“In utero, I was dependent on You.” (71:6)
The Grand Canyon and the Himalayas may be majestic and breathtaking, but there is no greater miracle than that of the creation of life. Science can describe the way a zygote becomes an embryo and grows into a child, but that doesn’t take away the gratitude for the baby’s birth, as we watch the child, so long dependent on the mother for everything, take the first step towards becoming an independent person.
“As for me, I am afflicted and poor.” (70:6)
This verse reminds me of the teaching of Rabbi Simha of Bunem, that a person should carry a slip of paper in his left pocket reading, “You are dust and ashes” (Genesis 18:27); and in his right pocket reading, “For my sake, the world was created” (Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5). No matter how materially blessed we may (or may not) be, the left pocket reminds us that whatever we have is an undeserved gift that we should share with those less fortunate than ourselves. Even those who receive support from communal tzedakah funds have the obligation to give tzedakah.
“I am sinking into the slimy deep without a foothold.” (69:3)
I want, I need, give me … the unchecked ego makes demands, and we respond by behaving as if we are the center of everyone’s universe. Laziness, greed, envy, anger, pride, these moral deficiencies are all the result of an untamed ego. The bad behavior resulting from ego becomes habitual, it’s like quicksand into which one slowly sinks. The further one goes down the path of ego-driven habitual behavior, the harder it is to extract ourselves from the bad habits. The lesson – embrace humility as a central value and you will find that the demanding voice of the ego will fade to a whisper.
“Scatter the peoples who delight in wars!” (68:31)
I understand the need for military action or war and I might even cheer when a really bad guy is taken down. But war inevitably leads to the death of innocent people. Soldiers sent to do a job suffer death and injury. Civilian casualties are virtually certain, no matter how carefully the rules of war try to minimize them. The destruction of the infrastructure, such as rail lines, roads, water treatment facilities, and businesses, destroys the economy and takes years, even decades, to rebuild. In the meantime, people suffer and die, not because they are supporters of the evil regime, but because they happened to be born in the wrong place at the wrong time. I want my elected representatives to abhor war.
“May the earth yield its produce.” (67:7)
Earlier in my life I loved planting gardens. I was fascinated by sprouting things and amazed at the tiny seeds which produce tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers. Sometimes I was disappointed when I planted a seed and saw nothing grow but weeds, as in the oath Job took on the land, “If my land cries out against me, or … if I ate its yield without paying, … instead of wheat let thistles grow, instead of barley, weeds.” (Job 38:40) Most of the time, however, the earth gladly yielded what I sowed, and for that, I was thankful.
Embodied Torah 