[Jewish] [Mindful Torah] Psalm for Friday: Psalm 93, Verse 4

[Rabbi Steven Nathan]

More majestic than the thunders of many waters, more majestic than the
waves of the sea, the Eternal on high is majestic!
In my commentary on verse 3 last week I wrote about the image of the
seas singing and the waves keeping time. The image of the sea's roar
continues in this verse. But here we are reminded that, no matter how
loudly the sea might roar, God can still roar louder (grant a little
poetic license please).
The point of this verse seems clear. We need to remember that no matter
how powerful anything on earth might seem, God is more powerful.
However, this image of the big, powerful, patriarchal God is not one to
which I can particularly related. Granted, the image in this verse is
not patriarchal, but as part of the image of God painted in the psalms,
this is certainly part of the patriarchal and warrior image of God.
However, there is another way to read the verse. It can be read (with
but a little creativity and poetic license) to say that the power of
God is greater than the waves and the waters because it is their source
and ultimately they are all one. The entire scenario is one of majesty.
The majesty of the waves and the sea are a part of the majesty of the
Divine. Everything is a part of that majesty. Every person, animal and
plant is part of the majesty.


The Eternal is not "on high" because God is literally above us. Rather,
the Eternal is greater (higher) because it is our source. And so, it
greater than the sum of it's parts.


It is important for us, therefore, to remember that whenever anyone
thinks they are above or better than others, or whenever our ego tries
to convince us that we are better, we must remember that we are part of
the One. Just as the roaring waves are part of the sea and the seas are
part of the Divine, we are a part of the Divine. Keeping this
perspective will enable us to steer clear of the ego's traps and focus
instead on the important issues that connect us with our Divine Source
no matter what we are doing.



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Posted By Rabbi Steven Nathan to Mindful Torah at 5/14/2010 12:44:00 AM
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