Tehilim Perek 141

Hello everybody. Today’s NachDaily will discuss Tehilim chapter 141.

As in the previous chapter, Dovid wrote this perek while escaping from Shaul. Dovid understood that lashon hara, slander, was what caused Shaul’s outrage, which in return caused unnecessary bloodshed. Dovid asks to be saved from being harmed by others, from speaking slander himself, and not to be influenced by evil ways.

Dovid davens for his prayer to be as desirable as korbanos in front of Hashem, asking for true understanding and knowledge of Him, for his lips to be saved from speaking harm and for his enemies not to prevail over him. Dovid expresses the desire not to be influenced by the negativity around him, nor to fall into the trap that was set up to catch him.

Verse 2 says:

תִּכּ֤וֹן תְּפִלָּתִ֣י קְטֹ֣רֶת לְפָנֶ֑יךָ מַֽשְׂאַ֥ת כַּ֝פַּ֗י מִנְחַת־עָֽרֶב׃

Let my prayer be fixed before You as an incense offering, the raising of my hands as the afternoon prayer.

The Gemarah in Yomah 44A says that the Incense offering atones for slander. The incense is brought in a relatively quiet, hidden manner, in a place where only the Kohanim can enter, in the sanctuary on the Golden Altar. As such, it atones for slander, which is done in secrecy.

Unfortunately, in our time, using our words to take something or someone down is often done on the internet and in public forums. A person can post anything for all to see. Often a bad review on a product, store, or service, can have many negative consequences for the person or object written about.

The Ramad Walli explains this on a deeper level. The Ketores offering is what joins together the elyonim and tachtonim, upper and lower worlds. It unifies them with a very intense spiritual connection that is stronger and more hidden than anything else.

Dovid asked Hashem that his prayer may reach the deepest hidden places in Shamayim. Considering the tefilah as the Ketores incense can completely bypass the angels of judgement who wait to tear down our tefilos.

May we merit speaking to Hashem with such honesty, sincerity, and feeling, that our prayers will indeed be considered like the Ketores to penetrate the deepest places in Shamayim.

We have only 8 perakim left until we finish Tehilim, after which we will iy”H begin Sefer Mishlei.

Thank you for listening, and have a wonderful day