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סַבּוּנִי כִדְבוֹרִים. דֹּעֲכוּ כְּאֵשׁ קוֹצִים. בְּשֵׁם יְהֹוָה כִּי אֲמִילַם

They surrounded me like bees, they were extinguished like a fire of thorns – in the name of Hashem, as I will chop them off (Psalms 118:12).

I don’t read (devorim)  דְבוֹרִים (bees), but rather (devarim) דְּבָרִים (words). To me, this verse expresses dealing with conversation-a buzz that goes off-that clutters my ability to think straight.

The Midrash further elaborates:

כי כחציר מהרה ימלו. אמר הקב”ה אין הרשעים כלום חציר הם תוחלתם. וכן הוא אומר (תהלים צב ח) בפרוח רשעים כמו עשב. מפריחין כזה העשב ומתייבשין. וכן בלדד אומר (איוב ח טז) רטוב הוא לפני שמש ועל גנתו יונקתו תצא. ועד מתי לפני שמש עד שלא תבוא תקופת תמוז מתיבשין ואחר כך נעשין קוצין. ולהיכן הם הולכים באש. שנאמר (תהלים קיח יב) דועכו כאש קוצים. ולכך כירק דשא יבולון

“For like grass they will soon wither. The Lord said, ‘The wicked are nothing but grass; their hope is in vain.’ As it says, ‘When the wicked flourish like grass and all evildoers thrive, it is only so that they may be destroyed forever’ (Psalm 92:8-9). Similarly, in Job it says, ‘He is like a plant that grows in the sun, spreading its roots over a garden; it may grow beautifully, but when the scorching winds blow, it withers away’ (Job 8:16-19). How long will they be like this, before they are consumed by fire? As it says, ‘They are extinguished like a fire of thorns’ (Psalm 118:12). And that is why they will be harvested like weeds” (Midrash Tehillim 37:2).

Interestingly, the Ramchal references the Torah to fire, על התורה נאמר (ירמיה כג כט): “הלוא כה דברי כאש נאם ה'” “About the Torah it says ‘Behold, My word is like fire—declares Hashem'” (Jeremiah 23:29). 

I apply the Tehillim, the Midrash, and Jeremiah to the prayer of Veha’arev na Hashem Elokeinu, et divrei Toratecha befinu, uv’fifiyot amecha Beit Yisrael—“And sweeten for us, Hashem, [the Source of] our Power, the words of Your Torah in our mouths and in the mouths of Your Nation, the House of Yisrael.” With this prayer, I have the kavannah (intention)  that any discordant buzz encircling me—whether from external clamor or inner unrest—be consumed with the fire of Your Torah, that they detach from me (chopped off) and be transformed into a sweetness as pure as honey flowing from a beehive, restoring serenity and illumination to my being.[1]

 

 

 

[1] as King David says, torat Hashem temima, meshivat nafesh, “The Torah of Hashem is pure, it restores the soul” (Psalms 19:8).