THE SONG OF THE SEA GIANTS
The sea giants sing of Hashem’s greatness in their creation and ongoing nourishment.
[Song 54] Sea Giants (Ch. 4)
תַּנִּינִים אוֹמְרִים. הַלְלוּ אֶת יי מִן הָאָרֶץ תַּנִּינִים וְכָל תְּהֹמוֹת: (תהילים קמח ז)
The Sea Monsters are saying: “Praise Hashem from the land, the sea monsters and all the depths.”
Commentary
If whale-sized creatures lived on land, they would destroy it in their hunger, and
then die out themselves with nothing to eat. Nevertheless, Hashem was able to
reveal His greatness in their creation by placing them in humongous oceans
filled with fish which keep on replenishing their numbers. As great as they are,
sea-giants are actually more dependent upon the hand of the Creator for survival
than any other bring, since they require the most food. The largest whales feed
on innumerable microscopic beings every single day. Since whales are the
largest beings on earth, they are the first on King David’s list of the earth’s
praises. They sing that no creature is too large for the Creator to create and to
feed. Their song should inspire us to live with an appreciation of Hashem’s greatness
and to praise Him for His wonderous kindnesses.
LIVING WITH THE SONG
The whole universe was created to portray Hashem’s glory. Dovid Hamelech describes the praise emanating from all
creation, from the heavens and the earth. He begins describing the praise from the earth starting from its lowest point:
the ocean abyss. In the boundless oceans, fantastically large creatures dwell freely. These giants too are fed only by the
merciful hand of Hashem. Some of the largest whales feed on microscopic beings, innumerable creatures a day. No
distance or depth is too far for Hashem to provide sustenance there and no creature has needs of consumption or
limits of diet too difficult for Hashem to cater for every day for all history. From here the song of the earth begins to
emanate.
Inspirational commentary By Shmuel Ben-Tzion Kraines author of
The Song of Existence.