THE SONG OF THE ROOSTER
The rooster sings of the virtue of waking up early, even before the day has begun.
[Song 33] Rooster (Ch. 4)
תַּרְנְגוֹל אוֹמֵר. בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁבָּא הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אֵצֶל הַצַּדִּיקִים בְּגַן עֵדֶן, זוֹלְפִים כֹּל אִילָנֵי גַּן עֵדֶן בְּשָׂמִים, וּמְרַנְּנִים וּמְשַׁבְּחִים, וְאָז גַּם הוּא מִתְעוֹרֵר וּמְשַׁבֵּחַ:
בְּקוֹל רִאשׁוֹן אוֹמֵר. זֶה דּוֹר דֹּרְשָׁו מְבַקְשֵׁי פָנֶיךָ יַעֲקֹב סֶלָה: שְׂאוּ שְׁעָרִים רָאשֵׁיכֶם וְהִנָּשְׂאוּ פִּתְחֵי עוֹלָם וְיָבוֹא מֶלֶךְ הַכָּבוֹד: מִי זֶה מֶלֶךְ הַכָּבוֹד יי עִזּוּז וְגִבּוֹר יי גִּבּוֹר מִלְחָמָה: (תהילים כד ז-ח)
בְּקוֹל שֵׁנִי אוֹמֵר. שְׂאוּ שְׁעָרִים רָאשֵׁיכֶם וּשְׂאוּ פִּתְחֵי עוֹלָם וְיָבֹא מֶלֶךְ הַכָּבוֹד: מִי הוּא זֶה מֶלֶךְ הַכָּבוֹד יי צְבָאוֹת הוּא מֶלֶךְ הַכָּבוֹד סֶלָה: (תהילים כד ט-י)
בְּקוֹל שְׁלִישִׁי אוֹמֵר עִמְדוּ צַדִּיקִים וְעִסְקוּ בַּתּוֹרָה, כְּדֵי שֶׁיִּהְיֶה שְׂכַרְכֶם כָּפוּל לָעוֹלָם הַבָּא:
בְּקוֹל רְבִיעִי אוֹמֵר. לִישׁוּעָתְךָ קִוִּיתִי יי: (בראשית מט יח)
בְּקוֹל חֲמִישִׁי אוֹמֵר. עַד מָתַי עָצֵל תִּשְׁכָּב מָתַי תָּקוּם מִשְּׁנָתֶךָ: (משלי ו ט)
בְּקוֹל שִׁישִּׁי אוֹמֵר. אַל תֶּאֱהַב שֵׁנָה פֶּן תִּוָּרֵשׁ פְּקַח עֵינֶיךָ שְׂבַע לָחֶם: (משלי כ יג)
בְּקוֹל שְׁבִיעִי אוֹמֵר. עֵת לַעֲשׂוֹת לַיי הֵפֵרוּ תּוֹרָתֶךָ: (תהילים קיט קכו)
The Rooster is saying, “When the blessed Holy One comes to the righteous in the Garden of Eden, all the trees in the Garden of Eden scatter their spices, and they rejoice and praise, and then He, too, is aroused and praises.”
In its first call it says, “Such is the generation of them that seek after thon, that seek your face, even Ya'akov. Selah! Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O everlasting doors! And the King of kavod shall come in. Who is this King of kavod? Hashem strong and mighty, Hashem mighty in battle!”
In its second call, it says, “Lift up your heads, O gates! Lift them up, O everlasting doors! And the King of kavod shall come in. Who is He, this King of kavod? Hashem Tseva'ot, he is the King of kavod, Selah!”
In its third call it says, “Stand, O righteous ones, and busy yourselves with Torah, so that your reward shall be double in Olam Haba.”
In its fourth call it says, “I have hoped for your salvation, Hashem.”
In its fifth call, it is saying, “How long will you sleep, O sluggard?When will you arise from your sleep?”
In its sixth call, it is saying, “Do not love sleep, lest you come to poverty; open your eyes, and you shall be satisfied with bread.”
In its seventh call, it is saying, “It is time to act for Hashem; for they have made void your Torah.”
Commentary
The rooster crows every hour from midnight to daybreak, which is a period of
particular Divine favor. Depending on what time it calls, it is announcing an
increasingly urgent wake-up to Torah scholars, and it bears a similar message to
all Jews. In the first two calls, it directs the Heavenly gates to rise for Hashem to
enter. At the third hour, it calls to those still sleeping, “Rise, righteous, and
involve yourselves in Torah study”, since it is the onset of the third part of the night
when Divine favor increases.
The fourth call takes place three hours before
daybreak. It calls out that in the merit of Torah study at night we will be redeemed
from this exile. Correspondingly, we are taught that the final Messianic war will
take place during the three hours before dawn on Hoshana Raba. The fifth call, two
hours before daybreak, heralds the preparation for prayer, which will commence in
one more hour. The sixth hour is the time to leave for Davening, and it calls that
excessive sleep in the morning is one of the things that impoverish a person and
remove him from the world. The seventh call is “It is a time to act for the sake of
Hashem” because it is now daytime, the time appropriate for performing all of the
mitzvos whose set time is daytime.
In our urban societies, we no longer rise to the call of the rooster, yet its song shall
not be silenced. Its very existence is a daily reminder to awaken and to waken
others, to rise and live alive. In truth, accomplishment is a lot more energizing than
unnecessary sleep. Even during daytime hours, many slumber without sleeping.7
It is only the truly “living” who enjoy and inherit the world. We should particularly
prioritize the all-important Mitzvah of Torah study, which delights both Hashem
and man. Every time we rise bright and early to make the most of our day, the song
of the rooster has been “heard”.
LIVING WITH THE SONG
These days we no longer rise to the call of the rooster, yet its song shall not be silenced.
People live much of their lives in a slumber-like state. If acted upon, they will react. If inspired, they become
enlightened. If led, they will follow. But if all is normal, they will follow their routine without question.
This may be minimally acceptable conduct for servants of Hashem, but those that wish to know Him and cleave
to Him have to act autonomously, voluntarily, and from the heart. One who rises when others slumber, who plots
a course while others drift and who call out while others are silent, will be noticed by Hashem who sees all.
In the middle of the night, when all around are asleep, the rooster raises its head and realizes that the new day is
coming. He calls out into the darkness. Yet all continue to slumber.
Not all. Some still hear the call and rise loyally to stand at their posts. They don’t wait for the new day to waken
them. They waken the new day.
For one who strains to listen, the call of the rooster can be heard all the way from the farmlands to the urban city.
It is a call to live the day to its fullest and even to make the most out of the nighttime hours.
How much can a person fit into a full schedule? How is it feasible to add more Torah to an already overloaded
evening? The truth though is that leisure time is elastic. You can fit a lot into it while still leaving plenty of time
for leisure and relaxation.
The story is told about a professor who showed his students a fundamental lesson for life. He put an empty box
on the desk and placed in it four large stones. He asked, “Tell me, is there room for more?” They told him, “No.”
He then took out a large bag of marbles and poured them into the gaps. Now he asked again, “Now would you
say we filled it?” They nodded. He proceeded to take out another bag of, this one of fine gravel and poured it
evenly. They seemed impressed. After a brief pause, he took out a final container, this of water, and poured into
the box. Now it was “full”. He now turned to the students and said firmly: “Listen to some advice for life. You
should know, if I would have put in the smaller articles first and then the boulders they would not have fit. Life is
the same way. If you want to fit what is important into your lives you have to make sure to put in the larger and
more important parts in first and you will have left-over room more or less for the items of lesser importance. But
if you confuse your priorities you might find your lives too full to have those things that are truly important.”
No matter what, our schedules are going to be “full”. We have to make sure to nail down times for Torah study
and other important endeavors. Torah isn’t a pastime. It is the most valuable Mitzvah in the Torah. It is an
investment the will affect one’s whole life and last eternally. It has to be set into one’s schedule before other
matters. It can be nailed down with time-slots, like a certain amount of time after Maariv. It can also be nailed
down with quotas. One who commits himself to learning two Mishnayos a day and two Halachos a day will
become a “Torah scholar”, to some degree, in just a few years. But it has to be a commitment, nailed down.
We cannot slumber through this world. In the long night of the grave there will be plenty of time to sleep. The
rooster calls out that the world is enjoyed and inherited by those that wake up and live it. After one has slept
enough, it is time to rise and begin his service of his Creator.
Even during daytime hours many slumber without sleeping. The song of the rooster is a daily reminder to awaken
and to waken others, to rise and live alive.
Inspirational commentary By Shmuel Ben-Tzion Kraines author of
The Song of Existence.