Introduction to Psalm 126
The Return as Dream: Wonder of Redemption
Psalm 126 opens with one of the most powerful images in the Psalter: "When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream" (v. 1). The return from Babylonian exile was not believed possible — it was so extraordinary that it seemed like a dream. The Hebrew verb shav shevut (to restore the fortunes/destiny) is a technical formula designating the eschatological restoration of the people after catastrophe. The joy of return is irrepressible: "Then our mouths were filled with laughter, and our tongues with shouts of joy" (v. 2). Even the nations acknowledge YHWH's work: "The Lord has done great things for them" — and Israel responds: "The Lord has done great things for us; we were glad" (v. 3). The treatise interprets the return from Babylon as the fulfillment of divine promises through Cyrus, an unwitting instrument of Providence.
"Restore our fortunes, Lord": Prayer in the Time of Waiting
Verse 4 introduces a surprising turn: after celebrating the return already accomplished, the psalmist prays for a yet more complete return — "Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like streams in the Negev" (v. 4). The image is geographically precise: the streams of the Negev (afiqim baNegev) are riverbeds dry for most of the year that suddenly fill with winter rains, transforming the desert into a torrent. Thus God can rapidly transform the situation of a scattered people. "Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him" (vv. 5-6). The agricultural image of the weeping sower is theologically dense. Sowing occurs in autumn, a season of precariousness: the farmer casts into the earth grain that may not germinate — an act of faith in the cycle of life. Weeping (bekhiy) does not indicate despair but the risk of the gift, the toil of giving without guarantees. The joy of harvest (rina, shout of joy) is proportionate to the depth of the seed sown. The rabbinic tradition (Mishnah Peah 1:1) lists the fruits that one eats in this world while receiving the reward in the world to come, among them gemilut hasadim (acts of loving-kindness) — the "sowing in tears" is structurally similar: the generous investment produces fruits that exceed expectation.
Rain, Gemilut Chasadim, and the Sowing of Tears
Psalm 126 celebrates the return from exile as a dream ("when the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like dreamers," v. 1) and compares it to the rains of the Negev that suddenly transform the desert. The sower who "goes out weeping, bearing the seed to sow" will return "with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves" (vv. 5-6). Two mishnayot illuminate this dynamic of toil and harvest.
Mishnah Peah 1:1 lists the "things without measure (ein lahem shi'ur): the pe'ah (corner of the field left for the poor), the first fruits, the pilgrimage offerings, acts of gemilut chasadim, and the study of Torah." And it continues: "These are the things of which a man eats the fruits in this world while the principal (ha-keren) remains for him in the world to come: honoring father and mother, acts of gemilut chasadim, bringing peace between a man and his neighbor; and the study of Torah is equal to all of these together." The sowing in tears of the psalm is precisely this immeasurable investment: one gives the seed without calculation, and the "principal remains for the world to come."
Mishnah Ta'anit 1:2 regulates the liturgical request for rain: "One does not pray for rain except near the rainy season." The prayer "restore our fortunes like streams in the Negev" (v. 4) participates in the same liturgical structure: redemption is sought when it is "near," trusting that the emunah that governs the rain will also govern the return of the people.