The Book of Psalms, the 150 psalms of the Hebrew Bible, is recognized as the most famous collection of religious poetry. The psalms are traditionally associated with King David. While his authorship of all of them is unlikely – some psalms reflect events which occurred subsequent to David’s life in the tenth century B.C.E. – his connection to psalms remains very strong. David was thought to have encouraged psalm singers during the First Temple period; he is described in the Bible as a player of the lyre; he is identified as the "sweet singer of Israel."
Psalms have become a permanent part of our worship and are written in a wide variety of literary styles. Their length varies. Psalm 117, part of the Hallel prayers recited during the Pilgrimage Festivals, is a scant two verses. Psalm 119 is an acrostic which includes 176 verses. The twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet each begin eight verses. During traditional Jewish morning worship a specific psalm is associated with and read for each day of the week. Psalm 23, "The Lord Is My Shepherd; I Shall Not Want," is a standard part of funerals and memorial services.
The Hebrew name for Psalms is Tehillim. The root of the word means praise.
The psalms are a remarkable collection of poems in praise of God. They are poems which reflect the continuum of the human experience, from one person’s relationship with God to the relationship of an entire community with God. They contain thoughts of anguish, praise, doubt, thanksgiving, compassion and longing. The words are powerful and sincere and able to be spoken by all of us. Psalms are a vehicle which has allowed people to express a personal and profound relationship with their God.
As Psalmist-in-Residence at Beth Emet The Free Synagogue from 1996 to 2002, Debbie Perlman brought psalms into the consciousness of the community. The psalms she wrote are read and recited just as King David’s have been - to express joy and sorrow, gratitude and reflection. Her psalms set the mood for worship and provide moments for personal meditation. Ms. Perlman has brought King David’s psalms to life by bringing us new psalms. She reminds us that through psalms, God speaks to us today as easily as God spoke to our ancestors.
Hyma J. Levin
Director of Education Emerita
Beth Emet The Free Synagogue
84 - Rosh Chodesh Iyar
Two friends, Beth and Bonnie, and I got together last week to begin to study - Psalms! My secret is that I am not well versed in Biblical psalms, even though I seem to be able to write new ones. Our first study session was a little disjointed. Now we have decided on the text we will use - the Soncino translation - and have given ourselves a first assignment before we meet again.
84 - Rosh Chodesh Iyar
Two friends, Beth and Bonnie, and I got together last week to begin to study - Psalms! My secret is that I am not well versed in Biblical psalms, even though I seem to be able to write new ones. Our first study session was a little disjointed. Now we have decided on the text we will use - the Soncino translation - and have given ourselves a first assignment before we meet again.
29 - For Strength
Living with illness and disability is more than a challenge. It is an every day struggle. In the gray hours of my days, I find I stop reaching out. It is tiring and troubling to feel this way, to find myself not only limited but defined by all the tasks that make up my life. I am pressured by what I have to do rather than what I choose to do. My day is divided with the necessities: it is time to take medicine, time for a breathing treatment, time for physical therapy, time for a rest from the work of breathing by using a mechanical ventilator.
191 - Pesach
We are asked to remember and retell at the Pesach seder. We are told “to tell your child on that day: it is because of what God did for me when I came out of Egypt.” Just as we were all present at Sinai, so all must have been present when our people left Egypt. How was it to stand, in that mass of humanity, before the waters of the Sea of Reeds, to be told to step forward, to believe that again the hand of God would prevail. May we all be privileged to taste not only freedom, but the experience of leaving whatever enslaves us. May God preserve us in our exodus.
190 - Before Pesach
I confess that I don’t make many physical preparations for Pesach. Cleaning the entire house is beyond me. Even cleaning the entire kitchen is more than I can realistically manage. We don’t change dishes or blow torch the ovens or even pack away all the non-Pesach food. Usually, I clean out a cabinet for the Pesach foods and move the toaster to the basement. Since we are seder guests - the first night at my husband’s aunt, the second at his parent’s house - I am responsible only for making two kinds of charoset, and assembling the items for the second seder plate.
79 - Rosh Chodesh Nisan
It happens every April. Just as the tulips start to open in the flower bed beneath my kitchen window, I find myself teetering on an edge. It is spring, it is warmer and sunnier and everything is unfolding, blossoming. It is also for me the time of anniversaries: I was first diagnosed with cancer in April. I recurred the following April. One year, walking from the car to Reid’s aunt’s house for seder, I fell. It was April. I struggle against the memories as my mind tries to take wing with the world around me. I struggle to prepare my self and my soul for the beauty of Pesach.
187 - Friendship
My best friend in all the world, my dear Zoë, had surgery on Tuesday, her second in six months. As I awoke early Tuesday morning, I knew she was at her hospital, being readied for the procedure. When the telephone rang before noon, there she was, home again, positive about the skill of her surgeon and her ability to recover.
173 - For This Body
After weeks of a confused silence, I have found my way back to regular morning prayers. The health crisis that shook me at the beginning of the year is past. I have regained strength and enough distance from that episode to once again be able to chant the words with the proper intention. Except for one.
75 - A Morning Song
ALMOST SPRING MUSINGS
Do you sense the same urgency I feel? Do you need a project? Do you need to organize the files, clean the closets, clear out the excess that accumulated over the long winter? And do you have trouble beginning? I do. Now is the moment to draw upon God’s strength to begin anew.
184 - Naming
It is twenty years ago this month. After the final round of the second type of chemotherapy for my lymphoma, I am sicker than I have ever been. I am in terrible pain from a bout of shingles. My body is emaciated, my mind is foggy with pain killers. The cancer may be in remission, but I am lost.