"Praising God in prayer isn’t enough. It’s only the beginning. Our actions and our words are what matter," says Rabbi Steve Burnstein from the Birkat Shalom congregation in Kibbutz Gezer, Israel, commenting on Psalm 34 for the Heschel Center at the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin. The Psalm is sung on the Fourth Sunday of Lent.
Rabbi Burnstein reminds us that Psalm 34 was written by King David when he was afraid and fleeing from King Abimelech, also known as King Achish. "He is afraid, and from his fear he prays and he turns to his God: ‘I sought the Lord, and he answered me; He delivered me from all my fears.’ He finds solace and shares with us in the psalm: ‘Let us praise God’s greatness together in community.’ For me, the key is that we praise God in community, not only alone. The community is our strength," the rabbi explains.
As he further elaborates, the psalm tells us that through praising God, David looked to God and asked Him for help, and was answered when God saved him from danger. David asked that we join him in praising God: ‘Let us exalt his name together.’ It is a prayer that we say every time we open the Holy Ark and take the Torah scrolls out to read from the Torah."
The rabbi highlights that Psalm 34 does not stop at praise alone. Instead, it teaches that what indeed matters are our words and actions: "Who is the one who loves life, who wants a long life, who wants to see goodness? He is the one who listens to God, who tells him: ‘Guard your tongue from evil and your lips from saying evil things. Don’t do evil, only do good. Seek peace and pursue peace."
Rabbi Burnstein acknowledges that this is a challenge, as "living within a community isn’t always easy," but he emphasizes that "if we watch our words and treat each other with respect, we will have a long life and be able to see peace."
Heschel Center, KUL
The entire commentary follows:
Commentary on Psalm 34 by Rabbi Steve Burnstein
Shalom, I’m Rabbi Steve Burnstein, here in the community of Birkat Shalom, in Kibbutz Gezer (Israel). I would like to present Psalm 34 from a Jewish perspective, at least from this Jew’s perspective.
Psalm 34 was written by King David when he was afraid, fleeing from King Abimelech and King Achish. He is worried, and from his fear, he prays and turns to his God: “I sought the Lord, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears.” He finds solace and shares with us in the psalm: “Let us praise God’s greatness together in community”. For me, the key is that we praise God in community, not only alone. The community is our strength.
Then he goes on to tell us that through praising God, he looked to God and asked Him for help and was answered when God saved him from danger. David asked that we join him in praising God: “Let us exalt His name together.” It is a prayer that we say every time we open the Holy Ark and take the Torah scrolls out to read from the Torah.
The psalm goes on to tell us that praising God in prayer isn’t enough. It’s only the beginning. Our actions and our words are what really matter. Who is the one who loves life, who wants a long life, who wants to see goodness? He is the one who listens to God, who tells him: “Guard your tongue from evil and your lips from saying evil things”. Don’t do evil, only do good, seek peace and pursue peace”.
That’s the challenge. Every day is a precious gift from God. Living within a community isn’t always easy, but if we watch our words and if we treat each other with respect, we will have a long life and we will be able to see peace.
Rabbi Burnstein has been working in Jewish and Israel education for over 30 years. Upon completing his studies, Steve spent 6 years creating a family school at Congregation Beth Torah in Overland Park, Kansas. During his tenure at Beth Torah, the school grew from 70 to over 400 students. Steve made Aliya in 1996 and served as the Associate Director of the Pinat Shorashim Israel-Diaspora Seminar Center until 2003, exploring the role of Israel in Jewish life. He’s a member of Kibbutz Gezer, located halfway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, and has served as the spiritual leader of Kehilat Birkat Shalom since 2018.