“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.
“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.
“The pastures are clothed with flocks; the valleys are enveloped with grain.” (65:14)
This verse is the picture of a sustainable community, describing a symbiotic relationship between that which grows on the land and the animals which eat that which the land produces. The flocks consume the growth and leave donations of fertilizing waste. The shepherds shear the flocks to spin the wool, select animals for food, use the skins for parchment, perhaps to write a Sefer Torah, and the farmers plant wheat and barley for bread. The farmer cares for the land, the shepherd moves around the flocks, and all depend on God for proper rain in its season.
“The righteous will see and be awestruck; they will laugh at him. (52:8)
The righteous person sees the downfall of the wicked and is struck with awe. The cynics laugh at him, assuming that he is surprised that God punishes the wicked. A truly righteous person would have expected God to mete out justice, rather than being nonplussed by God’s power. What a wonder to retain the ability to be astonished and awed by the expected! The sun rises or the tide comes in or the dandelions bloom or a turkey stands in the middle of a busy street and we are awed by the power and beauty of God’s world.
“The earth is Adonai’s and the fullness thereof.” (24:1)
We are temporary residents of a world entirely belonging to the Blessed Holy One. Perhaps because we don’t own the world, we treat it as poorly as many apartment dwellers treat their living space. Homeowners tend to take care of their property better than renters. Perhaps the Psalmist should have written, “The earth, and everything in it, belong to you. If you want your investment to increase in value, take care of it.” Instead, he suggests that we are guests in someone else’s home. Only those who show honor to their Host deserve standing in God’s world as recipients of God’s blessing.
Embodied Torah 