Tehillim for the mitzvah of "Peru u-Revu"

Tehillim for the mitzvah of "Peru u-Revu" 

Tehillim 51:7  

- "In sin did my mother conceive me"  I was born of a father and mother, beings of flesh and blood, inseparable from sin. Even David's father Yishai, one of the four people who never sinned, being a descendant of Adam and Eve, possessed an inclination toward sin. (Rashi)

Tehillim 27:10                                                                                                                                                     

- "…my father and mother have abandoned me"   Rabbi Acha expounded: Thus David said before the L-rd: "Master of the Universe, Yishai did not intend to father me; he merely satisfied his desire. And as soon as his desire was satisfied, my father turned his face one way, and my mother the other. But You gathered every drop [of semen]. And concerning this David said: 'For my father and mother have abandoned me.' (Vayikra Rabbah 14:5)

Tehillim 127:3 

- "…children are the heritage of the L-rd." What must a person do in order to have sons specifically? He must sanctify himself at the time of intimacy (that is, conduct himself modestly during intimacy). But many have done so—and it produced no result. One must ask for mercy from the One who grants sons, as it is written: "Children are the heritage of the L-rd." If so, why is it necessary to "sanctify oneself" (if everything depends not on man but on G-d)? Because it is written: "The reward is the fruit of the womb." Rabbi Hama, son of Rabbi Hanina, said: "As a reward for a husband restraining himself during intimacy so that his wife will experience pleasure first, the L-rd grants 'the fruit of the womb.' (Babylonian Talmud, Niddah 70b–71a, with Rashi's explanation)

Tehillim 125:3  

- "…the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous."  

Rabbi Shmuel, son of Rav Yitzchak, said in the name of Resh Lakish: "A person's wife is determined according to his deeds (a modest woman for a righteous man, and a licentious woman for a wicked man), as it is written: 'The rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous.' Rabba bar bar Hana said in the name of Rabbi Yochanan that matching spouses is no easier than splitting the waters of the Reed Sea. At first glance, this contradicts the words of Rav: 'Forty days before conception, a heavenly voice proclaims: So-and-so's daughter is destined for so-and-so' (that is, the future couple is determined long before birth, when it is not yet known who will be righteous and who wicked. For the rule is: 'Everything is in the hands of Heaven except the fear of Heaven,' and as the Talmud relates (Niddah 16b), even before a child is born, all of his physical, emotional, and social characteristics are determined; only whether he will be wicked or righteous depends entirely on his free choice). However, the contradiction is only apparent: Rav is speaking of a first marriage (when the choice of spouse depends on predestination), while Resh Lakish is speaking of a second marriage (when it is indeed difficult to match the spouses, since they were not destined for one another). (Babylonian Talmud, Sotah 2a, with Rashi's explanation)

Tehillim 69:9

- "I have become a stranger to my brothers… and an alien to my mother's sons";

Our Sages related that a doubt arose in the heart of Yishai, David's father. Because of his profound fear of G-d, he began to wonder: perhaps his grandfather Boaz, who married the Moabite Ruth, had misunderstood the Torah law prohibiting Moabites from entering the congregation of Israel (Boaz interpreted it as prohibiting Moabite men, but not Moabite women). If so, Yishai reasoned, that union had been forbidden, and all Ruth's descendants, including himself, were Moabites and forbidden to marry Jews. Although by that time Yishai already had six sons and two daughters, he separated from his wife, and his children knew about it. After some time, Yishai was saddened that he was not fulfilling the mitzvah of "Peru u-Revu" (be fruitful and multiply). He summoned a Canaanite maidservant who lived in his house and said to her: "I will free you 'on condition.' If I am Jewish and permitted to marry Jewish women, then since a freed maidservant becomes Jewish, I will take you as my wife according to the law of Moses and Israel. But if I am a Moabite, then this emancipation is invalid, you remain a maidservant, and a union with you is therefore permitted to a Moabite." But the maidservant saw how Yishai's righteous wife was suffering and said to her: "Let us act as Rachel and her sister Leah did." Yishai's wife entered him in place of the maidservant, sanctified herself, and prayed to the L-rd; and the L-rd caused Yishai not to notice the substitution. Three months later, their sons noticed that their mother was pregnant and told Yishai: "Our mother has conceived through adultery." The son born from that pregnancy was David. Therefore David said: "I have become a stranger to my brothers"—for they thought he was a mamzer, born to a married woman through adultery. (Sefer HaToda'ah)

Tehillim 68:14  

- "And when you lie between the boundaries"… Rabbi Akiva explained: "In the merit of the righteous women of that generation, the Jews were redeemed from Egyptian slavery. When the women went to draw water, the L-rd sent small fish into their buckets… They placed two buckets on the stove: one to heat water for washing, and the other to cook fish soup. Then they brought them to the field, to their husbands—they washed them, anointed them with oil, fed and gave them drink, and lay with them between the boundaries, as it is written: 'And when you lie between the boundaries.' In reward for this intimacy 'between the boundaries,' Israel merited all the wealth of Egypt, as it is written: 'The wings of the dove were covered with silver.' (Babylonian Talmud, Sotah 11b)

Tehillim 68:7 

- "G-d restores the lonely to their homes"…   A matron once asked Rabbi Yose: "How many days did G-d take to create His universe?" He said to her: "Six." "And what has He been doing ever since?" He replied: "He sits and arranges marriages: matching a groom with a bride and a bride with a groom…. As it is written: 'G-d restores the lonely to their homes.' (Bereishit Rabbah 68) Rabba bar bar Hana said in the name of Rabbi Yochanan: "Matching couples is as difficult as splitting the sea, as it is written: 'G-d restores the lonely to their homes, freeing prisoners from their chains' (that is, Scripture compares the creation of a new family (a "home") with the Exodus from Egyptian slavery). At first glance, this contradicts the words of Rav: "Forty days before conception, a heavenly voice proclaims: So-and-so's daughter is destined for so-and-so." However, the contradiction is only apparent: Rav speaks of a first marriage, while Rabbi Yochanan speaks of a second. (Babylonian Talmud, Sotah 2a). When a person first enters this world, his destined mate enters it together with him. When the time comes for him to marry, his bride is found immediately and without difficulty. But if a person sinned and must return to the world again, his wife is likewise sent into this world again. For such a person, when the time comes to marry, it is very difficult to find a wife. This requires great effort and is accompanied by disputes and conflicts. For now, because his sins have drawn him into the cycle of reincarnation, he has accusers in the heavenly court, and they obstruct his search and sow discord between the groom and bride. This is called a "second marriage"—and it is the same wife who was previously with him, as it is written: "G-d restores the lonely to their homes." She is joined with him again and again through the cycle of reincarnation, and concerning this it is said that it is difficult for the L-rd "to match destined partners."  (Arizal, "Sha'ar HaGilgulim")

Tehillim 58:4 

- "The wicked are estranged from the womb"… From their mother's womb they are alienated from G-d, as was Esau (Rashi). When the pregnant Rebecca passed by houses of idol worship, Esau struggled to emerge from the womb (Bereishit Rabbah 63:6)

Tehillim 49:13 

- "But man's glory does not endure through the night"… Rabbi Yochanan, son of Rabbi Hanina, said: That day had twelve hours. During the first hour, He gathered dust. During the second, He formed the figure. During the third, He fashioned its hands and feet. During the fourth, He breathed a soul into it. During the fifth, it stood on its feet. During the sixth, He gave names to all the animals. During the seventh, Eve was given to him. The eighth was the hour of intimacy. Two went up to the bed, and four came down. During the ninth hour, he was commanded not to eat from the Tree. During the tenth, he sinned. During the eleventh, he was judged. During the twelfth, he was banished, as it is written: "But man's glory does not endure through the night." (Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 38b)