Chasidut zu Tehillim 150:78
Kedushat Levi
A different approach to our verse. The Talmud in B’rachot 33 taught that if someone in his prayer for mercy to Hashem includes a line in which he compares G’d’s mercy on the young and helpless birds in the nest, by praying that Hashem should extend His mercy to him likewise, such a person is to be silenced. One of the commentators on that line in the Talmud explains that the reason why the author of the Mishnah considers this such a travesty, is that the worshipper arrogates to himself the right to draw parallels between emotions experienced by us mortal human beings and immortal Hashem. We have to accept Divine legislation, such as the commandment to send off the mother bird, as decrees, without trying to examine G’d’s motivation.
There is a line similar to the one we quoted from B’rachot 33 in Megillah 25, and there Tossaphot question the reasoning offered in the Talmud B’rachot by citing a well known poetical liturgist, Rabbi Eliezer Hakalir, who wrote (in connection with the kedushah we recite on the second day of Passover) suggesting that the commandment not to slaughter the mother animal and its young (Leviticus 22,8) on the same day, by citing G’d’s attribute of Mercy as the reason. [Tossaphot’s point is that surely Rabbi Eliezer Hakalir was not ignorant of both these Mishnayot? Tossaphot do not offer a solution. Ed.]
Perhaps we may resolve this problem when recalling that in Shabbat 151 the Talmud states that anyone who displays mercy and compassion vis a vis any of G’d’s creatures will experience that Hashem in turn will display His Mercy concerning himself. The root for that statement is found in the Zohar Tossephet 308 where it is stated that when a human being displays compassion for other creatures he “incites” the attribute of mercy, as a result of which this attribute will relate with mercy toward him.
It is a well known fact that חסדי ה' לא כלו, “the deeds of loving kindness by Hashem are inexhaustible because His mercy is inexhaustible.” If we sometimes have the feeling that we have been shortchanged by the attribute of Mercy, the reason is never that G’d has run out of Mercy, but the reason is that we do not qualify for it at all times. Nonetheless G’d is able to bring about a radical change within our hearts so that we will have a pure heart and qualify to serve Him loyally and devotedly. When that occurs, we will qualify for additional displays of His mercy. This is why we regularly pray: לא תכלא רחמיך ממנו, “do not allow Your mercy to come to and end as far as we are concerned.”(Psalms 40,12)
When Bereshit Rabbah 14,11 quotes psalm 150,6 [the last verse in psalms, Ed.] the line כל הנשמה תהלל קה יהללו-קה, is understood to mean that “with every breath we draw we praise the Lord with our whole soul,” so that G’d has no difficulty in changing us into a new creature whenever the soul is restored to us. At that time He can supply us with a pure, non-polluted heart.
We have mentioned repeatedly that a tzaddik by means of his prayer can convert what was an evil decree into a beneficial decree, as we have been taught in Moed Katan 16. This is also the meaning of ויכון בחסד כסאך ותשב עליו באמת “when Your throne will be firmly established through loving kindness You will sit on it truly.” [I could not find such a verse. Ed.] When G’d sits so firmly on His throne the righteous will not overturn His decrees, [as there has been no need for harsh decrees. Ed.]
There is a line similar to the one we quoted from B’rachot 33 in Megillah 25, and there Tossaphot question the reasoning offered in the Talmud B’rachot by citing a well known poetical liturgist, Rabbi Eliezer Hakalir, who wrote (in connection with the kedushah we recite on the second day of Passover) suggesting that the commandment not to slaughter the mother animal and its young (Leviticus 22,8) on the same day, by citing G’d’s attribute of Mercy as the reason. [Tossaphot’s point is that surely Rabbi Eliezer Hakalir was not ignorant of both these Mishnayot? Tossaphot do not offer a solution. Ed.]
Perhaps we may resolve this problem when recalling that in Shabbat 151 the Talmud states that anyone who displays mercy and compassion vis a vis any of G’d’s creatures will experience that Hashem in turn will display His Mercy concerning himself. The root for that statement is found in the Zohar Tossephet 308 where it is stated that when a human being displays compassion for other creatures he “incites” the attribute of mercy, as a result of which this attribute will relate with mercy toward him.
It is a well known fact that חסדי ה' לא כלו, “the deeds of loving kindness by Hashem are inexhaustible because His mercy is inexhaustible.” If we sometimes have the feeling that we have been shortchanged by the attribute of Mercy, the reason is never that G’d has run out of Mercy, but the reason is that we do not qualify for it at all times. Nonetheless G’d is able to bring about a radical change within our hearts so that we will have a pure heart and qualify to serve Him loyally and devotedly. When that occurs, we will qualify for additional displays of His mercy. This is why we regularly pray: לא תכלא רחמיך ממנו, “do not allow Your mercy to come to and end as far as we are concerned.”(Psalms 40,12)
When Bereshit Rabbah 14,11 quotes psalm 150,6 [the last verse in psalms, Ed.] the line כל הנשמה תהלל קה יהללו-קה, is understood to mean that “with every breath we draw we praise the Lord with our whole soul,” so that G’d has no difficulty in changing us into a new creature whenever the soul is restored to us. At that time He can supply us with a pure, non-polluted heart.
We have mentioned repeatedly that a tzaddik by means of his prayer can convert what was an evil decree into a beneficial decree, as we have been taught in Moed Katan 16. This is also the meaning of ויכון בחסד כסאך ותשב עליו באמת “when Your throne will be firmly established through loving kindness You will sit on it truly.” [I could not find such a verse. Ed.] When G’d sits so firmly on His throne the righteous will not overturn His decrees, [as there has been no need for harsh decrees. Ed.]
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Sha'ar HaEmunah VeYesod HaChasidut
All that has been said is really just a way to begin to understand, because in reality you cannot compare the difference between ephemeral existence in this world and the eternal life in the world-to-come to the difference between dreaming and being awake. Yet according to the crude glimmer of understanding that comes with this analogy, the man of perfect faith will not be daunted by all the suffering and pain he experiences, and will certainly not condemn God for his treatment. Yet still, in this garment, in his state of being in the world, he will feel that it would have been easier if he were never to have been created. Yet if he searches his heart and strengthens his faith, he will know that all his feelings of regret at his very creation were quite clear to him and accepted before he was created. He was told that he would regret having descended into the world in this way, and it would be easier for him never to have been created, and still he chose to go ahead and enter the world despite the suffering. All the more so, the man of perfect faith knows and trusts that God constantly takes care of His creations, and God’s plan insures that no soul would every be pushed irrecoverably into exile. In this he knows that it is truly better to have been created than not to have been created, and that all he suffers is for his own good. He knows that God will comfort him from all his agony. Even if it seems to him that there are things so terrible that God could not console him over them, he reaches to a greater depth in his faith, and knows that God can illuminate him with a mind so clear as to see how he can be completely consoled and comforted for everything, and all tribulations will turn into consolations. Such a man cannot condemn God’s handling of his life, and will even laud the highest of praises over his Creator, knowing that God created him in order to witness the power of His greatness and wonders in everything he experiences in his life, at every moment. This is as the saying of the sages, “Let the entire soul (neshama) praise God (Tehillim, 150:6) He shall praise God over each and every breath (neshima).”
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Flames of Faith
There are ten terms of song in the book of Psalms. There were ten authors of the Psalms. Each author excelled in one of these ten forms of poetry. Why ten and not seven or eight? The ten types of melody correspond to the ten Sephiros.458See further the Sfas Emes to the Psalms. Each type of song can help purify an aspect of the human personality that corresponds to one of the ten Sephiros.459Chasidim teach that the misdeed of a man spilling seed is a source of enormous spiritual damage. Maintaining purity in this realm is called shemiras ha-bris, “preserving the covenant.” Rabbi Nachman of Breslov revealed a means of rectifying misdeeds in this realm. He called this healing prayer the Tikkun Ha-Kelali. It is a collection of ten chapters of Psalms, each of which begins with a different type of song. Through recital of the songs that parallel the ten Sephi-ros every aspect of the human personality and the world can be healed.
The following selections from Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan’s commentary to Rabbi Nachman’s stories clarify the lesson of the types of melody: “Ten types of melody Rabbi Nachman himself taught that the Ten Psalms were a ‘General rectification’ [tikkun kelali] for all sins, particularly sexual sins, and especially those involving emitting seed in vain [Likkutei Moharan 205; Likkutei Moharan Tinyana 92]. These involved the ten types of melody found in the Psalms. The Ten Psalms are numbers 16, 32, 41, 42, 59, 77, 90, 105, 137, 150.”
“The Psalms as a whole also contain all ten different types of song [Tikku-nei Zohar 13; Likkutei Moharan Tinyana 92]. King David ended the book with Psalm 150, which contains the expression halelu-hu (“Praise Him”) ten times. The last of these is, “Praise Him with cymbals of teruah” (Ps. 150:5), because the teruah [staccato] also includes all ten types of song” (Likkutei Halachos, Even Ha-Ezer, Peru U-Rvu 3:10).
“Sin and spiritual damage are associated with sadness and depression. The healing is therefore through song, which brings joy” (Cf. Likkutei Moharan 24). “The ten songs were also alluded to in the ten sounds of the shofar. On Rosh Hashanah the shofar is sounded in the following manner: tekiah shevarim teruah tekiah; tekiah shevarim tekiah; tekiah teruah tekiah. Thus, there are a total of ten sounds. These allude to the ten types of song. Furthermore, on Rosh Hashanah, in the Musaf service, ten verses of malchiyos [kingship], ten verses of zichronos [remembrances], and ten verses of shofros [trumpet blasts] are recited. Each set of ten also parallels the ten types of song. Rosh Hashanah is the beginning of the ten days of repentance; therefore it has these ten types of song. Song is the basis of repentance, since song leads to joy and joy brings one to the side of merit (Likkutei Moharan 282). It is only through the ten types of song that those who are far from God can be brought back (Likkutei Halachos, Peru U-Rvu 3:10). “The ten days of repentance also parallel the ten types of song. We begin these ten days with Rosh Hashanah, where all ten types of song are brought into play through the ten sounds of the shofar. Shofar is the rectification of these ten types of song, as it is written, “Make song good with the teruah sound” (Ps. 33:3). The Psalm says, “God will rise in teruah; God will rise in the sound othe shofar. Sing to God sing” (Ps. 47:6) (Likkutei Halachos, Peru U -Rvu 3:10). “The ten days of repentance end with Yom Kippur. This completes the ten types of song” (Likkutei Halachos, Peru U-Rvu 3:11, Rabbi Nachman’s Stories pgs. 418-420).
The following selections from Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan’s commentary to Rabbi Nachman’s stories clarify the lesson of the types of melody: “Ten types of melody Rabbi Nachman himself taught that the Ten Psalms were a ‘General rectification’ [tikkun kelali] for all sins, particularly sexual sins, and especially those involving emitting seed in vain [Likkutei Moharan 205; Likkutei Moharan Tinyana 92]. These involved the ten types of melody found in the Psalms. The Ten Psalms are numbers 16, 32, 41, 42, 59, 77, 90, 105, 137, 150.”
“The Psalms as a whole also contain all ten different types of song [Tikku-nei Zohar 13; Likkutei Moharan Tinyana 92]. King David ended the book with Psalm 150, which contains the expression halelu-hu (“Praise Him”) ten times. The last of these is, “Praise Him with cymbals of teruah” (Ps. 150:5), because the teruah [staccato] also includes all ten types of song” (Likkutei Halachos, Even Ha-Ezer, Peru U-Rvu 3:10).
“Sin and spiritual damage are associated with sadness and depression. The healing is therefore through song, which brings joy” (Cf. Likkutei Moharan 24). “The ten songs were also alluded to in the ten sounds of the shofar. On Rosh Hashanah the shofar is sounded in the following manner: tekiah shevarim teruah tekiah; tekiah shevarim tekiah; tekiah teruah tekiah. Thus, there are a total of ten sounds. These allude to the ten types of song. Furthermore, on Rosh Hashanah, in the Musaf service, ten verses of malchiyos [kingship], ten verses of zichronos [remembrances], and ten verses of shofros [trumpet blasts] are recited. Each set of ten also parallels the ten types of song. Rosh Hashanah is the beginning of the ten days of repentance; therefore it has these ten types of song. Song is the basis of repentance, since song leads to joy and joy brings one to the side of merit (Likkutei Moharan 282). It is only through the ten types of song that those who are far from God can be brought back (Likkutei Halachos, Peru U-Rvu 3:10). “The ten days of repentance also parallel the ten types of song. We begin these ten days with Rosh Hashanah, where all ten types of song are brought into play through the ten sounds of the shofar. Shofar is the rectification of these ten types of song, as it is written, “Make song good with the teruah sound” (Ps. 33:3). The Psalm says, “God will rise in teruah; God will rise in the sound othe shofar. Sing to God sing” (Ps. 47:6) (Likkutei Halachos, Peru U -Rvu 3:10). “The ten days of repentance end with Yom Kippur. This completes the ten types of song” (Likkutei Halachos, Peru U-Rvu 3:11, Rabbi Nachman’s Stories pgs. 418-420).
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Baal Shem Tov
So too, if one's prayer be pure and clear, one's sacred breath coming out of their mouth in prayer will join and connect with the supernal breath that constantly comes into one. As our Holy Sages said on the verse (Psalms 150:6) "Every living soul (neshamah) will praise God," - this means that with each and every breath (neshimah) that one breathes out, from below to above and returns from above to below - certainly through this some piece of divinity from the person is now connected to its root.
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