Perek Shira - The Song of the Deer

[Music] [Applause] [Music] the deer says and I will sing of your might and I will praise their kindness in the morning for you have been a bastion for me and a refuge on the day of my distress in the animal world the deer is the symbol of flight for survival it is the target of many potent predators and it does not possess the Brawn and the fortitude to defend itself outright rather its main form of defense is to run away which it does excellently with its uniquely Swift legs and slender nimble figure it is a particularly fearful creature and this characteristic lends it the alertness necessary for its survival even when it sleeps the deer remains alert to its surroundings to the extent that it is said to sleep with one eye open its sleep standing and if attacked it will leap away immediately without having to recover from its slumber when it flees it turns its head around as it runs to keep an eye on its chasers if one fleeing through a forest its horns become entangled in the woods it will break its horns against a tree in order to continue to run unrestrained when the night ends and its adversaries returned to their dens and this beautiful creature rises for another day of existence its survival is a song to its creator no less than that which king david sang when he was saved from his enemies the dear sayings not only about its own survival on a deeper level it sound refers to the Jewish nations salvation from the exile and its many predators with the approaching dawn of the final redemption the periods of Jewish exile are traditionally referred to as nights the upcoming final salvation is described as the day since the destruction of our based mikdash we have wandered throughout the world constantly running and escaping from many a hostile nation only to fall prey to another it is not only from physical threats that we flee wandering without righteous kingship we have always had to run like the deer from recurring opposition in compromising and even antithetical societies fleeing spiritual hazards with the same responsibility with which the deer flee swiftly with all of its ability to save its life like the deer our survival until the ultimate morning is a beautiful sound of praise to a Shem whose watchful gaze has never ignored us it is about this future morning that it is written Cleveland is Russia it is good to think a Shem in the morning of the redemption for his kindness this first continues that during the exile nights if he fits us to maintain our faith that this morning will yet come on a more personal scale everyone has periods of nights followed by mornings which come upon him throughout his life both are equally periods of song that day do not forget the past night and remain humbly grateful perhaps the whole purpose of the travails will so that you would appreciate the one who delivered you from them at night do not forget the past day that will surely return with renewed grandeur whether soaring are merely surviving sing throughout ultimately you are singing the song of the final redemption the day when the Sun will rise and never set again you [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] you [Music]