In this exuberant psalm of thanksgiving, Mizmor Letodah, King David teaches us how to feel joy and happiness in our service of God:

"Know that Hashem is God. He has made us and we are His; His people, and the sheep of His pasturing." (Psalm 100:3)

The first step towards serving God in joy is recognizing God's infinite grandeur, beyond all boundaries and limits. No law of nature can restrict the vastness of Divine kindness from spreading in the world. Along with this recognition, we must be aware of God's profound connection to us. Despite His incomparable loftiness, God relates to His creations with boundless care and concern.

The verse uses the Tetragrammaton, the ineffable name for God. This name expresses eternal holiness, beyond all limitations of time and place. However, recognition of God's transcendent nature could cause one to mistakenly wonder: how can mortal man, so deeply immersed in darkness and impurity, be connected to such incomparable holiness?

Therefore we stress "Hashem is God" ( Elokim). Despite infinite holiness, beyond human thought and speech, He is nonetheless Elokim, God Who founded the laws of nature and arranged the universe. God relates to His finite creatures with great closeness and care.

"He has made us." All can understand that creation ex nihilo logically requires a Creator Who existed before all was formed. Yet flawed spiritual perception can cause us to erroneously distinguish between one-time creation and ongoing, continual creation. If we lack awareness of God's constant perpetuation of the universe, our joy in serving God will diminish.

Therefore we declare, "He has made us," and also, "we are His." God's relationship with the universe did not end after its initial creation. The written form of the verse adds a second level of meaning. It is read, "we are His," but is written, "we are not." Were it not for "He has made us,"  God's continuous creation each moment, "we are not."  We would not exist if God did not constantly sustain our existence.

The connection of "we are His" is ingrained in the entire universe. This bond exists on many levels: all of creation, all of humanity, and for the special community of Israel, "His people." This universal connection, however, does not detract from God's specific care and concern for each individual. We are like "the sheep of His pasturing,"  passing one by one under the Shepherd's staff.

With this awareness, our joy in serving God soars.

"Know that Hashem is God. He has made us — or else we are not — and we are His; His people and the sheep of His pasturing."

(adapted from Olat Re'iyah vol. I pp. 221-222)

Copyright © 2006 by Chanan Morrison