Today's song is the Song of the פְרוֹגִיוֹת.Progiot.
The Mabit, whom we've been following,
says their song is from Tehilim 138, 4.
יוֹד֣וּךָ
יְ֭הֹוָה כׇּל־מַלְכֵי־אָ֑רֶץ כִּ֥י שָׁ֝מְע֗וּ אִמְרֵי־פִֽיךָ׃/All
of the kings of the earth will praise You. Hashem, because they heard the words
of Your mouth.
We're going with the explanation that
the progiot are quail or slav,
the bird that was brought in the desert when the Jewish people asked for meat. The
word progiot is a contraction of pere geot, which means
the fruit of the valley- these are small birds from the valley, as we read
in Shemot 15,13 where it describes these birds coming in.
So what do they say? They say Hashem is praised
by all the kings of the earth.
How? A great kiddush Hashem occurred amongst the goyim when the Jewish
people went out of Mitzrayim, as is described in Shemot Rabbah 25,7,
when Hashem said, "I'll bring manna from the heavens." Additionally, David
Hamelech said, "Hashem sets up a table for me against my enemies."
When we left Mitzrayim for the desert, the goyim said,
"These people are all going to die הֲי֣וּכַל אֵ֑ל לַעֲרֹ֥ךְ
שֻׁ֝לְחָ֗ן בַּמִּדְבָּֽר׃/Can God set up a table in the desert?
(Tehilim 78,19).
But Hashem surrounded them with the Anenei
HaKavod, fed them the manna, and not just the manna,
which is basic bread. But even more, He said, "You want some meat? You
want quail- which is a delicacy? No problem!"
David Hamelech said (Tehilim 23,5)
תַּעֲרֹ֬ךְ
לְפָנַ֨י ׀ שֻׁלְחָ֗ן נֶ֥גֶד צֹרְרָ֑י
Enemies,
watch how God can set my table,
דִּשַּׁ֥נְתָּ בַשֶּׁ֥מֶן
רֹ֝אשִׁ֗י referring to the slav, which are fat
. כּוֹסִ֥י
רְוָיָֽהMy cup overflows, referring to the well.
So
David Hamelech is singing, in this famous Mizmor L'David, about how God
can take care of people, even in the
in the valley of death. That is the kiddush
Hashem that was brought about through the fruit of the valley, the progiot,
the quail. And the whole world saw God's unlimited power. Don't doubt what
God can do. That's the song of the progiot
יוֹד֣וּךָ
יְ֭הֹוָה כׇּל־מַלְכֵי־אָ֑רֶץ כִּ֥י שָׁ֝מְע֗וּ אִמְרֵי־פִֽיךָ׃
They will praise You Hashem, all the
kings of the earth. What does 'kings of the earth,'
mean? Are there kings in heaven? The Mabit explains that some kings
refer to themselves as gods. Paroah, Nevuchadnezer, and others. But these super-arrogant
kings see nothing. However, if you're Malcheh Aretz, if you're kings of the
earth, meaning you're down to earth, as we say, and you are able to see
straight, you are able to see Hashem's
ability.
The quail are the ones that brought
about that Kiddush Hashem. And that's
their song.
We have to remember that these songs are not only what they sing
with their mouths, or that we hear. It
is the song of their actions. So these quail are singing, "Look what
we did! This is our impact. We were the vehicles to disprove and dispel those
critics and scoffers that said, 'Oh, come on! Can God do that?'"
God says, Absolutely. We see this again
in Tehilim 78, 20 where it says, הֵ֤ן
הִכָּה־צ֨וּר ׀ וַיָּז֣וּבוּ מַיִם֮ וּנְחָלִ֢ים יִ֫שְׁטֹ֥פוּ
הֲגַם־לֶ֭חֶם י֣וּכַל תֵּ֑ת אִם־יָכִ֖ין שְׁאֵ֣ר לְעַמּֽוֹ׃I can give bread, I can give meat, I can give delicacies, I can do
anything.
Remembering
the manna is a daily responsibility. We must remember it every single
day. It's one of the Ten Rememberances- to
tell us that man does not live on bread alone. It's a pasuk. What
does he live on? Whatever emanates from the mouth of God. And
that's what it means, כִּ֥י שָׁ֝מְע֗וּ אִמְרֵי־פִֽיךָ׃ /they heard the words of Your mouth.
The goyim
understood, from the quail, the concept of Man does not live on bread alone,
but rather by what emanates from the mouth of God. What a powerful lesson
in bitachon, and Hashem's power, from the quail.
