As a Thirsty Deer

Psalm 42 begins, ” As a hart (deer) cries longingly for rivulets of water, so does my soul cry longingly to You, O God.”  The Hebrew word used is “Taarog,” translated into, “cries.”  The infinitive verb, “Laarog,” is the word used to describe a distinctive seasonal cry of a deer searching through the dry riverbeds of the Negev (Israel’s southern dry region) for a puddle remaining from the floods of winter.  It just goes to show that to have a full understanding of the meaning of any line in Tanach (Bible,) it is necessary to have an understanding of Hebrew, as well as the flora, fauna, geography, climate, and seasons of the Land of Israel.