Psalm 24 – Don’t Take A Nefesh in Vain

2nd Erev Rosh HaShanah

Rabbi Gary S. Creditor
September 21, 1998

 

Psalm 24 is recited when we return the Torah to Aron HaKodesh, the holy ark when the yom tov occurs on a weekday. In the Psalm we read:

"Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord,

And who may stand in His holy place?

One with clean hands and a pure heart-"

Then the verse continues in the Hebrew: "Asher lo nasa la-shav nafshee." If you look in the siddur or Tanahk you will find one translation: "Who has not sworn in vain by My soul…" But there is another, a different translation, which I cite in the name of my teacher Rabbi Yaakov Rosenberg, past vice-chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary. Playing on the Hebrew word "Nasa," he taught us that you could translate the phrase in the following way: "Who has not taken my nefesh in vain." On this translation we can ask the following questions:

Who is the "my" in the verse?

Whose soul is it?

Is it the psalmist's?

Is it ours?

What does it mean to take a soul in vain?

What does "vain" mean in this context?

Who cares?

Who is offended?

What are we supposed to do with our nefesh, our neshama, our soul?

Is it just there? Wherever? Whenever?

Do we take it for granted?

"I go to sleep. I wake up.

"I wake up. I go to sleep"…

A Jew asked the Chafetz Chayyim for the simple meaning of this verse and was told the parable which illuminates and answers these questions.

It was erev Yom Tov and Moshe sees Chayyim who is looking very poorly. Chayyim tells Moshe he has one unpaid outstanding bill erev Rosh HaShanah. If he, Chayyim, could only pay that bill of $100 he could begin the New Year happily, it would be a 'mechayah' and he would feel better. As a good friend, Moshe lends him the $100, to be paid back whenever Chayyim has the money. At the moment of the transaction Moshe repeats: "I am not pressing you, whenever you have it, you'll pay me back."

A year passes no payment. They happen to meet. Again Moshe says to Chayyim: "I don't mean to pressure you, but I think that you owe me $100. If you have it fine. If not, whenever you have it." Chayyim says to Moshe: "Oh, I'm so sorry. Thank you for reminding me. Come home with me now and I will give you the $100."

At the home, Chayyim opens the drawer and to Moshe's horror takes out the identical check, the original check, the very same piece of paper Moshe loaned him a year ago. He hadn't cashed it. He hadn't deposited it. He did nothing with it. It sat in the draw untouched, unused. Moshe was a little upset. He said to Chayyim: "Last year you looked so poorly. You had the weight of the world on your shoulders. I gladly loaned you a $100. I didn't pressure you. I could have used it, but I didn't bother you. I didn't pester you. But you did not even use the check. You did not pay off the $100 bill. It sat in your draw untouched and unused. What was the point of my lending you the $100? You are giving me back the original check. You took it in vain."

Said the Chaffetz Chayyim to his questioner: "You walked in last night the first night of Rosh HaShanah, and this morning and tonight, and the first yom tov prayer in the Amidah you said was "Zochraynu L'Chayyim" – "Remember us for life." God heard you and says: "And I remember," says the Ribono Shel Olam, the Master of the World, "you were here last year. And you said to Me, 'I want to take up the option for another year. Please renew the contract.' And I gladly gave you your neshama for another year. And you have the chutzpah, you show up tonight with the same neshama I gave you. You didn't embellish it. You didn't enhance it. You did nothing worthy with it. What was the point? You took MY neshama in vain. Asher lo nasa la-shav nafshee."

A year ago we came to shul, on the first erev of Rosh Hashanah and we spent all that morning and afternoon in tefillah, in prayer. A year ago, in each Amidah, we asked the Ribono shel Olam: "Zochraynu L'Chayyim…" "Remember us for life." And so we have to answer to the Almighty, about the fact that we had a neshama, that He gave us His nefesh for the year and what did we do with it?

Did we take it last year in vain?

Did we enhance it?

Did we embellish it?

Did we develop it?

What did we do with the nefesh from God which God gave us a year ago?

Can we perhaps promise that in 5759 we will not take it in vain?

Will we rather enhance it?

Will we embellish it?

We will we make good use of it in the year to come?

This was the explanation of the Chaffetz Chayyim to his questioner and to us on the verse:

"Asher lo nasa la-shav nafshee" – "Who has not taken My nefesh in vain."