“Praising God in prayer isn’t enough. It’s only the beginning. Our actions and our words are what matter,” says Rabbi Steve Burnstein from the Birkat Shalom congregation in Kibbutz Gezer, Israel, commenting on Psalm 34 for the Heschel Center at the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin. The Psalm is sung on the Fourth Sunday of Lent.

Rabbi Burnstein reminds us that Psalm 34 was written by King David when he was afraid and fleeing from King Abimelech, also known as King Achish. “He is afraid, and from his fear he prays and he turns to his God: ‘I sought the Lord, and he answered me; He delivered me from all my fears.’ He finds solace and shares with us in the psalm: ‘Let us praise God’s greatness together in community.’ For me, the key is that we praise God in community, not only alone. The community is our strength,” the rabbi explains.

As he further elaborates, the psalm tells us that through praising God, David looked to God and asked Him for help, and was answered when God saved him from danger. David asked that we join him in praising God: ‘Let us exalt his name together.’ It is a prayer that we say every time we open the Holy Ark and take the Torah scrolls out to read from the Torah.”

The rabbi highlights that Psalm 34 does not stop at praise alone. Instead, it teaches that what indeed matters are our words and actions: “Who is the one who loves life, who wants a long life, who wants to see goodness? He is the one who listens to God, who tells him: ‘Guard your tongue from evil and your lips from saying evil things. Don’t do evil, only do good. Seek peace and pursue peace.”

Rabbi Burnstein acknowledges that this is a challenge, as “living within a community isn’t always easy,” but he emphasizes that “if we watch our words and treat each other with respect, we will have a long life and be able to see peace.”