THE SONG OF THE STARS
The stars sing of Hashem’s sole control over all existence.
[Song 15] Stars (Ch. 2)
כּוֹכָבִים אוֹמְרִים. אַתָּה הוּא יי לְבַדֶּךָ אַתָּה עָשִׂיתָ אֶת הַשָּׁמַיִם שְׁמֵי הַשָּׁמַיִם וְכָל צְבָאָם הָאָרֶץ וְכָל אֲשֶׁר עָלֶיהָ הַיַּמִּים וְכָל אֲשֶׁר בָּהֶם וְאַתָּה מְחַיֶּה אֶת כֻּלָּם וּצְבָא הַשָּׁמַיִם לְךָ מִשְׁתַּחֲוִים: (נחמיה ט ו)
The Stars are saying, “You, only you, are Hashem; You made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host; the earth, and everything that is in it; the seas, and everything that is in them; and you preserve them all; and the host of heaven prostrate themselves to you.”
Commentary
Hashem controls the natural world through the astrology of the stars. The varying
arrangements of the stars channel different flows of blessing from Hashem: life,
wealth, might, progeny, and so on. 1 The uncountable stars shine the praise of the
immeasurable God, Who guides them each according to His singular will. The
constellations constantly bow in unity in the direction of the western horizon, towards
Hashem’s Shechina, as if to declare: “It is You Who is Hashem – alone.”
We should not let powerful people and difficult situations confuse us. It is Hashem
alone who control all. He can help us through any situation – the sky is not the limit.
LIVING WITH THE SONG
The happenings of this world can be misleading. It seems people are in charge, nature is unbending fact, health is in
the doctors’ hands and prayer is a last resort. If so, life is dangerous and full of worry and hopelessness. But we can
thank our lucky stars that Hashem is alone in His universe.
We have to be appreciative of people for what they do, but in truth, our main debt of gratitude should be to the One
that caused the benefit. We cannot get overly upset at those that slight us, knowing that Hashem chose for it to be so.
The song calls for us not to get tied down with life's constant challenges. Avraham was taken above the stars. We are
controlled by Hashem Himself. Our efforts in all that we do are primarily through prayer to Him.
When we choose to switch on the lights and see life for what it really is, we join the song on the stars, revealing
Hashem's unshared glory in His universe.
Inspirational commentary By Shmuel Ben-Tzion Kraines author of
The Song of Existence.