Nachdaily: 5 Minute Perek Of Tanach Covering The Entire Navi. Sefer Yehoshua, Shoftim, Shmuel, Melachim, Yeshaya, Yirmiya, Ye

Tehilim Perek 133 Hello everybody, today’s NachDaily will discuss Tehilim chapter 132 in the Shir Hama’alos chapters. One of the more well known perakim, it contains only 3 pessukim. Two “brothers” sitting together is compared to fine oil being poured on the beard of Aharon, who is mentioned instead of Dovid because Aharon was anointed at the erecting of the Mishkan many years before Dovid was born. In addition, Aharon was anointed in public while Dovid was anointed privately. The last verse in the perek continues to describe the profound beauty of “brothers” who sit together. It’s like the dew that initially descends on Mount Chermon, then spreads out to the rest of Eretz Yisrael. The perek opens with the famous verse of שִׁ֥יר הַֽמַּעֲל֗וֹת לְדָ֫וִ֥ד הִנֵּ֣ה מַה־טּ֭וֹב וּמַה־נָּעִ֑ים שֶׁ֖בֶת אַחִ֣ים גַּם־יָֽחַד׃ A Song of Ascents of David. How good and how pleasant are brothers that dwell in unity. Who are these “brothers”? Different commentaries interpret this in various ways. It’s int

Tehilim Perek 132 Hello everybody, in today’s NachDaily we’ll be discussing Tehilim chapter 132 in the Shir Hama’alos chapters. The perek corresponds to what happened with Dovid at the end of Sefer Shmuel. In order to stop a plague, Gad Hanavi instructed Dovid to purchase Har Hamoriyah from a man named Aravna Hayivusi. After the purchase, Dovid built an altar and brought korbonos, sacrifices, to Hashem. The plague stopped, and the people were saved. Although not mentioned at the end of Sefer Shmuel, in Divrei Hayomim Aleph perek 21, it says that on buying the land Dovid explicitly stated that this is the house of God and the Mizbayach, Altar, for the Jewish nation. Up until that very moment the exact spot of the Beis Hamkidash had not been known. Although Dovid didn’t build the Beis Hamikdash, he wanted Hashem to consider his thoughts as if they were his actions The perek opens with Dovid’s intense desire to find a home for God to rest in. While growing up in Ephrat, Dovid had heard from the elde

Tehilim Perek 131 Hello everybody, today’s NachDaily will discuss Tehilim chapter 131 in the Shir Ha’amalos chapters. This is the second to shortest chapter with only 3 pessukim. The previous perek related that Hashem listens to one who is humble and sincere, who calls out from the depths. Here, Dovid reflects upon his own personality. Always humble, he relied on God with great sincerity, like a child who is solely dependent on his mother. Even in adulthood, he relied on God with the innocence of a child. The chapter ends with Dovid affirming his faith in God’s ability to save us, not only in the present moment, but for all of eternity. The perek begins with the words, שִׁ֥יר הַֽמַּֽעֲל֗וֹת לְדָ֫וִ֥ד יְהוָ֤ה ׀ לֹא־גָבַ֣הּ לִ֭בִּי וְלֹא־רָמ֣וּ עֵינַ֑י וְלֹֽא־הִלַּ֓כְתִּי ׀ בִּגְדֹל֖וֹת וּבְנִפְלָא֣וֹת מִמֶּֽנִּי׃ A Song of Ascents, Of David. God, my heart was not proud nor were my eyes haughty; I didn’t aspire to great things or to what is beyond me; Rav Shamshon Raphael Hirsch explains that D

Tehilim Perek 130 Hello everybody, in today’s NachDaily we’ll continue in the Shir Hama’alos chapters with Tehilim chapter 130, considered to be among the more famous perakim. These chapters were written to give us hope, to understand that God hasn’t abandoned us despite what we may have done in our lives. He listens to each and every single one of our prayers. Ultimately, God will redeem, and indeed has already begun to redeem, our nation from exile. It is appropriate here to mention the last of the Ani ma’amin declarations. “Ani ma’amin b’emunah shelaima b’viyas haMashiach, v’aph alpi sheyismamei’a, im kol zech achakeh lo, b’chol yom sheyavo. I believe with perfect faith in the coming of Mashiach. Even though it may take so long, every day I await his arrival.” We must never give up hope in the final redemption, but have deep faith in the coming of Mashiach and the redemption process. The author speaks of calling out to God from the depths of his heart, for God to hear his voice and pain. Th

Tehilim Perek 129 Hello everybody, in today’s NachDaily we’ll continue in the Shir Ha’amalos with Tehilim chapter 129. This psalm can be read on both a national level, speaking about Am Yisrael, and on individual level, speaking about our personal pain. As most Meforshim learn that it is referring to Am Yisrael as a whole, we will continue in that vein. The perek relates that God has protected the Jewish people throughout our history. Indeed, the Radak adds that this is a song of thanksgiving for the many times that Hashem has spared us. Not only has He protected us “in our youth,” when we initially became a nation, but continues to do so throughout our long exile. Despite our enemies seeing this, they continue to persecute us. The author asks that they “wither like grass,” and the whole world should recognize the direct connection that God has with the Jewish people. Verse 4 says: יְהוָ֥ה צַדִּ֑יק קִ֝צֵּ֗ץ עֲב֣וֹת רְשָׁעִֽים׃ God is righteous. He cuts the cords of the wicked. This is stil

Tehilim Perek 128 Hello everybody, in today’s NachDaily we’ll be continuing the Shir Hama’alos chapters with Tehilim, Chapter 128. The Malbim explains that there are essentially two parts to this chapter. The first speaks about the individual benefits a person with “yiras Shamayim, fear of God,” will receive. The second part is about the national blessings and benefits our nation will receive when we have proper yiras Shamayim. The perek tells us that those with yiras Shamayim are happy, and will enjoy the fruit of their labor. Obviously, the pleasure of earning something on your own is much greater than that of a free hand-out. Other benefits are increased marital harmony and fine children. The benefits which Am Yisrael will receive include returning to Eretz Yisrael and seeing the good fortune of Yerushalayim. Additionally, Am Yisrael will merit raising generations living in Eretz Yisrael, and ultimately our nation will be b’shalom. Verse 2 says: יְגִ֣יעַ כַּ֭פֶּיךָ כִּ֣י תֹאכֵ֑ל אַ֝שְׁרֶ֗

Tehilim Perek 127 Hello everybody, in today’s NachDaily we’re discussing Tehilim chapter 127, a short perek in the Shir Ha’amalos. Dovid had a deep desire to build the Beis Hamikdash, but Nosson Hanavi told him that his son, Shlomo, was destined to do it. Although Dovid didn’t build the Beis Hamikdash, he gives advice in this chapter as to how to go about it. The Radak adds that Dovid foresaw that his son would marry the daughter of Paroh on the same day as the inauguration. The perek was also written as a warning to Shlomo. The chapter relates that although we actually physically build the Beis Hamkdash, without Hashem’s help the entire process would be futile The perek ends by relating the joy of having proper children, who are likened to “arrows in the hands of the warrior.” The youthful parent has the energy and strength to guide his children properly, and they will ultimately give him pleasure and pride in their accomplishments. What is the connection between these two parts of the perek?

Tehilim Perek 126 Hello everybody, in today’s NachDaily we’ll be discussing Tehilim Chapter 126, a short chapter with only 6 pessukim. This is the famous psalm said before benching on Shabbos. The theme is about the happiness we’ll feel during the final redemption. When we return to Eretz Yisrael, we will be like dreamers. Our mouths will be filled with laughter. Everyone will be cognizant of the fact that Hashem has done great things for His people, which will add to the feelings of happiness which will be dominant at that time. The perek ends with a prayer for the ingathering of the exiles. Am Yisrael will flow back to Eretz Yisrael like streams in the deserts. Those who kept Hashem’s mitzvos with great difficulty will reap their reward. Obviously, with 6 and a half million Jews back in Eretz Yisrael, we can see that this process is well underway. שִׁ֗יר הַֽמַּ֫עֲל֥וֹת בְּשׁ֣וּב יְ֭הוָה אֶת־שִׁיבַ֣ת צִיּ֑וֹן הָ֝יִ֗ינוּ כְּחֹלְמִֽים׃ A song of ascents. When God returns the captivity of Tzio

Tehilim Perek 125 Hello everybody, in today’s NachDaily we’ll be discussing Tehilim chapter 123, a short chapter in the Shir Hama’alos with only 5 pessukim. The author equates a person who has Emunah, faith, to Har Tzion. Both Yerushlayim and a person with faith will endure forever. We should not give up on the final redemption, because as Hashem protects a person with Emunah, so too does He protect Har Tzion. Despite the controversy taking place on the Temple Mount, Hashem promises that He won’t let the “rod of the wicked” prevail. At the later stages of the final redemption, Hashem will show the truth to the world. Har Habayis will be universally accepted as belonging to the Jewish people. The author ends with a prayer for peace, for God to provide good for those who serve Him with a sincere heart and distance those who harbor malice. The chapter opens with the words: שִׁ֗יר הַֽמַּ֫עֲל֥וֹת הַבֹּטְחִ֥ים בַּיהוָ֑ה כְּֽהַר־צִיּ֥וֹן לֹא־יִ֝מּ֗וֹט לְעוֹלָ֥ם יֵשֵֽׁב׃ A song of ascents. Those who

Tehilim Perek 124 Hello everybody, I’m Rabbi Shaya Sussman, covering the entire TANACH one perek at a time. Today we’ll be discussing Tehilim chapter 124, continuing the Shir Hama’alos chapters. This chapter is on time for Chanukah. It’s so nice when what we’re learning lines up with the events of the day. The Shai Lemora says that this perek implies that that we will be saved because we trust that Hashem will save us. And Hashem will actually save us. In other words, we’ll be saved through emes and emunah, truth and faith. Emunah in the final redemption, and the truth of the very fact that we will be saved. On a different note, the Alshich explains that this perek corresponds to the 4th galus. Verse 1 refers to the Babylonian exile and verses 2 through 4 to the Persian exile. Verses 5 through 7 refer to the Greek exile which was during the times of Chanukah, and verse 8 is our present exile of Edom. In this chapter, the author recalls God’s protection throughout our long exile. As the smallest of all the

Tehilim Perek 123 Hello everybody, I’m Rabbi Shaya Sussman, covering the entire TANACH one perek at a time. Today’s NachDaily will discuss Tehilim Chapter123 in the Shir Hama’alos. The general theme of this perek deals with Am Yisrael’s humiliation and disgrace in exile. The author compares our relationship with God to that of servant and master. Just as the eyes of the male servants look towards their master, our eyes look towards Hashem. Similarly, as a maidservant looks towards her mistress for mercy, we await Hashem’s mercy. The Alshich asks why it was necessary to give both male and female metaphors for the same idea. He explains that the male servant is an allusion to the body, while the female maidservant alludes to the soul. Both yearn to be redeemed. The passuk uses the singular word, “shifcha, maidservant,” for the soul because on the level of the neshama we’re considered one and united. The author ends the prayer with a plea for God to show chein, mercy, to His nation, which has suffered so mu

Tehilim Perek 122 Hello everybody, I’m Rabbi Shaya Sussman, covering the entire TANACH one perek at a time. Today wel discuss Tehilim chapter 122, continuing with the Shir Hama’alos verses. This chapter is very relevant to today’s times, as we want Hashem to protect Eretz Yisrael and keep us safe. It opens with the words, Shir Hama’alos l’Dovid. The Radak says that it’s possible that only the Shir Hama’alos that say, “L’Dovid” were written by him, while the others weren’t. In this chapter Dovid speaks optimistically by expressing our desire to return to Eretz Yisrael, settle the land, and rebuild the Beis Hamikdash. When Yerushalayim is rebuilt, all the tribes will gather to acknowledge God and the Mashiach. The perek ends by requesting peace for Yerushalayim. All its residents and buildings should be safe and no-one should be harmed in any way. Peace will prevail and all will understand that God is good. The perek opens with the words שִׁ֥יר הַֽמַּעֲל֗וֹת לְדָ֫וִ֥ד שָׂ֭מַחְתִּי בְּאֹמְרִ֣ים לִ֑י בֵּ֖ית

Tehilim Perek 121 Hello everybody, I’m Rabbi Shaya Sussman, covering the entire TANACH one perek at a time. Today’s NachDaily is Tehilim Chapter 121, one of the more famous perakim. This chapter starts differently than the rest of the Shir Hamalos songs. It begins with Shir Lama’alos instead of Shir Hama’alos. Rashi explains that this is to teach us of the great advantage that Tzaddikim will have in the future as they sit under the Eitz Hachaim in Gan Eden. They will be in the highest places, under the Kisey HaKavod, the Heavenly Throne. There are different levels in Gan Eden. I heard from Rav Tzvi Aryeh Rosenfeld, z’tzl, that no two neshamos, souls, can be on the same level at the same time. Therefore, when one soul is elevated, the one above it rises to a higher level, and so on. There is constant movement in the upper worlds. As all Jewish souls are connected, they affect one another, and are constantly moving. This perek is called Shira Lama’alos, Song of Ascents, as Tzaddkim ascend to higher and higher

Tehilim Perek 120 Hello everybody, I’m Rabbi Shaya Sussman, covering the entire TANACH one perek at a time. Today’s NachDaily is Tehilim Chapter 120. This is a short chapter, containing only 7 pessukim. We’re now back to our regular Tehilim class. For those interested, all archives can be found on Soundcloud or Itunes. Just search for NachDaily, and you’ll be able to find all the old classes. We’re now heading towards the last stretch of Tehilim, with 30 chapters left. The next 15 perakim are known as the Shir Hama’alos, Songs of Ascent. The Mishna in Sukkah, Perek 5 Mishna 4, teaches that these 15 chapters correspond to the 15 steps leading from the men’s section to the women’s area in the Beis Hamikdash. They were either sung when the Leviim stood on the steps, or each chapter was sung, one per step, as the Leviim ascended them. The Shai Lemora adds that the tune of these Tehilim would start off in a low, baritone type of voice and gradually rise to a higher pitch by the end of the song. Hence the name,

Letter Beis; Hebrew Root: Beis is the Bayis house. Torah starts with a Beis because the world is a house/Bayis for hashem. English Word; Body is also called a house/Bayis because it houses the soul. Build, because Hashem built the world. Letter Gimmel; Hebrew Root: Gimmel means to be Gomel English Word: Give Letter Daled Hebrew root: Dal v’ani English Word: Destitute, starts with a D, daled. Letter Tes Hebrew root: Tov, good English connection: Tov and truth go hand and hand. Truth you spell with Tes. Also Tes in numerically 9 which is a true number. Any number times its 9 if you add up the sum you get 9. Letter Chuf Hebrew root: Kaf yad, Kafuf to bend, Kesser English: Create, because your hands create. Crown is a Kesser. And the King where’s a Crown. Which both words have the chuf sound. Letter Lamed; Hebrew Root: lomed, limod English: To Learn starts with a Lamed Letter Mem; Hebrew Root: Mayim water. English Word: Movement. Because water is in flow and moves. Starts with a Mem Letter Nun; Hebrew Ro

Tehilim Perek 119: Letter Suf/Tuf Hello everybody, I’m Rabbi Shaya Sussman, covering the entire TANACH one perek at a time. Today’s Nach Daily will discuss the letter SUF. This is actually a mini-siyum, because with this we’ll have finished all 22 letters of the Aleph-Beis, the holy letters with which the world was created. As we’ve seen, the secrets of the letters contain the deepest mysteries of the Torah, but what we’ve learned is literally just the tip of the iceberg, to give you a taste of the sweetness of the letters so that your Neshama can feel drawn to God. This completion of the Aleph Beis is certainly a reason to be happy. After this, Nach Daily will be going back to the regular scheduled Tehilim class, moving on to Tehilim, perek 120. Join us and sign up a friend, as over the last few years we’ve been moving our way through the entire TANACH, one perek at time. Just a quick note to prevent confusion: depending on your custom you’ll pronounce this let

Tehilim Perek 119: Letter SHIN Hello everybody, I’m Rabbi Shaya Sussman, covering the entire TANACH one perek at a time. Today’s Nach Daily will discuss the letter SHIN. The Shin represents the power of Shinuy, change in the creation and Shlita, control. Generally speaking, in order to change something you need to be in control of it. Shin is the force able to impact something by changing its form, bringing it to the desired outcome. The word Shinayim, teeth, comes from the Shin. When eating food, our teeth change its form so that the body can process and digest it. In fact, the tops of the letter Shin even look like teeth! On a deeper level, the Shin has the power to elevate. When we eat, the food becomes absorbed and digested into our bodies. It thus becomes a part of us, being elevated to the level of a human. As the expression goes, “You are what you eat!” Shin also applies to spirituality. A person’s desire to go from level to level, to reach hi

Tehilim Perek 119: Letter REISH Hello everybody, I’m Rabbi Shaya Sussman, covering the entire TANACH one perek at a time. In today’s Nach Daily we’ll discuss the letter REISH. The Reish represents the Rosh, leadership, head of something, the ability to rule and influence. Rochev denotes expansiveness and the ability to take over. The sequence of letters of Tzaddik, Kuf, and Reish explains that one who becomes a Tzaddik and attains a higher level of Kedusha, merits to be the Rosh, at the top or a leader. The first time that the letter Reish appears at the beginning of a word is the first word in the Torah, beReishis, in the beginning. Hashem is the Rosh, Head of the world. The Reish can also mean the head of something in a negative sense. It can be read as Rush, spelled reish, shin. “Rush v’ani, destitute and poor.” We can use our free choice to become leaders in a proper way of Kedusha, or use it to become extremely needy and dependent on other peo

Tehilim Perek 119: Letter KUF Hello everybody, I’m Rabbi Shaya Sussman, covering the entire TANACH one perek at a time. Today’s Nach Daily will discuss the letter KUF. Kuf represents a heKuf, border, a passageway, a point of integration and Kedusha, holiness. As the eye of a needle is called the Kof Hamchat, this all points towards transitioning and moving to another, higher plane. Kuf comes after the latter Tzaddik because Kedusha, holiness, comes only after one has reached the level of a Tzaddik. After we have worked on ourselves, and even refrained from some things that are permissible, we can begin to receive and experience the higher level of Kedusha represented by the letter Kuf, transitioning from one level to another. This transitioning of levels can also work in the negative. As the passuk says, “lo t’hey Kadesha m’bnos Yisrael, there shouldn’t be a harlot from among the daughters of Israel. We find here that a zona, harlot,is called a Ka

Tehilim Perek 119: Letter Tzaddik Hello everybody, I’m Rabbi Shaya Sussman, covering the entire TANACH one perek at a time. Today’s we’ll discuss the letter TZADDIK. The letter Tzaddik represents Tzidkus, righteousness, Tzaddikim, and Tzida, trapping something. The Tzaddik is the ability to capture something and rule over it in a positive way. This can take the form of trapping animals and properly training them. Esav was “tzayid b’peav, he was able entrap someone with his words.” The root of the word Tzaddik refers to the righteous person who in a sense is able to trap the Yetzer Hara in order to rule over it. Tzaddi represents trapping and the Kuf at the end of it represents the Yezter Hara. This will hopefully be explained in the class pertaining to the letter Kuf. The first time that the letter Tzaddik appears in the beginning of a word in the Torah is during the creation of man. It says “b’Tzalmeinu, in Our image,” because the perfection of ma