By: Ilana Stein, Johannesburg, South Africa

 

My favourite part of davening on Shabbat is Nishmat Kol Chai - The soul of all life shall bless Your Name, Hashem. For those of us who see the world as one fragile ecosystem, a multitude of interconnected beings and organisms, all created for the glory of the Creator, this praise song sums it up spectacularly. It also tells us that human beings are not the only ones who praise G-d but on the contrary, all who have breath do. It is a reminder that other beings have a place on this planet, not just for our benefit (although this is also true) but because G-d created them.

To me, the best part of the prayer is the following lines:

       "Were our mouth as full of song as the sea, and our tongue as full of joyous song as its
       multitude of waves, and our lips as full of praise as the breadth of the heavens, and our
       eyes as brilliant as the sun and the moon, and our hands as outspread as eagles of the
       sky and our feet as swift as hinds - we still could not thank You sufficiently Hashem, our
       G-d, and G-d of our forefathers, and to bless Your Name for even one of the thousand
       thousand, thousands of thousands and myriad myriads of favors that You performed for
       our ancestors and for us." (Artscroll Siddur)

This part of the prayer becomes that much more alive if one has actually seen the sea, an eagle and a hind; gasped at an impala as it leaps high into the air and races across the savanna, or actually watched in awe at the wingspan of a Fish Eagle.

Where did this beautiful prayer originate? The origins are obscure. It is mentioned in the Talmud as a prayer of thanksgiving when rain comes after a drought - in both Masechet Brachot and Ta'anit:

       R. Abbahu said: When do we [begin to] recite the benediction over rain? When the
       bridegroom goes forth to meet the bride. What benediction should one recite? - Rav Judah
       said in the name of Rav: 'We give thanks unto Thee, O Lord, our G-d for every single drop
       which thou hast caused to fall upon us'. And R. Johanan concluded the benediction thus:
       'Though our mouths were full of song as the sea, and our tongues of exultation as the
       multitude of its waves, etc!' until, 'Let not Thy mercies forsake us O Lord, our G-d, even as
       they have not forsaken us.' (Ta'anit 7a)

Interestingly, the Talmud calls this prayer "Birkat Hashir - the grace or blessing of the song."

       Masechet Pesachim 117b-118a: Over the fourth [cup] he concludes the Hallel, and recites
       the blessing of song. What is 'the blessing of song'? Rav Judah said: 'They shall praise Thee,
       O Hashem our G-d'; while R. Johanan said: 'The breath of a living [etc.]'

 

This name deserves some thought. Why not just "Song"? Even in English, this prayer has a poetic style and rhythm to it that denotes song. However, no bracha is attached to it, and so it does not fit into the standard blessing formula that is usual in our prayers.

Perhaps an idea by R. J.B. Soloveitchik on nature of bracha (blessing) can help us:

       What is the meaning of bracha'? When we apply the word "bracha" to G-d, we mean it in the
       same sense as when G-d blessed Adam and Eve. A bracha means "more good, more giving,
       renewal and creativity"…. We too, when we partake of the world are told to turn to G-d and give
       him the addition of creativity and renewal. What does this mean? We believe that the creation
       of the world was not a one-time ocurrence, closed and finished. It is a continual process of
       renewal and vitalisation…. Were G-d to retreat and abandon His world for even one second
       it would all return to chaos and nothingness. In this sense, G-d is male, giving, shaping….
       We receive, passively. But were that the only relationship between us and G-d, here would have
       been no point in the giving of the Torah and the making of a covenant between Israel and
       G-d. A covenant is a mutual responsibility between two sides. Each side must give and receive
       as male and female.

       There is a sense where even the Creator of all has a need of us, so to speak. … The presence
       of G-d is hidden in the world, shrouded in a cloud, unable to be revealed. G-d is passive.
      Man has to release G-d from His restraints, from His hiding, from the shadows. When it comes
      to revealing G-d, we are the male and G-d the female. We, at least in relation to G-d's presence
      in  the world, are the catalyst for the revealed life of G-d. … Man can, if he wishes, find and reveal
      G-d in every phenomenon, time and place - in the sunrise of the morning and the sunset at dusk,
      in the sea and the plants, in the stars and the sands, in the outside world and recesses of his
      soul. (Yemei Zikaron, Jerusalem 1986, pp 29-36; translated by R Ezra Bick)

 

The name Birkat Hashir therefore shows that this prayer is a combination of song and blessing. By praising G-d for every being and element in this world, and by acknowledging that all living organisms do the same, we reveal G-d in every phenomenon and in that way, we release more blessing into the world around us.