Perek Shira: The Song of Existence - The Song of the Night
by Rabbi Shmuel Kraines
The night says: “To tell of Your kindnesses in the morning, and of Your faithfulness in the nights.” (Tehillim 92:3)
Night is a time of darkness and desolation. It is also a time of rest and rejuvenation. In the same way that without an end there can be no beginning, without a night there can be no morning. It therefore sings of Hashem’s faithfulness throughout the night, and His willingness to bestow a new day.
The night’s song is of particular significance to mankind. When a person sleeps at night, the more spiritual part of his soul rises to Heaven and he lies partially dead until Hashem deems fit to fully restore his soul to him in the morning. Hashem is faithful to us in that He guards our souls and overlooks that tainted and damaged them during the past day hoping for betterment in the morrow.
On a deeper level, the darkness is an analogy for the dark times of a person’s life, as well as the dark exile of the nation as a whole. Hashem remains faithful to us in all these forms of night, and so too we must remain faithful to Him. At times we see Him as clear as day, while at times we have no choice but to remember Him in the darkness of the night.
All existence sings of different aspects of its Creator’s praise, and we must seek out Hashem equally in all situations. In some ways, our relationship with Hashem at times of darkness is more meaningful than the brilliance of the awaited day itself.
*In loving memory of Harav Zeev Shlomo ben Zecharia Leib
