Tehillim 119 | "I'll Sing a Song in Honor of the Torah"

Psalm 119 is structured according to the order of the Hebrew alphabet, with eight verses dedicated to each letter, making it the longest chapter in the entire Tanakh — 176 verses. Every verse includes a reference to the Torah (using terms such as promise, way, judgment, law, decree, commandment, teaching, statute, or truth), along with a description of it and of the poet’s, or others, attitude toward it. At first, the poet speaks of God in the third person, but very quickly the tone shifts to something more personal, becoming a direct address to God that continues until the end of the psalm. The poet presents himself as someone who loves the Torah, longs to delight in it and fulfill it, and pleads with God for the strength to do so. In this sense, the psalm resembles other 'supplicatory psalms' in Sefer Tehillim, in which the poet asks God for help against enemies or for salvation, but here the focus of the request is the ability to sit and study Torah and to live by it.

Throughout the psalm, we find verses of praise that extol the Torah and express the poet’s love for it, verses of thanksgiving to God who grants him the strength to become a learner and doer of the Torah, verses of petition in which he asks for strength to keep the Torah, and verses of wisdom that offer insight and moral reflection about how Torah observance should look. The psalm is long and variety, yet it maintains a general, inclusive language, aiming to reflect the thoughts and emotions of all who are devoted to the Torah, whoever they may be. Beyond its beautiful language and the spiritual connection one feels with the poet’s prayers, this psalm introduces a profound theological idea: the psalm is a clear biblical source for a central theme of Judaism as we know it — Torah study for its own sake, for delight, for love, for closeness to the Torah itself, not merely as a means to fulfilling the commandments. There are several verses that adapt expressions from other psalms about God and apply them instead to the Torah: For instance, in Psalm 16, we read: “I have set the Lord before me always” (Tehillim 16:8); here, we find: “I have set Your laws before me” (119:30). The message is not, God forbid, to replace a relationship with God, but to recognize that deep attachment to the Torah ultimately leads us to a relationship with Him: “You draw close, Lord, and all Your commandments are true” (119:151).

Parts of this psalm are familiar to many from funeral services and memorial rituals. Over the years, verses from Psalm 119 have been used in the recitation of the Letters of ”Neshamah" (=נשמה), as passages are chosen according to the letters of the deceased’s name, and arranged to form the word neshamah (נשמה). Beyond the alphabetical structure that makes this convenient, the choice of this specific psalm also underscores a deeper message about what's the focus, what truly matters in this world, and what would be best for every person to carry with them into the World of Truth.