Midrash Tehillim, a collection of Rabbinic commentaries on the Book of Psalms, dives deep into this idea, exploring how the voices of the righteous resonate with the Divine.

"The righteous rejoice in the Lord," the text begins, and it immediately calls to mind the passionate imagery of the Song of Songs (4:11): "Your lips drip nectar, my bride; honey and milk are under your tongue." What a beautiful metaphor for the sweetness of righteous speech! The Holy One, blessed be He, desires to hear our voices. Whether lifted in praise or bursting with joyous exultation, our voices are a gift we should not withhold. As Exodus 15:14 says, "For your voice is sweet."

But what makes the voices of the righteous so special? The Midrash asks, "Jacob rejoices over whom? Not over me." The joy found in praising God isn't a self-serving act. It's an offering. It's acknowledging the Divine presence in all things. And that, the Midrash suggests, is incredibly pleasing. Jeremiah 31:6 encourages us to "Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob," and again, we return to the sensuous imagery of Song of Songs 4:11: "Your lips drip nectar, my bride; honey and milk are under your tongue." Our words, when offered with sincerity and devotion, are like the finest honey and milk. Our palate, as described in Song of Songs 7:10, "is like the best wine." Psalm 149:6 declares, "May the high praises of God be in their throats."

Everything, it seems, is capable of rejoicing. Even the wicked, though their rejoicing is…complicated. The Midrash points out that Pharaoh, after the plagues, proclaimed, "The Lord is righteous, and I and my people are wicked." But the joy of the wicked is often born of punishment and recognition of their failings. The righteous, however, "rejoice in the Lord," not merely "to the Lord." This subtle distinction is crucial. Their joy is intrinsic, a reflection of their connection with the Divine.

The Israelites, witnessing miracles, immediately burst into song, as we see in Exodus 15:1: "Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord." Similarly, when fire descended from Heaven in Leviticus 9:23-24, consuming the offering, the people "shouted for joy and fell facedown." And in 2 Chronicles 7:3, upon seeing the fire and the glory of the Lord, the Israelites "knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, 'He is good; his love endures forever.'" These weren’t just polite hymns; they were visceral, spontaneous outpourings of awe and gratitude.

Therefore, David urges us in Psalm 33:1, "Sing to the Lord, you who are righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him." Everything in creation sings before Him – the heavens and the earth, the sun and the moon, even the angels, as Psalm 103:20 reminds us: "Praise the Lord, you his angels." But the singing of the righteous, the Midrash emphasizes, is particularly pleasing. "Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him" (Psalm 33:1).

Psalm 33 continues, urging us to "Give thanks to the Lord with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre. Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy!" (Psalm 33:2-3). This, the Midrash says, is for the One who made something new, who laid the heavens and established the earth. It’s a celebration of creation, echoing the commandment in Exodus 25:8: "And let them make me a sanctuary."

So, what does all this mean for us? Perhaps it's a reminder to be mindful of the words we speak, to ensure they are infused with gratitude and joy. Maybe it’s an invitation to find our own "new song," a unique expression of our connection to the Divine. Or maybe it’s simply an encouragement to raise our voices, to sing, to praise, and to rejoice in the gift of being. Because in the grand symphony of creation, your voice, your song, truly matters.