Perek Shira - The Song of the Grapevine

[Music] [Applause] [Music] the grapevine says so says hashem in the same way wine bearing grapes are found on a cluster and one says do not destroy it as there is blessing within it so shall i act for the sake of my servants not to destroy all grapes are among the most prominent to fruit they grow in abundant clusters each grape filled with sweetness and colored in rich hues grapes can be fermented to produce wine which adds both jubilance and significance to festive meals joyous jewish occasions and ceremonies such as burkhasa mazoin kirish havdala brismila and marriage are all commemorated specifically with a glass of wine not only does wine gladden people it also gladdens hashem himself it is the soul fruit product offered upon the altar in the basa mikkus as an accompanying libation to every corbett only when it is poured do the levites play their music and sing to the creator wine is not always a blessing in its song it is referred to as tirosh the sages explain that this word has the root rosh which can mean either leader or pauper if one drinks wine with wisdom and in good measure it uplifts the spirit expands the mind and brings delight and enjoyment of life however if misused it can loosen discipline and morals bringing about the opposite foolishness sin poverty and destruction some opinion that the primordial forbidden fruit tree that adam and chava partook of bringing the concept of death to the world was a grapevine from which they drink wine later on in history it was wine that brought new york's shame when he began to replant the new world that is why before we drink this potent beverage we say lechayam to life the existence of the grapevine in hashem's world testifies to his belief in our essential goodness and our ability to utilize his blessings appropriately its song is about how in the dismal period of jewish history prior to the destruction of the first base amigdas hashem criticized the jewish nation sternly yet he declared that he would not destroy them entirely for the sake of the righteous amongst them he compared the nation to a grapevine grown for wine and that even if it carries only one solitary cluster of grapes and the wood of a grapevine is in itself useless still the farmer will maintain it for the sake of whatever grapes it produces the grapes themselves are immature and will undergo a long process of tending harvesting squeezing and fermentation until they become wine yet the farmer foresees the hidden blessing so too hashem focuses on the good of his nation places faith in their ultimate return to him and find satisfaction in each generation at the end of days the righteous will drink from the promised yayan hamashuma divine wine aged to perfection since the beginning of history then the grapevine song will reach its crescendo yet even throughout the most hopeless parts of jewish history the grapevine saints so says hashem in the same way wine bearing grapes are found on a cluster and one says do not destroy it as there is blessing within it so shall i act for the sake of my servants not to destroy all we the jewish people are likened to a grapevine and it is one of the seven acclaimed species of our land its song is also ours we should live according to its message seeing the good in life and being content with our lots and we should remember that all blessings are similar to wine and their possible utilization for either good or bad we have been given the free choice to either harness the world correctly and reveal its creator within it or to misuse it and cause the opposite hashem is willing to focus on our essential goodness and patiently wait for our gradual rectification we too should be just as willing to overlook the faults of our fellow jews search for the goodness within your family students employees or anyone under your influence recognize the pure core of every descendant of avram yitzhak yaakov and excuse human imperfections love every jew as yourself we are all part of one grapevine when all the grapes of our nation are harvested and its wine is produced then the blessing joy and song that will come from it will fill the world until then we should see the good in everyone and the song of the grapevine will be heard even today [Music] so [Music] so [Music] [Applause] [Music] b [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] you