{"id":89375,"date":"2021-02-24T09:16:16","date_gmt":"2021-02-24T07:16:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=89375"},"modified":"2021-02-24T09:16:16","modified_gmt":"2021-02-24T07:16:16","slug":"give-thanks-to-the-lord-for-he-is-good","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/give-thanks-to-the-lord-for-he-is-good\/","title":{"rendered":"Give Thanks To The Lord For He Is Good"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Our psalm is the last in the series of psalms (113-118) that comprises the Hallel or more specifically the “Egyptian Hallel.” According to Mishnah Pesachim 5:7, this group of psalms was sung repeatedly by the Levites while the pascal lambs were being slaughtered in the Temple as part of the Passover ritual. Mishnah Pesachim 10:6-7 indicates that the Hallel was also recited during the Passover meal during Temple times as it is to this day in the celebration of the Pesach Seder.<\/span><\/p>\n

In Second Temple times, such groups of psalms, with or without commentary, were compiled for recitation. This is indicated by fragments of <\/span>catenae<\/em> <\/span>(\u201cchains\u201d of Biblical verses) discovered among the Dead Sea Scrolls.<\/span><\/p>\n

Psalm 118 has a \u201ccircular\u201d structure, beginning and ending with the same verse: \u201cGive thanks to the Lord for He is good, for His steadfast love is forever (verses 1 and 29). The second part of the verse, \u201cFor His steadfast love is forever\u201d is repeated also in verses 1-4 as a kind of refrain. The same refrain is found at the end of every verse in Psalms 136, which begins, like our Psalm, with the call to thank God: \u201cGive thanks to the Lord for He is good\u201d (see also Psalms 106:1).<\/span><\/p>\n

According to II Chronicles 20:21, prior to battle, Jehoshaphat, the fourth king of Judah, had \u201csingers (meshorerim<\/em>) proclaim before his forces: \u201cGive thanks to the Lord, for His steadfast love is forever\u201d. This succeeded in causing the defeat of an invading foreign army. However, Talmud Bavli Sanhedrin 39b interprets the phrase \u201cHis steadfast love is <\/span>le\u2019olam<\/span><\/em>\u201d<\/span><\/i> – reading <\/span>le-\u2018olam<\/span><\/em>, for all – to mean that God\u2019s mercy is for all people, suggesting that God is not gladdened by the downfall of the wicked.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mishnah Sukkah 3:9 indicates that during the recitation of the Hallel on Sukkot, the lulav is to be waved when reciting our key verse: \u201cGive thanks to the Lord for He is good, for His steadfast love is forever\u201d and when reciting \u201cO Lord, deliver us! O Lord, cause us to prosper!\u201d (118:25).<\/span><\/p>\n

Talmud Bavli Pesachim 118a explains that the Hallel is recited on joyous occasions because it mentions five past and future events: the Exodus from Egypt, the splitting of the Red Sea, the giving of the Torah, the resurrection of the dead, and the coming of the Messiah. A sixth and a seventh reason for reciting the Hallel are then added: Because it mentions the deliverance of the souls of the righteous from Gehenna. And because it mentions the story of the miraculous descent and ascent of the righteous Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah in the fiery furnace.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to Midrash Tehillim 118:3, \u201cHis steadfast love is forever\u201d indicates that God will be merciful to Israel forever. And since the Holy One, blessed be He, supplies our needs freely, we should thank and praise Him, as it says: \u201cGive thanks to the Lord for He is good\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":85714,"id":85714,"title":"ps78-mercy forgiveness","filename":"ps78-mercy-forgiveness.png","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/ps78-mercy-forgiveness.png","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/god-the-eternally-merciful\/ps78-mercy-forgiveness\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"ps78-mercy-forgiveness","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":85712,"date":"2020-12-30 16:21:42","modified":"2023-07-31 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