Tehillim 63 | “My Soul Thirsts for You”

The opening verses of this psalm are well known and have been set to melodies that have become very popular. Today, we have the opportunity to read these verses in their full context. In truth, the verses are not that difficult to understand; David invites us into a deeply personal experience, which he describes with great clarity. Let us quote a few of the verses here:

"A psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Yehuda.
O God, You are my God; I seek You desperately. My soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a parched and weary land that has no water,
so I have visions of You in the Sanctuary of your might and glory.
Your loving-kindness is better than life, so my lips shall praise You,
so I will bless You as long as I live, as I lift up my hands in Your name.
My soul will be nourished as with a rich feast, my mouth will sing praises with joyful lips" (Tehillim 63)

The title of the psalm notes that it was composed in the wilderness, and indeed its opening lines describe an intense thirst. Yet the thirst described is not for water, but it is a thirst for closeness to God. A yearning and desire to behold God’s glory, to merit His kindness. What is the connection between this thirst for God and the physical thirst of the wilderness? David explains: "Your loving-kindness is better than life" – God’s kindness is more precious than life itself, more essential than even the basic need to drink water in the wilderness. And invoking God’s name quenches and satisfies him like the richest of foods: "My soul will be nourished as with a rich feast".

On the one hand, David draws a connection between two forms of thirst, physical and spiritual, but on the other, he declares that the spiritual thirst is more important to him. Let us bring here a few words of the Sfat Emet (spoken in another context), which seem to connect to the idea expressed by this psalm: “It demonstrates that the entire world is a parable to understand the love we need to have for Hashem… However, to receive this message, a person needs to be connected to the parable. It is difficult to connect to this parable, and when we are too attached to this world, we cannot comprehend it properly. Therefore, during Pesach, the time of our freedom, we can learn Hashem's will even from nature.” (Sfat Emet, Leviticus Passover 1 5631 [=1871])

The Sfat Emet suggests that the experiences of this world can serve as tools to help us reach love of God. Love of God itself, is a lofty and noble goal, but difficult to attain, as it is very abstract. Precisely the physical thirst of the natural world can serve as a metaphor and a vehicle to help us understand the concept of longing: the state of a person who yearns for something. From there, we can channel that same inner movement into our spiritual consciousness, into longing for God.

This psalm is one of the most moving psalms in the Book of Tehillim. It describes how, while in the wilderness, in a dry and weary land, the poet’s deepest thirst is not for water, but for God. It’s no coincidence that these verses have inspired such stirring melodies that highlight the longing for closeness to God, and remind us that the psalms :

עקיבא - צמאה לך נפשי

יצחק מאיר - צמאה לך נפשי (בעלזא)

צמאה - אברהם פריד - יונתן רזאל - אריאל זילבר - ישי ריבו

צמאה (באבוב) || ישיבת מקור חיים