[Jewish] [Mindful Torah] Psalm for Sunday: Psalm 24, Verse 2

[Rabbi Steven Nathan]

for God founded it (the world) upon the seas and established it upon
the waters.
This verse is a continuation of verse 1, which stated that all the
earth is God's. At first it might seem difficult to comment on this, as
it is a simple, and actually incomplete, sentence. However I believe
there is a deeper truth hidden within this seemingly simple verse. If
one returns to Chapter 1 of Bereshit/Genesis we read how initialyl the
earth was all water. Eventually, God divided the waters into the lower
waters, or seas, and the upper waters, the source of rain that was
believed to be above the sky. Then, on the third day, God commanded
land to appear from the lower waters. And so, the waters were gathered
together and dry land appeared.
In this psalm the image is not simply that of the waters being drawn
back to reveal the land underneath. Rather, as I read it, we find an
image of the land being set down upon the primordial waters. This image
is found in much ancient mythology, especially in flood narratives. In
looking at this cosmic scheme, life on earth becomes much more
precarious, and even dangerous. It is as if the land is simply floating
on a massive body of water. Any minute the waters could break through
or the land could sink. Not a very pleasant image.
However, we are also reminded that this is part of God's plan. It is
God who placed the land on top of the waters. It is God that sustains
the existence of earth. The image of the land placed over the waters is
an image of uncertainty, as alluded to above. But the fact that God is
the power behind all of this is what give us, if not exactly certainty,
at least a significant degree of comfort.
In life, we are all in that precarious position of floating on top of
the waters, as it were. There is always the possibility that they can
rise up or we can sink down into them and drown. This is the uncertain,
precarious, sometimes frightening nature of existence. But if we
remember that we are created in the image of God, that we are part of
the One that is divinity, then we can find comfort. Not a comfort that
leads us to believe that we will never feel overwhelmed, as if we were
drowning in the confusion and difficulties of life. Nor is it a comfort
that leads to complacency or certitude. For this can lead us to lose
our footing and fall into the waters. But feeling that sense of
connection to community, the universe, and the divine allows us to
acknowledge the uncertainty as well as the strength and faith to live
our lives both in spite and because of it.

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Posted By Rabbi Steven Nathan to Mindful Torah at 5/02/2010 12:34:00 PM
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