יְהַלְל֤וּ ׀ אֶת־שֵׁ֬ם יְהוָ֗ה כִּֽי־נִשְׂגָּ֣ב שְׁמ֣וֹ לְבַדּ֑וֹ ה֝וֹד֗וֹ עַל־אֶ֥רֶץ וְשָׁמָֽיִם׃
Célébrez le nom de l’Éternel, car seul son nom est sublime; sa splendeur s’étend sur la terre et dans les cieux.
Kitzur Ba'al HaTurim
ארץ ושמים "earth and heavens" there are 2 teaching parts in Tanakh, "Thank you for heaven and earth (Ps. 148:13)." Why did they thank the earth and the heavens instead of the one who made the earth and the heavens?
Rabbeinu Bahya
הן לה' אלו-היך השמים ושמי השמים הארץ וכל אשר בה, “Behold! the heaven and the heaven of the heavens belong to the Lord your G’d, the earth and all that is thereon.” I believe that if all the verse was supposed to tell us was the superiority of the people of Israel over all the other nations, it would have been enough to simply write: “the earth and all that is thereon belongs to the Lord your G’d; however He took special liking to your forefathers, etc.“ There would have been no need to mention “the heaven and the heaven of the heavens.”
It is more likely that this verse wanted to drive home the point that although G’d owns all the three regions mentioned in our verse, He considers the earth as the most important region. We have clear evidence of this already in the story of creation in Genesis when the functions of the luminaries in the heaven are defined as providing light for the earth (Genesis 1,14). The verse means that although the planetary systems are very powerful creations, the reason they were created was only to enhance earth and life on earth. Even though the scientists of our day do not accept this opinion, we are bound by our Torah and tradition. Our sages are on record that “the righteous on earth are greater than the ministering angels” (Sanhedrin 93). We find similarly that David writes: הודו על ארץ ושמים וירם קרן לעמו, “His splendor covers earth and heaven; He has exalted the horn of His people for the glory of His faithful ones, Israel.” The psalmist means that G’d has elevated the people of Israel above all creatures in the universe both in heaven and on earth. We have another verse in Psalms 103, 20-22 in which the psalmist urges the following order: “bless the Lord, His angels, the mighty creatures, the ones who carry out His bidding; bless the Lord all of His hosts, His servants, the ones who perform His will. Bless the Lord, all of His (works) through the length and breadth of His realm.” David lists the worlds in descending order reserving the title “His works” for the terrestrial part of the universe. In other words: “terrestrial earth comprises all His works.” Tanchuma Vayikra 1, in commenting on Yoel 2,11 says that the words כי רב מאד מחנהו, “that His camp is indeed very great,” refer to the ministering angels, whereas the words וכי עצום עושי דברו, “and powerful are those who do His bidding,” are a reference to the people of Israel.
We have further proof from discussions of the philosophers who ask why a planet constantly describes the same repetitive orbit? If it has achieved its purpose, why does it keep repeating the same motion? Its motion, its orbit has then become a wasted effort. If it has still not achieved its mission after endless orbits, what good are its orbits? If it had really achieved something visible, how come we do not notice that our lives are constantly becoming more pleasant due to these efforts? The philosophers answer this seemingly unanswerable question by saying that these orbits of the planets are required in order to ensure the continued existence the “lower” world, i.e. man on this terrestrial earth. This proves that even the scientists admit that man is the focal and pivotal creature in the universe. Once you admit it, it is a small step to understanding that all the seven fixed stars have as their purpose to guide our globe in such a way that it does not come to harm, that the laws of nature operate satisfactorily.
It is more likely that this verse wanted to drive home the point that although G’d owns all the three regions mentioned in our verse, He considers the earth as the most important region. We have clear evidence of this already in the story of creation in Genesis when the functions of the luminaries in the heaven are defined as providing light for the earth (Genesis 1,14). The verse means that although the planetary systems are very powerful creations, the reason they were created was only to enhance earth and life on earth. Even though the scientists of our day do not accept this opinion, we are bound by our Torah and tradition. Our sages are on record that “the righteous on earth are greater than the ministering angels” (Sanhedrin 93). We find similarly that David writes: הודו על ארץ ושמים וירם קרן לעמו, “His splendor covers earth and heaven; He has exalted the horn of His people for the glory of His faithful ones, Israel.” The psalmist means that G’d has elevated the people of Israel above all creatures in the universe both in heaven and on earth. We have another verse in Psalms 103, 20-22 in which the psalmist urges the following order: “bless the Lord, His angels, the mighty creatures, the ones who carry out His bidding; bless the Lord all of His hosts, His servants, the ones who perform His will. Bless the Lord, all of His (works) through the length and breadth of His realm.” David lists the worlds in descending order reserving the title “His works” for the terrestrial part of the universe. In other words: “terrestrial earth comprises all His works.” Tanchuma Vayikra 1, in commenting on Yoel 2,11 says that the words כי רב מאד מחנהו, “that His camp is indeed very great,” refer to the ministering angels, whereas the words וכי עצום עושי דברו, “and powerful are those who do His bidding,” are a reference to the people of Israel.
We have further proof from discussions of the philosophers who ask why a planet constantly describes the same repetitive orbit? If it has achieved its purpose, why does it keep repeating the same motion? Its motion, its orbit has then become a wasted effort. If it has still not achieved its mission after endless orbits, what good are its orbits? If it had really achieved something visible, how come we do not notice that our lives are constantly becoming more pleasant due to these efforts? The philosophers answer this seemingly unanswerable question by saying that these orbits of the planets are required in order to ensure the continued existence the “lower” world, i.e. man on this terrestrial earth. This proves that even the scientists admit that man is the focal and pivotal creature in the universe. Once you admit it, it is a small step to understanding that all the seven fixed stars have as their purpose to guide our globe in such a way that it does not come to harm, that the laws of nature operate satisfactorily.
Rabbeinu Bahya
You also find in Tanchuma Vayakhel 7 that Rabbi Joshua from Sakinin said: “the way to understand all this is by means of a parable: there was a cave at the beach of the sea. Whenever the sea was rough the cave was filled with water; nonetheless the sea did not appear to have lost any of its volume.” In a similar manner G’d compressed His Shechinah into a small space without impairing the truth of the statement in Psalms 148,13 הודו על ארץ ושמים, “that His splendour covers heaven and earth.”