Tehillim 118 on the Superiority of the Right Side

Tehillim 118 on the Superiority of the Right Side

\r\nTehillim 118:16\r\n\r\n- “Yemin Adonai romemah, Yemin Adonai osah chayil” - (The right hand of G-d is exalted; the right hand of G-d performs mighty deeds.)\r\n\r\nChazal, of blessed memory, teach based on this pasuk:\r\n\r\n“A person's every turn should be to the right.” (Yoma 15b)\r\n\r\nWhen putting on shoes, one should put on the right shoe first (Shabbat 61a). When getting dressed—especially before Shabbat—one should take the garment in the right hand, pass it behind the back, and grasp the left side of the garment with the left hand. Then one should insert the right arm into the sleeve first, followed by the left.\r\n\r\nThe same applies to a tallit: first take both parts in the right hand, then transfer the left part to the left hand and wrap oneself in it.\r\n\r\nWhen washing one's hands, one should take the vessel in the right hand, fill it, then transfer it to the left hand and pour the water first over the right hand.\r\n\r\nThis applies to everything—the right side should come first, and there is a deep significance to this.\r\n\r\nAt that time, one should also recite the words of Tehillim (118:16) silently: “The right hand of G-d is exalted; the right hand of G-d performs mighty deeds.”\r\n\r\nWhen a person sleeps, he should sleep on his left side, so that “the right side may prevail over the left.”\r\n\r\nOne who is not careful about this may, G-d forbid, experience a seminal emission.\r\n\r\nWhen distributing bread or wine from the cup over which Birkat HaMazon was recited to the participants at a meal, one should begin distributing from the right side of the table. However, if a Torah scholar is seated to the left of the person reciting the blessing, he should be served first, since honoring the Torah takes precedence; alternatively, the wine may be divided between two cups and passed to both simultaneously.\r\n\r\nThe person called to the Torah should approach from the right, and so forth.\r\n\r\nRegarding one who is careless about this and does not pay attention to what is left and what is right, it is said: “He who despises a matter will suffer because of it” (Mishlei 13:13). Of one who is careful, it is said: “His horn [strength] will be raised... G-d will shield [protect] him with His right hand.” (Tehillim 121:5)\r\n\r\nThe concept of the “right side” also includes the principle that the husband should be the head of the family and that everything in the home should be done with his consent. If a woman, G-d forbid, commands her husband, then both he and she herself will suffer. By doing so, she gives precedence to the “left side,” brings Heavenly judgment upon her home, and causes harm in the spiritual realm.\r\n\r\nTherefore, neither the wife herself nor her parents should wish for her to command her husband. This is to her own detriment. If she submits to her husband, they will enjoy a sweet life and longevity.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n(Based on the book “Pele Yoetz” by Rabbi Eliezer Papo)