In Hebrew the root of the verbs ZMR – זָמַר prune and זַמָּר sing have the same letters:
When singing, the dry branches and leaves of a tree are removed (or pruned).
Only by trimming away extraneous foliage can a tree survive and thrive, concentrating its energy and nutritional resources on the branches most likely to produce healthy twigs, leaves, flowers and fruit.
King David’s sweet song pruned the diseased and dead limbs of dejected souls, allowing them to grow healthily and continue to flourish and thrive.
In this way, through our own voices, we can prune our lives, remove the dead parts of our souls and focus our vital nourishing resources on the worthy aspects of our lives that are eager to receive them.
Then we can process them into strong, healthy notes (sounds).
In this way, we can emulate King David and begin to transform our entire lives into a sacred song.
“Every moment has its song, its words. It is up to each of us to tune into this spontaneous message.” (Tehillim Cards, Avraham Moskowitz)
