כל עשב ועשב יש לו שירהThe Shepherd's Melody

kol esev va-esev yesh lo shirahIn Gamatria ↗

Every blade of grass sings; the shepherd learns its tune.

Every grass has its own song, as in Perek Shirah, the old list of the songs all creation sings. Each shepherd's tune comes from the songs of the grasses where he grazes. That is why the Torah sets the first herdsman, Yaval, beside his brother Yuval, father of harp and pipe, and why David was both shepherd and musician. The melody gives strength to the grasses so the flock has food. It also keeps the shepherd from sinking into an animal spirit, because melody separates the human spirit from the beast's. So Jacob sent Joseph a melody of the Land of Israel: 'take of the zimrat ha-aretz' (Gen. 43:11).

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