THE SONG OF THE HORSE
The horse sings of the untiring and undemanding attitude with which we ought to serve Hashem.
[Song 63] Horse (Ch. 5)
סוּס אוֹמֵר. הִנֵּה כְעֵינֵי עֲבָדִים אֶל יַד אֲדוֹנֵיהֶם כְּעֵינֵי שִׁפְחָה אֶל יַד גְּבִרְתָּהּ כֵּן עֵינֵינוּ אֶל יי אֱלֹהֵינוּ עַד שֶׁיְּחָנֵּנוּ: (תהילים קכג ב)
The Horse is saying: “Behold, as the eyes of the servants to the hand of their master, as the eyes of the maidservant to the hand of her mistress, so are our eyes to Hashem our elo'ah until he will favor us.”
Commentary
Mighty, formidable, and tireless, a horse is a loyal servant to its master. It sleeps while
standing, in brief naps which total to three hours a day, yet this paltry amount is
sufficient for it to retain its unequalled vitality. Even after its superhuman labor, it
looks only hopefully towards the hand of its master to feed him. With its eyes, which
incidentally are larger than those of any other mammal on land,
it sings of the attitude man ought to have to his Benefactor, Hashem.
We should strive to be like our forefathers who were described as “running like horses”
to do the will of Hashem, yet they made no demands on their Master, Whom they served tirelessly.
If we would gallop like the horse, willingly, with a lust to serve, we
would long ago have reached our destination and destiny.
LIVING WITH THE SONG
Our forefather were described as “running like horses” to do the will of Hashem. They did so even though they
went through many ordeals in which they appeared to have been mistreated by their Master. Nevertheless, they
comprehended Hashem’s perfect benevolence and maintained their faith and wholehearted allegiance to their
faultless God. They made no demands on their Master they served tirelessly. They prayed only for compassion. It
was because of their unquestioning devotion that He loved them so.
We are their progeny and heirs. This superhuman power is latent within us and we are capable of attaining the
same unshakable faith. A person is therefore required to say “When will my deeds reach the caliber of the deeds
of my forefathers?” If a person would humbly acknowledge that all he possesses and has accomplished is in truth
charity from the hand of his Master, he would be overwhelmed with gratitude and would constantly seek to
improve his service of God with all of his might. But if one trudges and complains, and moans that he does not
see his efforts being recognized and rewarded, he is slowing down greatly the production of his divine service.
If we would gallop like the horse, willingly, with a lust to serve, we would long ago have reached our destination
and destiny.
Inspirational commentary By Shmuel Ben-Tzion Kraines author of
The Song of Existence.