L’David: On Navigating Life’s Ups and Downs

LIFE’S JOURNEY

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“The superscription for this song is L’David (by David), not Mizmor L’David (a Psalm of David) or L’David Mizmor (By David. A Psalm).

Here, we do not see David gaining inspiration on the wings of song, nor do we have here the outpourings of divine rapture coming from a full heart. In this psalm, David simply states the emotion and thoughts that fill his soul.”

(Commentary of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch to Psalms)

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TRUSTING IN THE LORD

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The word hatzala refers to an act of salvation during which the party being saved remains completely passive. Yeshua, however, implies a salvation in which the party being saved actively participates.

(Rabbi Ahron Soloveichik, The Warmth and the Light)

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A very eminent psychiatrist once said to me: Had I the authority to do so, I would eliminate the prayer recited on the High Holy Day that begins with the words, "Cast Thy fear," as fear is the major cause of the mental illnesses that beset mankind. In order to preserve one's mental health one should be free of fears, and so there is certainly no reason why one should ever pray for fear.

Though I am not a psychiatrist, what he said helped me to understand the true nature of that prayer which was ordained by the Sages of Israel. And that is what I told that psychiatrist:

Everyone seems to be beset with fears of all kinds. Some are afraid that they will not be able to succeed in their careers, others fear losing their wealth or status or that they will fail to attain sufficient prominence. Many people are afraid of sickness and bodily weakness. In generations past, fear of leprosy engulfed the world; today people live in fear of cancerous growth. Many people do not go to see a doctor even when they have pains lest he diagnose "the disease."; Man is plagued constantly by all sorts of lesser fears.

I am not a psychiatrist, but I do know that one major source of fear can wipe out all of these lesser fears. What fear can overtake man, thereby uprooting all other fears, such. as that of failure, of poverty, of old age, of rejection or of disease? Only the fear of the Lord! That is the reason behind the expression in the High Holy Day prayer, "Cast Thy fear, O Lord our God, upon all Thy handiwork and Thine awe upon all that Thou hast created." We pray that this great fear will free us from those other ones which lurk everywhere, upsetting our lives.

(Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik, On Repentance)

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The activist grounded exclusively in physical defense – demonstrations, rallies, protests, political lobbying – doesn’t understand the true nature, essence, and higher purpose of activism. If I am a Jew only to fight anti-Semitism, that is negative Judaism, if, however, I am a Jew because I appreciate the Sabbath, I treasure the Jewish laws of business ethics and all the laws and rituals that ennoble the life of the Jew, and I devote time to reading Jewish books, and Torah study – that is positive Judaism. Negative, reactive Judaism will not endure. Only positive, proactive Judaism will.

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When Edgar Bronfman Jr. became president of the World Jewish Congress, whose main function is to protect Jews worldwide, he visited Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik. He asked him for words of advice. Rabbi Soloveitchik turned to Bronfman and said: “Remember, you were not born a Jew just to fight anti- Semitism.”

(Spiritual Activism)

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Acceptance of prayer is a hope, a vision, a wish, a petition, but not a principle or a premise. The foundation of prayer is not the conviction of its effectiveness, but the belief that, through it, we approach God intimately, and the miraculous community embracing finite man and his Creator is born. The basic function of prayer is not its practical consequences but the metaphysical formation of a fellowship consisting of God and man.

(Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik, Worship of the Heart)

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Activists, consumed by a cause, often forget the human factor in their endeavor. This is particularly ironic because the activist is ultimately motivated by concerns for human well-being. A major objective of activism is to struggle against the “I-it” tendency by always keeping in mind activism’s “I-Thou (thou).”

(Spiritual Activism)

RESOLUTION

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I also encounter the Almighty up close and personally at the starting line of an arduous race when I confidently “entrust my spirit…as long as my soul is with my body. The Lord is with me, I am not afraid.” A staunchly religious Christian colleague has chided me for failing to immediately thank God, with equal prayerful reverence, when the race is over and I am swept up in the euphoria of meeting a personal challenge. It is a weakness of character and of faith that I have to work on.

(Dr. Jeffrey Gurock, Judaism’s Encounter with American Sports)

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There are two types of thank yous. There is a perfunctory thank you, one we say when someone, for example, opens the door for us or gives us their seat.

And then there is a deeper thank you. A thank you where the word “todah” interfaces with the word “lehodot,” literally, to make an admission. This is a thank you where one says to the other, in deep gratitude – I could not have done it without you.

The latter thank you is more difficult to offer, as the “thanker” is indicating limitation – a limitation that for some is difficult to admit as it reflects vulnerability.

Notwithstanding, it is important to offer these words to others and to God.

SEARCHING FOR GOD

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c) The adult orphan

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שׁוֹרְרָֽי from shir – שיר

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RESOLUTION

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קַוֵּ֗ה (P-T-W)

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