THE SONG OF THE EARTH
The earth sings that it and its occupants belong to the Creator.
[Song 2] Earth (Ch. 1)
אֶרֶץ אוֹמֶרֶת. לְדָוִד מִזְמוֹר לַיי הָאָרֶץ וּמְלוֹאָהּ תֵּבֵל וְיֹ שְׁבֵי בָהּ: (תהילים כד א)
ואומר. מִכְּנַף הָאָרֶץ זְמִרֹת שָׁמַעְנוּ צְבִי לַצָדִיק: (ישעיהו כד טז)
The Earth is saying: “The earth and every thing in it are Hashem; the inhabited area and all that dwell within it.”
And it is saying: “From the wings of the land we have heard song, glory to the righteous.”
Commentary
Man rules the earth and considers it his own. The earth sings that, in truth, man belongs to the earth, and the earth belongs to Hashem, the ultimate Master of all. Man was fashioned from the earth, stands firmly upon it, feeds on it, and is eventually buried within it, empty handed of his supposed possession. The earth itself was created by Hashem, and it is He who suspends it firmly in the cosmos and maintains its inhabitability. The Earth therefore sings that “the earth and all that fill it” belong to Hashem alone. The earth was formed starting from the place of the Bais Hamikdash – “the end of the earth” – and henceforth the earth sings through that gateway to heaven of “splendor for the righteous Creator”. We acknowledge Hashem’s ownership of earth by blessing Him before benefiting from it, and by willingly sharing His bounty with others. "כנף– " “end” – also means “wing”. The earth can only sing if we utilize it to rise closer to Hashem.
LIVING WITH THE SONG
The earth sings that all belongs to Hashem and was created for His glory. We play our part in their song by making
Brachos with meaning. Only then is the bounty of the earth granted to us. [Talmud Brachos.] By being satisfied
with one’s lot and avoiding jealousy of the lots of others we constantly sing of the sole ownership of the Creator
Who controls all with wisdom.
In particular, the Jewish people sing the song of the earth through the Kedusha of Shabbos. The angels have six
wings, one for each of the days of the week in which they sing their praise. On Shabbos, they turn to Hashem
saying that they do not possess a seventh wing for the song of Shabbos. Hashem tells them that on Shabbos He
has a “wing” on Earth that sings, as it is written "שמענו זמירות הארץ מכנף ."This is a reference to the Kedusha of
Shabbos that we say. The ultimate expression of Hashem’s holiness is when He is sanctified even on the unholy
earth.
Inspirational commentary By Shmuel Ben-Tzion Kraines author of
The Song of Existence.