R. Yehuda said in the
name of Rav: Four (types of people) must give thanks - Yordei haYam
(seafarers), Holchei Midbaros (those travelling through deserts, one was ill
and recovered, and one who was imprisoned and was released.
The Ben HaYehoyada raises a series of questions on this
Brysa.
Q. Psalm 107 speaks first of travellers in deserts, and only
then of seafarers. Why does the Brysa reverse the order? And why does the sick
person precede the prisoner?
A. A ship requires a company of sailors, whereas those
travelling in a desert can be few in number. The remaining cases refer to
individuals, but the sick person is a more common occurrence than that of the
prisoner.
Q. The Brysa's first two cases are in the plural while the
third and fourth cases are in the singular. Why is this so?
A. The seafarer and desert caravan traveller take on the
dangers of their profession of their own volition and have no need to separate
themselves from their fellow man, unlike the sick person and the prisoner. In
each of the two pairs, the more dangerous situation precedes the less
dangerous.
Q. Why in the two final cases does it mention the means of
redemption, recovery and release; whereas in the first two cases no mention is
made of having survived the experience?
A. In the first two case one is required to give thanks even
if there was no apparent danger i.e. even if there were no storms or robbers.
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