With the advent of the Jewish month of Shevat, and Shabbat Shirah, can an early spring be not too far behind? With this warm thought in mind our focus for the next two weeks will be upon several literary works that hopefully will give you a clearer picture concerning the importance that this time of year represents in the Jewish tradition.

An interesting tradition has gained the attention and support of many in our community, almost as if spontaneously, the daily recitation of Perek Shirah. This ancient text according to some dates back to ancient times, at least a thousand years according to Rabbi Nathan Slifkin. Its content is both mystical and cryptic. As a result its rote recitations by many among us, are in need of commentary to further enhance a deeper understanding of its purpose and appreciation of its message.

In a book entitled, “The Mystical Power of Music” by Rabbi Avraham Arieh Trugman, {Targum/Feldheim, 2005] there is a segment,”The Song of Creation”, wherein the purpose and rational behind Perek Shivah is both briefly and eloquently dealt with.

According to Rabbi Trugman,“The idea that every creation has a special song that it sings forms the basis of an intriguing and mysterious midrash called Perek Shirah, literally translated as ‘Chapter of Song.’ In this short and concise text, different creations sing specific verses from the Torah. Why each creation sings its particular verse is not explained, though many explanations are obvious.”

The author goes on to briefly give several examples to buttress his premise.

Further on Rabbi Trugman notes that “The first question asked by commentators down the ages is who exactly is singing the songs attributed to each creation. Four basic answers are given, each one true from its own perspective. Thus ,the four answers are not in contradiction with each other, but rather they ultimately complement each other.”

This presentation deserves your attention as serves as an adequate introduction to this subject.

Rabbi Natan Slifkin, who will be hosted by Rabbi Kenneth Hain , at Cong. Beth Shalom of Lawrence next weekend, Shabbat Shirah, is the author of the most comprehensive commentary to date on Perek Shirah.