THE SONG OF THE HUNTING DOG
The hunting dog sings of the wholehearted praise that is due to Hashem.
[Song 74] Hunting Dog (Ch. 5)
זַרְזִיר אוֹמֵר. רַנְּנוּ צַדִּיקִים בַּ יְיָ לַיְשָׁרִים נָאוָה תְהִלָּה: (תהילים לג א)
The Hound is saying, “Let the righteous rejoice in Hashem, praise is befitting to the upright.”
Commentary
The hunting dog runs swiftly to hunt wild animals on behalf of its master.
Remarkably, although carnivorous, it restrains itself from eating the animals
that it traps in order to keep it for its master. It therefore sings of the righteous
who serve Hashem while withholding themselves from deriving personal
benefit connected to their service. It specifies two types of righteous people in
its song. The first is "צדיקים – "righteous – those who consistently struggle to
do what is right. The second is "ישרים –"upright – those who have already
straightened their character and serve Hashem naturally. Through its
wholehearted devotion to its master, it declares that “the praise of the ישרים is
fitting”. Whenever we struggle and sacrifice to do the will of Hashem, our actions
constitute a tremendous Divine praise. However, we should try to perfect
ourselves to the extent that our service to Him is a natural expression of love –
like the song of the hunting dog.
LIVING WITH THE SONG
Today, in this world, we are to accomplish. Tomorrow, in the world to come, we shall enjoy.
This precept applies primarily to enjoyment in the physical sense. However, even in this world, one feels immense
spiritual pleasure when contoling his physical drives to perform the will of his great Master. This spiritual pleasure
cannot be described with words, but it sounds like the song of the hunting dog.
Inspirational commentary By Shmuel Ben-Tzion Kraines author of
The Song of Existence.