{"id":88216,"date":"2021-02-01T23:04:52","date_gmt":"2021-02-01T21:04:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=88216"},"modified":"2021-02-01T23:04:52","modified_gmt":"2021-02-01T21:04:52","slug":"choose-your-friends-wisely","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/choose-your-friends-wisely\/","title":{"rendered":"Choose Your Friends Wisely"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In Psalm 101 we are reintroduced to King David as he sings to God about kindness and justice. Rashi comments that David is offering his song to God regardless of how God is responding to him. Whether it feels like kindness or harsh judgement, David will sing God\u2019s praises.<\/span><\/p>\n

In this short chapter of Psalms the word \u201c<\/em><\/span>tamim<\/span><\/em>\u201d <\/em>is repeated three times. In the first instance David states that he \u201cwill study the way of \u201c<\/span>tamim<\/span><\/em>\u201d (101:2).\u00a0 Some translations render \u201c<\/span>tamim<\/span><\/em>\u201d as \u201cblameless\u201d. Rashi interprets the word as \u201csimple-hearted\u201d (Deut. 18:13), while Ramban understands it as \u201cperfect\u201d, which could be either without blemish as in a Temple sacrifice that is required to be \u201c<\/span>tamim<\/span><\/em>\u201d or could refer to perfection of character as in the description of Noah (Genesis 6:9).<\/span><\/p>\n

Malbim, however, gives another interpretation, offering that within the concept of <\/span>temimut<\/span><\/em> is the quality of consistency. David\u2019s consistency in praising God is evident not just in the first verse of this psalm but throughout all of Psalms, when he offers his song not just in the good times but the difficult as well. And now David is intent on integrating the ways of <\/span>tamim<\/span><\/em> in his own household (101:2).<\/span><\/p>\n

David is reflecting on his own role among the Jewish nation, and what makes him worthy of God\u2019s kindness and justice. This is not, however, a philosophical contemplation of his relationship with God, but rather a description of how David will make himself worthy. The key to his worthiness and successful leadership is recognized by David to lie in those he chooses to surround himself with: \u201cHe who follows the way of the <\/span>tamim<\/em> <\/span>shall be in my service.\u201d For the duration of this psalm, David describes what <\/span>tamim<\/span><\/em> means to him: no crooked dealing or perverse thoughts, no one who slanders a friend behind their back and no haughtiness or deceitfulness. David is committed to physically ensuring a barrier between him and negative influences.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rambam said that if one is living in a place with negative influences they should run away, and if they can\u2019t find a place with positive influences they should go live in the woods. David reminds us to choose our friends and our environment wisely. Protecting ourselves from negative influences while not resorting to living under a rock is a difficult line to walk in the 21<\/span>st<\/span> century, but as we understand, was not so easy in biblical times either. Choosing our friends wisely is just as critical for us today, for ourselves and our families, as it was for David\u2019s ability to lead a nation.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":false,"embedded_video":"","video_duration":"","show_fb_comments":true,"credit_media":""},"tile":{"top_caption":"Choose Your Friends Wisely","main_caption":"Protecting ourselves from negative influences while not resorting to living under a rock is a difficult line to walk in the 21st century, was not so easy in biblical times either. ","main_caption_size":"1","sub_caption":"","preview_embedded":"","preview_image":false,"preview_video":"","external_link":"","link_for_pay":false,"tile_gallery_items":false,"credits":""},"alternate_tile":{"top_caption":"","main_caption":"","main_caption_size":"1","sub_caption":"","hide_media":false},"tile_group":{"preview_image_url":false,"main_caption":"","sub_caption":"","":null,"popup_package_extra_content":"","read_time":""},"home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo":{"seo_title":"","seo_description":"","seo_default_title":"","seo_default_description":""},"links":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88216"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88216"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88216\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":88217,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88216\/revisions\/88217"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88216"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88216"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88216"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}