hashem is in a realm above everything, and therefore, no harm will come to Him, and Dovid Hamelech is with Hashem, and therefore, no harm will come to him either.

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Written by Rabbi Rapport