Trumah: Chapter 26

"Elohim, You are my El; earnestly I seek You"

Synopsis

Rabbi Aba recites the verse, "A psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah," and then goes on to explain that David sang and praised his Master even though he was in pain and was being pursued. We are reminded that the Holy Spirit does not dwell from above until the person arouses it from below by concentrating his energies. While he was in Judah, David praised a great and precious praise, "Elohim, You are my El," which contains three levels. These are the levels above in Binah, Zeir Anpin, and Malchut. The text goes on to speak of the "black light" in the context of "earnestly I seek you." David also merited the white light that illuminates (from Zeir Anpin). We read how "My soul thirsts for You, my flesh longs for You," as one hungry for food and thirsty for water "in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is."

Relevance

King David, we are told, was being pursued by his son who was intent on murdering him. David found himself in the wilderness, experiencing great pain. Yet, he sang. He sang to the Light with all his heart. He composed psalms and offered praise to his Creator. And he did all this with untold joy in his heart.

Today, man is similarly lost in the wilderness of spiritual darkness. Employing the wonders of David's psalms, and drawing on his courage and spiritual fortitude, we rouse joy and happiness in our hearts. This joy is not a coping mechanism to see us through our darkest moments. Happiness is not about making the best of a bad situation. On the contrary, the joy and happiness that now manifest to us are the tools that call down the white Light that illuminates from Zeir Anpin. And the brilliance immediately removes all the darkness, liberating mankind from the direst of straits of this physical existence.