Psalm
127
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The Psalm starts with
a strong declaration:
"Except the Lord build the house,
They
labor in vain that build it;
Except
the Lord keep the city,
The
watchman waketh but in vain."
The declaration clearly states that without the Lord's help, nothing can
be accomplished - whether it be such a mundane thing as building a house
or a more global thing as the fate of a city.
This same idea is
behind the observant Jew's reciting of a blessing over many activities.
It is the hope of getting God involved in his life and thereby turning
every activity into an activity touched by God. We are all familiar with
the blessing over wine and bread, but there are many more. The following
are only a few of them: upon smelling fragrent spices, trees and
fruit, upon seeing the wonders of nature, upon seeing a sage distinguished
in Torah learning, upon hearing good news, upon hearing bad news or about
a death. The list goes on to over one hundred or more blessings which
are all intended to affirm that God's hand adds a sacred element to the
ordinary as well as the extrordinary.
The painting shows the men building a house and a watchman in a tower.
The angel represents the presence of the sacred.
The second part deals with the benefits of having children. To biblical
man, children were the most important things in life after God. We all
know the promise God made to Abraham to make his offsprings as numerous
as the stars. Children are man's immortality, his social security for
old age, and his chief joy. There is no celebacy in Judaism. Even
the great Moses had to have children.
From the second part of the Psalm referring to children:
"As arrows in the hand of a mighty man,
Happy is the man that has his quiver full of them."
~ Lisa Katz
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