תוכנית לימודים לספר תהלים חוברת למורה
תוכנית לימודים
לספר תהלים
חוברת למורה
Teaching Sefer Tehillim
Teacher’s Guide
Intended for Yeshiva High Schools
Lesson plans accompanied by
worksheets and review sheets ready for printing.
By Rabbi Richard Hidary
© 2009 Sephardic Institute
511 Ave. R – www.judaic.org
Introductions ....................................................................................................................... 3
Lesson 1 – Name of Book, Structure ......................................................................... 3
Lesson 2 – Authorship ............................................................................................... 8
Lesson 3 – Musical Performance............................................................................. 14
Lesson 4 – Tehillim as Poetry and the Use of Parallelism ...................................... 16
Mizmorim ......................................................................................................................... 18
Lesson 5 – Mizmor 1: Happiness = Goodness ........................................................ 18
Lesson 6 – Mizmor 8: The Paradox of Being Human ............................................. 25
Lesson 7 – Mizmor 19: A Commentary on Beresheet 1-3 ...................................... 29
Lesson 8 – Mizmor 104: Recounting Creation from Man’s Perspective................. 36
Lesson 9 – Mizmor 15: The Importance of Ethics .................................................. 42
Lesson 10 – Mizmor 24: Returning the Aron Ceremony ......................................... 45
Lesson 11 – Introduction to Hallel............................................................................ 49
Lesson 12 – Mizmor 114: Learning From History ................................................... 53
Lesson 13 – Introduction to Pesuke Dezimra ........................................................... 57
Lesson 14 – Mizmor 145: All Encompasing Praise.................................................. 60
Lesson 15 – Mizmorim 9 and 10 .............................................................................. 65
Lesson 16 – Mizmor 37 ............................................................................................ 69
Bibliography ............................................................................................................. 72
Note to the Teacher:
This Guide is intended for High School level classes. It is not necessary to teach all or
any of the Introductory lessons, athough Lesson 4 is particularly important. The
Mizmorim can be taught in any order. These lesson plans are meant as a substitute for
each teacher researching and thinking about the meaning of each Mizmor and how best to
teach it. Rather, these are suggestions which each teacher should feel free to add to and
modify to suit their own classroom and teaching style.
2
Introductions
Lesson 1 – Name of Book, Structure
Goal:
Students should begin to think about various aspects of Tehillim as whole so that when
they learn individual Mizmorim they will have a sense of where it falls within the Sefer.
Activity:
1. Name: Explain the derivation of the two names of this book. In Hebrew, this book is
called ספר תהליםor just ( תהליםplural of )תהילה. In the Talmud it is abbreviated to תלים.
This name comes from the root הללwhich is also the root of הללויה. The English name
Psalms comes from the Greek name of the book in the Septuagint (the translation made
by the Jews of Egypt in the second century BCE) which is a translation of the word מזמר,
meaning “a song.” In Hebrew, we also refer to each individual psalm as a מזמרand not as
a perek.
2. Discussion: Ask students what they know about Sefer Tehillim. The purpose of this
exercise is not to teach right and wrong answers yet but rather to get students thinking
about the various issued connected with grasping Sefer Tehillim as a whole. Freely
discuss the following: Who wrote it? How do you know? Were all the Mizmorim written
at once or over a long period of time? Were they written down right away or transmitted
orally? Even if there were some written versions, most people would not have access to them since
writing was very expensive. Most people would memorize them and recite them by heart. Is the author
the same person as the final editor? What genre is it? Is it poetry? What are the poems
about? Most of them are praises, prayers, and thanks. Some psalms combine these themes and others
don’t fit neatly into any of these categories. Ps 1. is simply a statement about righteousness – a piece of
wisdom directed from a sage to a student. Ps 150 is all praise. Is it prophetic and what does that
mean? Are the words of the book directed from man to God or from God to man? Unlike
most of Tanakh which is God’s words directed to man, Tehillim are man’s words directed to God. Is
there any order to the psalms or could you mix them up without losing anything? It is not
easy to discern any simple chronological or thematic order. However, there are groups of psalms that hold
together such as the Shir haMa’a lot. There are also often linguistic connections from one Mizmor to the
next.
3. Five Books: Now show the students some of the formal aspects of the book. The
whole Sefer is split up into five books. Look at 41:14. Look for an indication in the
Tanakh that the second book begins with 42:1 such as ספר שניwritten in the margin.
Compare 41:14 with 72:18-20; 89:53; & 106:48. Have students write them on the board:
:אָמן
ֵ ְאָמן ו
ֵ עוֹלם
ָ עוֹלם וְ ַעד ָה
ָ רוּך יְ דֹוָד ֱאל ֵֹהי יִ ְשׂ ָר ֵאל ֵמ ָה
ְ תהלים פרק מא )יד( ָבּ
תהלים פרק עב
:רוּך יְ דֹוָד ֱאל ִֹהים ֱאל ֵֹהי יִ ְשׂ ָר ֵאל ע ֵֹשׂה נִ ְפ ָלאוֹת ְל ַבדּוֹ
ְ )יח( ָבּ
:אָמן
ֵ ְאָמן ו
ֵ אָרץ
ֶ עוֹלם וְ יִ ָמּ ֵלא ְכבוֹדוֹ ֶאת כֹּל ָה
ָ רוּך ֵשׁם ְכּבוֹדוֹ ְל
ְ וּב
ָ ()יט
:)כ( ָכּלּוּ ְת ִפלּוֹת ָדּוִ ד ֶבּן יִ ָשׁי
:אָמן
ֵ ְאָמן ו
ֵ עוֹלם
ָ רוּך יְ דֹוָד ְל
ְ תהלים פרק פט )נג( ָבּ
:אָמן ַה ְללוּ יָהּ
ֵ אָמר ָכּל ָה ָעם
ַ ְעוֹלם ו
ָ עוֹלם וְ ַעד ָה
ָ רוּך יְ דֹוָד ֱאל ֵֹהי יִ ְשׂ ָר ֵאל ִמן ָה
ְ תהלים פרק קו )מח( ָבּ
3
Notice how all of these pesukim are very similar. Each of them indicates the conclusion
of one book of Tehillim. Why is the Sefer split up into five books? There is one hint in
72:20. What does this mean that this is the end of David’s songs if the whole book is
made up of his songs? In order to answer this question we need to analyze the psalm
headings.
5. Have the class analyze the headings together. Some Mizmorim have no heading at all
such as Pss 1 and 2. These psalms without a heading (anonymous psalms) are found at
the beginning and end of Tehillim and also some in between. When they occur within
Tehillim they often indicate that the Mizmor is attached to the one before it. Such is the
case with Ps 10 which continues Ps 9 (in the Septuagint they are counted as one).
Ask students to find the first psalm which has a heading but which does not
mention the name of David in the heading. It turns out to be 42 – the first psalm of book
2. Once they get the hang of it, have them continue scanning all the headings looking for
patterns and groups. They should notice the following: Book 1 is all לדוד. Book 2 begins
with 7 לבני קרחMizmorim followed by 1 לאסף, and the rest are all לדוד. Book three has
11 לאסףMizmorim, 4 לבני קרח, and a couple of others. Book 4 does not have any
dominant pattern except for a couple of שירו לה' שיר חדשand ברכי נפשיheadings. Book 5
contains a long section of שיר המעלות, 9 הללויהheadings (the word הללויהnever occurs in
the first three books), and a small group of לדודMizmorim. See summary sheet.
Now we can understand why Ps 72 ends with the words “Here end of songs of
David.” Almost all of the David psalms are concentrated in Books 1 and 2 while only a
few are scattered in the last three books. Books 1 and 2 are collections of David psalms.
What emerges from this analysis is that there are a number of groups of Mizmorim ( ,לדוד
הללויה, שיר המעלות, לאסף, )לבני קרחwhich may originally have been independent units.
These units came together to form books and the books came together to form the whole
of Sefer Tehillim. Tehillim is therefore a collection or anthology of Mizmorim.
It is likely that there were many more poems written by David and others over the
centuries which are not included in Tehillim. In fact, Sefer Shemuel includes three poems
of David that are not recorded in Tehillim. Tehillim includes only those prayers and
songs which have lasting significance. It will be our job to discover what about Tehillim
makes it able to inspire so many people throughout so many generations.
4
Psalms Headings for All Five Books of Tehillim
)א(
)ב(
)ג(
)ד(
)ה(
) ו(
)ז(
)ח(
) ט(
)י(
)יא(
)יב(
)יג(
)יד(
)טו(
)טז(
)יז(
)יח(
)יט(
)כ(
)כא(
)כב(
)כג(
)כד(
)כה(
)כו(
)כז(
)כ ח(
)כט(
)ל(
)לא(
)לב(
)לג(
)לד(
)לה(
)לו(
)לז(
)לח(
)לט(
)מ(
)מא(
ְשׁלוֹם בְּנוֹ
ִמזְמוֹר ְל ָדוִד ְבּ ָברְחוֹ ִמ ְפּנֵי אַב ָ
ַל ְמַנ ֵצּ ַח ִבּנְגִינוֹת ִמזְמוֹר ְל ָדוִד
ַל ְמַנ ֵצּ ַח אֶל ַהְנּחִילוֹת ִמזְמוֹר ְלָדוִד
ַשּׁמִינִית ִמזְמוֹר ְל ָדוִד
ַל ְמַנ ֵצּ ַח ִבּנְגִינוֹת עַל ה ְ
ֲשׁר ָשׁר לַיהֹוָה עַל ִדּ ְברֵי כוּשׁ בֶּן יְמִינִי
ִשׁגָּיוֹן ְל ָדוִד א ֶ
ַל ְמַנ ֵצּ ַח עַל ַהגִּתִּית ִמזְמוֹר ְל ָדוִד
ַל ְמַנ ֵצּ ַח עַל מוּת ַלבֵּן ִמזְמוֹר ְל ָדוִד
Book 1
ַל ְמַנ ֵצּ ַח ְל ָדוִד
ַשּׁמִינִית ִמזְמוֹר ְלָדוִד
ַל ְמַנ ֵצּ ַח עַל ה ְ
ַל ְמַנ ֵצּ ַח ִמזְמוֹר ְל ָדוִד
ַל ְמַנ ֵצּ ַח ְל ָדוִד
ִמזְמוֹר ְל ָדוִד
ִמ ְכתָּם ְל ָדוִד
ְתּ ִפלָּה ְל ָדוִד
ַשּׁירָה הַזֹּאת
ֲשׁר ִדּבֶּר לַיהֹוָה אֶת ִדּ ְברֵי ה ִ
ַל ְמַנ ֵצּ ַח ְל ֶעבֶד יְהֹוָה ְל ָדוִד א ֶ
בְּיוֹם ִהצִּיל יְהֹוָה אוֹתוֹ ִמכַּף כָּל אֹיְבָיו וּ ִמיַּד ָשׁאוּל
ַל ְמַנ ֵצּ ַח ִמזְמוֹר ְל ָדוִד
ַל ְמַנ ֵצּ ַח ִמזְמוֹר ְל ָדוִד
ַל ְמַנ ֵצּ ַח ִמזְמוֹר ְל ָדוִד
ַשּׁחַר ִמזְמוֹר ְל ָדוִד
ַל ְמַנ ֵצּ ַח עַל אַיֶּלֶת ה ַ
ִמזְמוֹר ְל ָדוִד
ְל ָדוִד ִמזְמוֹר
ְל ָדוִד
ְל ָדוִד
ְל ָדוִד
ְל ָדוִד
ִמזְמוֹר ְל ָדוִד
ִמזְמוֹר ִשׁיר ֲחֻנכַּת ַה ַבּיִת ְל ָדוִד
ַל ְמַנ ֵצּ ַח ִמזְמוֹר ְל ָדוִד
ַשׂכִּיל
ְל ָדוִד מ ְ
)מב(
)מג(
)מד(
)מה(
)מו(
)מז(
)מח(
)מט(
)נ(
)נא(
ַשׂכִּיל ִל ְבנֵי קֹרַח
ַל ְמנַ ֵצּ ַח מ ְ
Book 2
ַשׂכִּיל
ַל ְמנַ ֵצּ ַח ִל ְבנֵי קֹרַח מ ְ
ַשׂכִּיל ִשׁיר יְדִידֹת
שֹׁשׁנִּים ִל ְבנֵי קֹרַח מ ְ
ַל ְמנַ ֵצּ ַח עַל ַ
ַל ְמנַ ֵצּ ַח ִל ְבנֵי קֹרַח עַל ֲעלָמוֹת ִשׁיר
ַל ְמנַ ֵצּ ַח ִל ְבנֵי קֹרַח ִמזְמוֹר
ִשׁיר ִמזְמוֹר ִל ְבנֵי קֹרַח
ַל ְמנַ ֵצּ ַח ִל ְבנֵי קֹרַח ִמזְמוֹר
ִמזְמוֹר לְאָסָף
ַל ְמנַ ֵצּ ַח ִמזְמוֹר ְל ָדוִד:
ֲשׁר בָּא אֶל בַּת ָשׁבַע
בְּבוֹא ֵאלָיו נָתָן ַהנָּבִיא ַכּא ֶ
ַשׂכִּיל ְלָדוִד:
ַל ְמנַ ֵצּ ַח מ ְ
)נב(
ְשׁאוּל וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ ָבּא ָדוִד אֶל בֵּית ֲאחִי ֶמ ֶל ְך
בְּבוֹא דּוֹאֵג ָהאֲדֹמִי וַיַּגֵּד ל ָ
ַשׂכִּיל ְל ָדוִד
ַל ְמנַ ֵצּ ַח עַל ָמ ֲחלַת מ ְ
)נג(
ַשׂכִּיל ְל ָדוִד:
ַל ְמנַ ֵצּ ַח ִבּנְגִינֹת מ ְ
)נד(
ְשׁאוּל הֲלֹא ָדוִד ִמ ְס ַתּתֵּר ִע ָמּנוּ
בְּבֹא ַהזִּיפִים וַיֹּאמְרוּ ל ָ
ַשׂכִּיל ְל ָדוִד
ַל ְמנַ ֵצּ ַח ִבּנְגִינֹת מ ְ
)נה(
ִשׁתִּים ְבּגַת
ַל ְמנַ ֵצּ ַח עַל יוֹנַת ֵאלֶם רְחֹקִים ְלָדוִד ִמ ְכתָּם ֶבּאֱחֹז אוֹתוֹ ְפל ְ
)נו(
ַשׁחֵת ְל ָדוִד ִמ ְכתָּם ְבּ ָברְחוֹ ִמ ְפּנֵי ָשׁאוּל ַבּ ְמּ ָערָה
ַל ְמנַ ֵצּ ַח אַל תּ ְ
)נז(
ַשׁחֵת ְל ָדוִד ִמ ְכתָּם
ַל ְמנַ ֵצּ ַח אַל תּ ְ
)נח(
ִשׁמְרוּ אֶת ַה ַבּיִת ַל ֲהמִיתוֹ
ִשׁלֹ ַח ָשׁאוּל וַיּ ְ
ַשׁחֵת ְל ָדוִד ִמ ְכתָּם בּ ְ
ַל ְמנַ ֵצּ ַח אַל תּ ְ
)נט(
שׁוּשׁן עֵדוּת ִמ ְכתָּם ְל ָדוִד ְל ַלמֵּדְ :בּהַצּוֹתוֹ אֶת ֲארַם נַ ֲה ַריִם
ַל ְמנַ ֵצּ ַח עַל ַ
)ס(
ָשׂר אָלֶף
וְאֶת ֲארַם צוֹבָה וַיָּ ָשׁב יוֹאָב וַיְַּך אֶת אֱדוֹם ְבּגֵיא ֶמלַח ְשׁנֵים ע ָ
)סא( ַל ְמנַ ֵצּ ַח עַל נְגִינַת ְלָדוִד
) סב( ַל ְמנַ ֵצּ ַח עַל יְדוּתוּן ִמזְמוֹר ְל ָדוִד
ִמזְמוֹר ְל ָדוִד ִבּהְיוֹתוֹ ְבּ ִמ ְדבַּר יְהוּדָה
)סג(
) סד( ַל ְמנַ ֵצּ ַח ִמזְמוֹר ְל ָדוִד
)סה( ַל ְמנַ ֵצּ ַח ִמזְמוֹר ְל ָדוִד ִשׁיר
ַל ְמנַ ֵצּ ַח ִשׁיר ִמזְמוֹר
)סו(
ַל ְמנַ ֵצּ ַח ִבּנְגִינֹת ִמזְמוֹר ִשׁיר:
)סז(
)סח( ַל ְמנַ ֵצּ ַח ְל ָדוִד ִמזְמוֹר ִשׁיר:
שׁוֹשׁנִּים ְל ָדוִד:
)סט( ַל ְמנַ ֵצּ ַח עַל ַ
ְל ָדוִד ְל ַהזְכִּיר:
)ע( ַל ְמנַ ֵצּ ַח
)עא(
ִשׁלֹמֹה
)עב( ל ְ
עֹשׂה נִ ְפלָאוֹת ְלבַדּוֹ:
ִשׂ ָראֵל ֵ
ָבּרוּ ְך יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהִים אֱלֹהֵי י ְ
וּבָרוּ ְך ֵשׁם כְּבוֹדוֹ לְעוֹלָם וְיִ ָמּלֵא כְבוֹדוֹ אֶת כֹּל הָאָרֶץ אָמֵן וְאָמֵן:
ִשׁי:
כָּלּוּ ְתפִלּוֹת ָדּוִד בֶּן י ָ
ֲשׁהוּ וַיֵַּל ְך
ְשׁנּוֹתוֹ אֶת ַטעְמוֹ ִל ְפנֵי ֲאבִי ֶמ ֶל ְך וַיְָגר ֵ
ְל ָדוִד בּ ַ
ְל ָדוִד
ַל ְמַנ ֵצּ ַח ְל ֶעבֶד יְהֹוָה ְל ָדוִד
ְל ָדוִד
ִמזְמוֹר ְל ָדוִד ְל ַהזְכִּיר
ַל ְמַנ ֵצּ ַח לידיתון }לִידוּתוּן{ ִמזְמוֹר ְל ָדוִד
ַל ְמַנ ֵצּ ַח ְל ָדוִד ִמזְמוֹר
ַל ְמַנ ֵצּ ַח ִמזְמוֹר ְל ָדוִד
ִשׂ ָראֵל ֵמהָעוֹלָם וְעַד הָעוֹ ָלם אָמֵן וְאָמֵן:
בָּרוּ ְך יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵי י ְ
)עג(
)עד(
)עה(
)עו(
)עז(
)עח(
)עט(
)פ(
)פא(
)פב(
)פג(
)פד(
)פה(
)פו(
)פז(
)פח(
)פט(
ִמזְמוֹר לְאָסָף
ַשׂכִּיל לְאָסָף
מְ
ַשׁחֵת ִמזְמוֹר לְאָסָף ִשׁיר
ַל ְמנַ ֵצּ ַח אַל תּ ְ
Book 3
ַל ְמנַ ֵצּ ַח ִבּנְגִינֹת ִמזְמוֹר לְאָסָף ִשׁיר
ַל ְמנַ ֵצּ ַח עַל ידיתון }יְדוּתוּן{ לְאָסָף ִמזְמוֹר
ַשׂכִּיל לְאָסָף
מְ
ִמזְמוֹר לְאָסָף
שֹׁשׁנִּים עֵדוּת לְאָסָף ִמזְמוֹר
ַל ְמנַ ֵצּ ַח אֶל ַ
ַל ְמנַ ֵצּ ַח עַל ַהגִּתִּית לְאָסָף
ִמזְמוֹר לְאָסָף
ִשׁיר ִמזְמוֹר לְאָסָף
ַל ְמנַ ֵצּ ַח עַל ַהגִּתִּית ִל ְבנֵי קֹרַח ִמזְמוֹר
ַל ְמנַ ֵצּ ַח ִל ְבנֵי קֹרַח ִמזְמוֹר
ְתּ ִפלָּה ְלָדוִד
ִל ְבנֵי קֹרַח ִמזְמוֹר ִשׁיר יְסוּדָתוֹ ְבּ ַה ְררֵי קֹדֶשׁ
ַשׂכִּיל ְלהֵימָן ָה ֶאזְ ָרחִי
ִשׁיר ִמזְמוֹר ִל ְבנֵי קֹרַח ַל ְמנַ ֵצּ ַח עַל ָמ ֲחלַת ְלעַנּוֹת מ ְ
ַשׂכִּיל ְלאֵיתָן ָה ֶאזְ ָרחִי
מְ
בָּרוּ ְך יְהֹוָה לְעוֹלָם אָמֵן וְאָמֵן:
) צ(
) צא(
) צב(
) צג(
) צד(
) צה(
) צו(
) צז(
) צח(
) צט(
)ק(
)קא(
)קב(
)קג(
)קד(
)קה(
)קו(
ְמֹשׁה אִישׁ ָהאֱלֹהִים
ְתּ ִפלָּה ל ֶ
ַשּׁבָּת
ִמזְמוֹר ִשׁיר לְיוֹם ה ַ
יְהֹוָה ָמ ָל ְך
Book 4
ִשׁירוּ לַיהֹוָה ִשׁיר ָחדָשׁ
יְהֹוָה ָמ ָל ְך
ִמזְמוֹר ִשׁירוּ לַיהֹוָה ִשׁיר ָחדָשׁ
יְהֹוָה ָמ ָל ְך
ִמזְמוֹר לְתוֹדָה
ְל ָדוִד ִמזְמוֹר
ִשׁפֹּ ְך ִשׂיחוֹ
ְתּ ִפלָּה ְל ָענִי כִי יַעֲטֹף וְ ִל ְפנֵי יְהֹוָה י ְ
ְשׁי אֶת יְהֹוָה
ְל ָדוִד ָבּ ְרכִי נַפ ִ
ְשׁי אֶת יְהֹוָה
ָבּ ְרכִי נַפ ִ
הוֹדוּ לַיהֹוָה
ַהלְלוּיָהּ הוֹדוּ לַיהֹוָה כִּי טוֹב כִּי לְעוֹלָם ַחסְדּוֹ
ִשׂ ָראֵל מִן הָעוֹלָם וְעַד הָעוֹלָם וְאָמַר כָּל ָהעָם אָמֵן ַהלְלוּיָהּ:
בָּרוּ ְך יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵי י ְ
L1 - Headings - Summary Sheet.doc
5
)קז(
)קח (
)קט (
)קי (
)קי א(
)קיב(
)קיג(
)קיד (
)קטו(
)קטז(
)קיז(
)קיח (
)קיט(
)קכ (
)קכא (
)קכב (
)קכג(
)קכד (
)קכה(
)קכו(
)קכ ז(
)קכח (
)קכט (
)קל (
)קלא(
)קלב (
)קלג(
)קלד (
)קלה(
)קלו(
)קלז(
)קלח (
)קלט (
)קמ (
)קמא(
)קמב (
)קמג (
)קמד(
)קמה(
)קמו(
)קמז(
)קמח(
)קמט(
)קנ(
הֹדוּ לַיהֹוָה כִּי טוֹב כִּי לְעוֹלָם ַחסְדּוֹ
ִשׁיר ִמזְמוֹר ְל ָדוִד
ַל ְמנַ ֵצּ ַח ְל ָדוִד ִמזְמוֹר
ְל ָדוִד ִמזְמוֹר
ַהלְלוּיָהּ
ַהלְלוּיָהּ
ַהלְלוּיָהּ
הוֹדוּ לַיהֹוָה כִּי טוֹב כִּי לְעוֹלָם ַחסְדּוֹ:
ִשׁיר ַה ַמּעֲלוֹת
ִשׁיר ַל ַמּעֲלוֹת
ִשׁיר ַה ַמּעֲלוֹת
ִשׁיר ַה ַמּעֲלוֹת
ִשׁיר ַה ַמּעֲלוֹת
ִשׁיר ַה ַמּעֲלוֹת
ִשׁיר ַה ַמּעֲלוֹת
ִשׁלֹמֹה
ִשׁיר ַה ַמּעֲלוֹת ל ְ
ִשׁיר ַה ַמּעֲלוֹת
ִשׁיר ַה ַמּעֲלוֹת
ִשׁיר ַה ַמּעֲלוֹת
ִשׁיר ַה ַמּעֲלוֹת ְל ָדוִד
ִשׁיר ַה ַמּעֲלוֹת
ִשׁיר ַה ַמּעֲלוֹת ְל ָדוִד
ִשׁיר ַה ַמּעֲלוֹת
ַהלְלוּיָהּ
הוֹדוּ לַיהֹוָה ִכּי טוֹב כִּי לְעוֹלָם ַחסְדּוֹ
ְל ָדוִד
ַל ְמנַ ֵצּ ַח ְל ָדוִד ִמזְמוֹר
ַל ְמנַ ֵצּ ַח ִמזְמוֹר ְל ָדוִד
ִמזְמוֹר ְל ָדוִד
ַשׂכִּיל ְל ָדוִד ִבּהְיוֹתוֹ ַב ְמּ ָערָה ְת ִפלָּה
מְ
ִמזְמוֹר ְל ָדוִד
ְל ָדוִד
ְתּ ִהלָּה ְל ָדוִד
ַהלְלוּיָהּ
ַהלְלוּיָהּ
ַהלְלוּיָהּ
ַהלְלוּיָהּ
ַהלְלוּיָהּ
Book 5
Further Analysis:
Ask students to split up into pairs. One partner should open up to Mizmor 14 and
the other to Mizmor 53. The first partner should read his/her while the other follows
along in Mizmor 53. They should immediately notice that they are parallel Mizmorim. As
they read, the second partner should point out any differences between the two. Ask them
to try and figure out why there should be two of the same Mizmor within Tehillim and
why they are slightly different.
After 5-10 minutes go over the findings together. Ask: Of the five books of
Tehillim where does Mizmor 14 fall? Book 1. In which book is Ps 53? Book 2. How can
we explain their repetition? Perhaps each book was originally an independent unit and
they both contained this Mizmor. When all the books were attached to create Sefer
Tehillim we ended up with some duplications. There are a few more parallel Mizmorim
in Tehillim which also fall out in different books (40:14-18 (book 1) = 70 (book 2); 57:812 + 60:7-14 (book 2) = 108 (book 5)). Why are they not exactly the same? Over the
course of centuries of oral and written transmission slight changes enter the text. Neither
Mizmor is necessarily correct or incorrect, they are simply variations which occur in
different locations and traditions.
There is one set of differences between these two Mizmorim which is particularly
striking. Each time God’s name appears in Mizmor 14 as YHVH, (vv 1, 6, 7), Mizmor 53
has Elokim. This change can be explained by looking at the use of God’s names
throughout Sefer Tehillim. If one counts the number of times God’s name appears as
YHVH or Elokim in each Mizmor, one finds an amazing pattern. This pattern can be seen
in the bar graph below. Each line represents the number of times that name of God occurs
in each Mizmor (Mizmor 1 is on the far left and Mizmor 150 on the far right). Within
Mizmorim 42-83 the name Elokim occurs 210 times while YHVH occurs only 45 times.
Within the rest of the Sefer YHVH occurs 584 times while Elokim appears only 94 times.
Therefore the change from YHVH in Mizmor 14 to Elokim in Mizmor 53 is part of a
larger pattern of use of God’s name. We don’t yet have any adequate explanation for
these patterns but they do reveal a complex history of the Sefer. With this realization we
can describe the characteristics of each of the five books of Tehillim as follows:
Structure of Sefer Tehillim
1-41 – Book 1, YHWH Mizmorim from a Davidic collection, mostly prayers
42-72 – Book 2, Elokim Mizmorim from a Davidic Bnei Korah collections, mostly
prayers
73- 89 – Book 3, Elokim Mizmorim from Asaf collection and YHVH Mizmorim from
Bnei Korah collection, mostly prayers
90-150 – Books 4 &5, mostly praise and thanksgiving (Halleluyah only in this section)
6
YHVH & Elokim in Tehillim
84-150: YHVH
1-41: YHVH
42-83: Elokim
26
25
24
23
22
21
20
19
18
17
16
15
14
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
1 0 10 10 1 0 10 1 0 10 1 0 1 0 10 1 1 11 11 11 11 11 1 1 11 1 1 11 1 2 12 12 12 1 2 12 12 12 1 2 12 13 13 13 13 13 1 3 1 3 13 13 13 14 14 14 14 1 4 1 4 14 14 14 14 15
0
1
9
8
7
2
4
5
9
9
4
4
3
3
1
2
1
1
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
9
8
3
3
7
3
6
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
7
6
4
3
2
1
0
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
2
5 15 1
1
6
2
4
3
3
3
4
4
4
2
3
5
10 1 5 2 2 2 24 2
1
1
2
5
2
1
1
9
1
8
1
7
6
1
5
4
2
3
2
1
0
9
8
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
6
2
4
3
7
9 12 1
5
9
8 11
2
4
7
6
6
3 11
9
2
2
1
2
1
4
1
2
2
3
1
2
1
2
1
3
7
6
1
1
1 0 11 12 13 1 4 1 5 16 17 18 1 9 20 21 2 2 23 24 25 2 6 27 28 29 3 0 31 3 2 33 3 4 35 36 37 3 8 39 4 0 41 4 2 4 3 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 5 1 52 53 54 5 5 56 5 7 58 5 9 60 61 6 2 6 3 64 65 66 6 7 68 69 7 0 7 1 7 2 73 74 7 5 76 77 78 7 9 8 0 81 82 83 84 85 86 8 7 88 89 90 9 1 92 93 94 9 5 96 9 7 98 9 9
1
1
2
1
1
1
1
2
5
7
2
4 10 1
2
4
4
7
2
2
1 2
2
1
1
1
1
5
1
7
3
4
4
3 5
8
6
1
1
1
1
2
1
7
3
1
2
2
1
1
3
1
2
2
7
1
1
1
1
1
1
3
2
5
3
4
3
4
3
3
9
3
9
6 26
1
2
2
1
8
5
2
1
6
3
3
2
7
3
5
3
1
9
2
1
1
1
1
6
1
2
1
9
5
4
1
1
1
1
1
7
3
6
2
1
9
1
1
2
2
2
3
8
8
7
1
4
6
9
5
7
1 10
4
1
1
3
1
2
3
3 15
2
1
2
3
1
4 13 1 6 8
2
1
1
1
1
9 10
1
2
1
3
6 13 5 18
1
2
1
6 10
6 2
1
1
3
3
1
4
5
3 19 7
3
6
1
4
1
;Key: Yellow = YHVH; Blue = Elokim; Gray = El; Green = Adonai
4
1
1
2
4
3
3
1
5
5
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
1 2
5
9
2
8
8
5
5
6
2
2
1
1
5
2
1
2
1
1
2
2
3
Y HV H
E l ohi m
El
1
A don ai
)Ps 14 (in book 1) = Ps 53 (in book 2
תהלים פרק נג
תהלים פרק יד
ֵח עַל ָמחֲלַת ַמ ְשׂ ִכּיל ְלדָוִד:
ַמנַצּ ַ
)א( ל ְ
ֵח ְלדָוִד
ַמנַצּ ַ
)א( ל ְ
וְה ְת ִעיבוּ
אָמר נָבָל ְבּ ִלבּוֹ ֵאין ֱאל ִֹהים ִה ְשׁ ִחיתוּ ִ
)ב( ַ
אָמר נָבָל ְבּ ִלבּוֹ ֵאין ֱאל ִֹהים ִה ְשׁ ִחיתוּ ִה ְת ִעיבוּ
ַ
ָעוֶל ֵאין ע ֵֹשׂה טוֹב:
ֲלילָה ֵאין ע ֵֹשׂה טוֹב:
עִ
)ג( ֱאל ִֹהים ִמ ָשּׁ ַמיִם ִה ְשׁ ִקיף עַל ְבּנֵי אָדָם ִל ְראוֹת
)ב( יְ דֹוָד ִמ ָשּׁ ַמיִם ִה ְשׁ ִקיף עַל ְבּנֵי אָדָם ִל ְראוֹת
ֲהיֵשׁ ַמ ְשׂ ִכּיל דֹּרֵשׁ ֶאת ֱאל ִֹהים:
ֲהיֵשׁ ַמ ְשׂ ִכּיל דֹּרֵשׁ ֶאת ֱאל ִֹהים:
)ד( כֻּלּוֹ ָסג י ְַחדָּו נֶאֱלָחוּ ֵאין ע ֵֹשׂה טוֹב ֵאין גַּם
)ג( ַהכֹּל ָסר י ְַחדָּו נֶאֱלָחוּ ֵאין ע ֵֹשׂה טוֹב ֵאין גַּם
ֶא ָחד:
ֶא ָחד:
אָכלוּ לֶחֶם
ַמּי ְ
אָכלוּ לֶחֶם )ה( ֲהלֹא י ְָדעוּ פֹּעֲלֵי אָוֶן א ְֹכלֵי ע ִ
ַמּי ְ
)ד( ֲהלֹא י ְָדעוּ כָּל פֹּעֲלֵי אָוֶן א ְֹכלֵי ע ִ
ֱאל ִֹהים לֹא ָקרָאוּ:
יְדֹוָד לֹא ָקרָאוּ:
ָחד ִכּי ֱאל ִֹהים ִפּזַּר
ַחד לֹא ָהיָה פ ַ
)ו( ָשׁם פָּחֲדוּ פ ַ
ַדּיק:
ָחד ִכּי ֱאל ִֹהים ְבּדוֹר צ ִ
)ה( ָשׁם פָּחֲדוּ פ ַ
אָסם:
ֱבשׁ ָֹתה ִכּי ֱאל ִֹהים ְמ ָ
ַצמוֹת חֹנ ְָך ה ִ
עְ
)ו( עֲצַת עָנִי ָת ִבישׁוּ ִכּי יְ דֹוָד ַמ ְח ֵסהוּ:
ָאל ְבּשׁוּב ֱאל ִֹהים
יִשׂר ֵ
יִתּן ִמ ִצּיּוֹן יְשֻׁעוֹת ְ
)ז( ִמי ֵ
ָאל ְבּשׁוּב יְ דֹוָד
יִשׂר ֵ
יִתּן ִמ ִצּיּוֹן יְשׁוּעַת ְ
)ז( ִמי ֵ
ָאל:
ָאל:
יִשׂר ֵ
יִשׂ ַמח ְ
ְשׁבוּת עַמּוֹ ָיגֵל ַיֲעקֹב ְ
יִשׂר ֵ
יִשׂ ַמח ְ
ְשׁבוּת עַמּוֹ ָיגֵל ַיֲעקֹב ְ
L1 - YHVH & Elokim - Summary Sheet.doc
7
Lesson 2 – Authorship
Goal:
Students should understand where the tradition of David as author of Tehillim comes
from and should develop a more nuanced approach that takes into account the complex
history of Sefer Tehillim. The issue of authorship and dating of the psalms will affect the
way in which many of them will be interpreted (Ex. Are they all reflections of David’s
life, of exilic times, of universal emotions…).
Activity:
1. Ask: Who wrote Sefer Tehillim? They will answer that King David wrote it. How do
מזמר you know? Students are likely to cite the name of David in Mizmor headings such as
. More on this below. They should also cite what we know about David’s poeticלדוד
ability from Sefer Shemuel and other sources. See source sheet on this subject. Of course,
just because David was a great musician and poet does not mean he wrote all of Tehillim,
but it does make David a good candidate.
King David’s Musical Qualities
I. David As Musician
שמואל א פרק טז
)יז( וַיֹּאמֶר ָשׁאוּל אֶל ֲע ָבדָיו רְאוּ נָא לִי אִישׁ מֵיטִיב ְלנַגֵּן וַ ֲהבִיאוֹתֶם ֵאלָי:
)יח( וַיַּעַן ֶאחָד ֵמ ַהנְּ ָערִים וַיֹּאמֶר ִהנֵּה ָראִיתִי בֵּן ְלי ַ
ִשׁי בֵּית ַה ַלּ ְחמִי יֹ ֵד ַע נַגֵּן וְגִבּוֹר ַחיִל וְאִישׁ ִמ ְל ָחמָה וּנְבוֹן ָדּבָר
וְאִישׁ תֹּאַר וַידֹוָד עִמּוֹ:
ִשׁלַח ָשׁאוּל ַמלְאָכִים אֶל י ָ
)יט( וַיּ ְ
ֲשׁר בַּצֹּאן:
ִשׁי וַיֹּאמֶר ִשׁ ְלחָה ֵאלַי אֶת ָדּוִד ִבּנְ ָך א ֶ
ִשׁלַח ְבּיַד ָדּוִד בְּנוֹ אֶל ָשׁאוּל:
ִשׁי חֲמוֹר ֶלחֶם וְנֹאד יַיִן וּגְדִי ִעזִּים ֶאחָד וַיּ ְ
)כ( וַיִּקַּח י ַ
נֹשׂא ֵכלִים:
)כא( וַיָּבֹא ָדוִד אֶל ָשׁאוּל וַיַּעֲמֹד ְל ָפנָיו וַיֶּ ֱא ָהבֵהוּ מְאֹד וַיְהִי לוֹ ֵ
ִשׁי לֵאמֹר יַ ֲעמָד נָא ָדוִד ְל ָפנַי כִּי ָמצָא חֵן ְבּעֵינָי:
ִשׁלַח ָשׁאוּל אֶל י ַ
)כב( וַיּ ְ
ְשׁאוּל וְטוֹב לוֹ וְ ָסרָה ֵמ ָעלָיו רוּ ַח
)כג( וְ ָהיָה ִבּהְיוֹת רוּ ַח אֱלֹהִים אֶל ָשׁאוּל וְ ָלקַח ָדּוִד אֶת ַהכִּנּוֹר וְנִגֵּן ְבּיָדוֹ וְ ָרוַח ל ָ
ָה ָרעָה:
II. David As Poet
שמואל ב פרק א:יז
וַיְקֹנֵן ָדּוִד אֶת ַהקִּינָה הַזֹּאת עַל ָשׁאוּל וְעַל יְהוֹנָתָן בְּנוֹ:
שמואל ב פרק ג:לג
וַיְקֹנֵן ַה ֶמּ ֶל ְך אֶל אַ ְבנֵר וַיֹּאמַר ַהכְּמוֹת נָבָל יָמוּת אַ ְבנֵר:
שמואל ב פרק כג
רוֹת
ְשׁי ַח אֱלֹהֵי יַעֲקֹב וּנְעִים זְ ִמ
ִשׁי וּנְאֻם ַהגֶּבֶר ֻהקַם עָל מ ִ
)א( וְ ֵאלֶּה ִדּ ְברֵי ָדוִד הָאַחֲרֹנִים נְאֻם ָדּוִד בֶּן י ַ
ִשׂ ָראֵל:
יְ
)ב( רוּ ַח יְדֹוָד ִדּבֶּר בִּי וּ ִמלָּתוֹ עַל לְשׁוֹנִי:
ִשׂ ָראֵל
ִשׂ ָראֵל לִי ִדבֶּר צוּר י ְ
)ג( אָמַר אֱלֹהֵי י ְ
III. David As Organizer of the Singers and Musicians
דברי הימים א פרק ו
ֲשׁר ֶה ֱעמִיד ָדּוִיד עַל יְדֵי ִשׁיר בֵּית יְדֹוָד ִממְּנוֹ ַח הָאָרוֹן:
)טז( וְ ֵאלֶּה א ֶ
ִירוּשׁלִָם וַיַַּעמְדוּ
ַשּׁיר עַד בְּנוֹת ְשׁלֹמֹה אֶת בֵּית יְדֹוָד בּ ָ
ִשׁכַּן אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד בּ ִ
ְשׁ ְרתִים ִל ְפנֵי מ ְ
)יז( וַיִּהְיוּ מ ָ
ִשׁ ָפּטָם עַל עֲבוֹ ָדתָם:
ְכמ ְ
)יח( וְ ֵאלֶּה הָעֹ ְמדִים וּ ְבנֵיהֶם ִמ ְבּנֵי ַה ְקּ ָהתִי הֵימָן ַהמְשׁוֹרֵר בֶּן יוֹאֵל בֶּן ְשׁמוּאֵל:
עמוס ו:ה
IV. David As Inventor of Instruments
ָשׁבוּ ָלהֶם ְכּלֵי ִשׁיר:
הַפֹּ ְרטִים עַל פִּי ַהנָּבֶל ְכּ ָדוִיד ח ְ
דברי הימים א פרק כג
ִשׂ ָראֵל:
ְשׂבַע יָמִים וַיַּ ְמ ֵל ְך אֶת ְשׁלֹמֹה בְנוֹ עַל י ְ
)א( וְ ָדוִיד זָקֵן ו ָ
ִשׂ ָראֵל וְהַכֹּ ֲהנִים וְ ַה ְלוִיִּם:
)ב( וַיֶּאֱסֹף אֶת כָּל ָשׂרֵי י ְ
וּשׁמוֹנָה אָלֶף:
לֹשׁים ְ
לֹשׁים ָשׁנָה וָ ָמ ְעלָה וַיְהִי ִמ ְס ָפּרָם ְלֻג ְלגְּלֹתָם ִלגְ ָברִים ְשׁ ִ
)ג( וַיִּ ָסּפְרוּ ַה ְלוִיִּם ִמבֶּן ְשׁ ִ
ֶשׂרִים וְאַ ְר ָבּעָה אָלֶף וְשֹׁ ְטרִים וְשֹׁ ְפטִים ֵשׁ ֶשׁת ֲא ָלפִים:
)ד( ֵמ ֵאלֶּה ְלנַ ֵצּ ַח עַל ְמלֶאכֶת בֵּית יְדֹוָד ע ְ
ָשׂיתִי ְל ַהלֵּל:
ֲשׁר ע ִ
)ה( וְאַ ְר ַבּעַת ֲא ָלפִים שֹׁ ֲערִים וְאַ ְר ַבּעַת ֲא ָלפִים ְמ ַה ְללִים לַידֹוָד ַבּ ֵכּלִים א ֶ
דברי הימים ב פרק כט
)כו( וַיַּ ַעמְדוּ ַה ְלוִיִּם ִבּ ְכלֵי ָדוִיד וְהַכֹּ ֲהנִים ַבּחֲצֹצְרוֹת:
)כז( וַיֹּאמֶר ִחזְ ִקיָּהוּ ְל ַהעֲלוֹת הָעֹלָה ְל ַה ִמּזְ ֵבּ ַח וּ ְבעֵת ֵהחֵל הָעוֹלָה ֵהחֵל ִשׁיר יְדֹוָד וְ ַהחֲצֹצְרוֹת וְעַל יְדֵי ְכּלֵי
ִשׂ ָראֵל:
ָדּוִיד ֶמ ֶל ְך י ְ
L2 – David the Musician – Source Sheet.doc
8
We will now analyze this question methodically analyzing evidence from Sefer Tehillim
itself and opinions found in the Talmud, Midrashim, and Rishonim.
3. Headings
If you were presented with Sefer Tehillim for the first time, not knowing anything about it,
(imagine that some archaeologist found Sefer Tehillim in a dig and nobody had ever seen
it before) how would you go about figuring out who wrote it? In other words, is there any
way to find the author of this book from internal evidence only forgetting our prior
knowledge? The first thing we would look for is a title for the book. Mishle, for example
does have a title which states its author. But this method does not help for Tehillim which
is lacking any title at the beginning. However, most of the Mizmorim do have titles. Who
would you say was the author based on Mizmor titles? Is looks like David wrote a
majority of them but others were written by Asaph, Bnei Korah, and many other
individuals.
Even this is not certain however since the prefix לas in מזמור לדודcan have many
different meanings in Hebrew. Here is a list of possible meanings:
1. ascribed to, belonging to, by – See Habakuk 3:1 - ;תפלה לחבקוקShir haShirim 1:1
– ;שיר השירים אשר לשלמהGen 47:4 - .יך
ָ ֲב ֶד
ָ ֵאין ִמ ְר ֶעה ַלצֹּאן ֲא ֶשׁר ַלע.
2. written to, about, dedicated to, – 72:1 – ִל ְשׁלֹמֹהis a Mizmor about Shelomoh; 1
Kings 14:19 ספר דברי הימים למלכי ישראל.
3. for the use of – למנצחfor use of the conductor (cf. 1 Chron 23:4).
The לprefix can indicate authorship in some cases, but it can have these other meanings
as well. The contents of each Mizmor can help us determine which meaning is best
suited.
4. Content
After analyzing the headings we can move to the content of Tehillim. David’s name
appears number of times within Mizmorim. See 18:51; 89:4, 36, 50; 132: 1, 11, 17.
Would David write his own name? Probably not. The most obvious example of a late
Mizmor is 137. Have students read through it quickly. What is this Mizmor about? What
events does it describe? When do you think it was written? This is about the Babylonian
exile after 586BCE, four hundred years after David. It is possible that David wrote this
prophetically, but that brings up questions about freewill and destiny (did Bnei Yisrael
have to sin and go into exile?) and the purpose of prophecy (to rebuke the people, not to
predict the future).
5. Talmud
This sugya discusses the order and authorship of all books of Tanakh. Ask one student to
read the Gemara aloud while the class takes note of interesting or surprising points.
What’s the first surprising thing in this sugya? It has a different order for Ketubim. It
places Ruth before Tehillim. Why? Ruth lived during the period of the Judges (Ruth 1:1)
so its events are chronologically prior to the rest of Ketubim. Also, Ruth ends with a
chronology from Yehudah down to David which, assuming David wrote Tehillim, forms
a nice introduction to Tehillim. What it the next interesting point which is relevant to
David as author of Tehillim? The Gemara makes a midrash on the name רותwhich
9
sounds like ריוהוmeaning to praise because she gave birth to David who praised God
with songs. David is remembered here for his songwriting abilities. What else is
interesting regarding Tehillim? The Gemara does not think that David wrote the entire
Tehillim by himself. Rather, there were many authors of individual poems prior to David.
David then incorporated those poems into Sefer Tehillim together with his own
compositions. This helps explain headings which include names other than David.
Who Wrote Tehillim?
Evidence from the Talmud and Midrash
תלמוד בבלי מסכת בבא בתרא דף יד עמוד ב.1
עזרא ודברי, דניאל ומגילת אסתר, שיר השירים וקינות, קהלת, ואיוב ומשלי, רות וספר תהלים:סידרן של כתובים
רות נמי פורענות. ליקדמיה לאיוב ברישא! את חולי בפורענותא לא מתחלינן, איוב בימי משה היה: ולמ"ד.הימים
למה נקרא שמה רות? שיצא ממנה דוד שריוהו להקב"ה בשירות:היא! פורענות דאית ליה אחרית; דאמר רבי יוחנן
ומי כתבן? משה כתב ספרו ופרשת בלעם ואיוב; יהושע כתב ספרו ושמונה פסוקים שבתורה; שמואל.ותושבחות
ועל ידי, על ידי מלכי צדק, ע"י אדם הראשון:כתב ספרו ושופטים ורות ; דוד כתב ספר תהלים ע"י עשרה זקנים
;( ועל ידי שלשה בני קרח. )טו, ועל ידי אסף, וע"י ידותון, ועל ידי הימן, וע"י משה,אברהם
The order of the Hagiographa is Ruth, the Book of Psalms, Job, Prophets, Ecclesiastes, Song
of Songs, Lamentations, Daniel and the Scroll of Esther, Ezra and Chronicles. Now on the
view that Job lived in the days of Moses, should not the book of Job come first? — We do not
begin with a record of suffering. But Ruth also is a record of suffering? — It is a suffering
with a sequel [of happiness], as R. Johanan said: Why was her name called Ruth? — Because
there issued from her David who replenished the Holy One, blessed be He, with hymns and
praises. Who wrote the Scriptures? — Moses wrote his own book and the portion of Balaam
and Job. Joshua wrote the book which bears his name and [the last] eight verses of the
Pentateuch. Samuel wrote the book which bears his name and the Book of Judges and
Ruth.David wrote the Book of Psalms, including in it the work of the elders, namely, Adam,
Melchizedek, Abraham, Moses, Heman, Yeduthun, Asaph, and the three sons of Korah.
ה: שיר השירים רבה פרשה ד.2
רבי הונא בשם ר' אחא אע"פ שעשרה בני אדם אמרו ספר תהלים מכלהון לא נאמר על שמותם אלא על ידי דוד מלך
אמר להם המלך כלכם נעימים כלכם, משלו משל למה"ד לחבורה של אנשים שמבקשים לומר הימנון למלך,ישראל
כך בשעה שבקשו, למה שקולו ערב, אלא איש פלוני יאמר על ידי כלכם,חסידים כלכם משבחין לומר הימנון לפני
עשרה צדיקים לומר ספר התהלים אמר להם הקדוש ב"ה כלכם נעימים וחסידים ומשובחים לומר הימנון לפני אלא
למה שקולו ערב הה"ד )שמואל ב' כ"ג( ונעים זמירות ישראל,דוד יאמר על ידי כלכם
R. Huna said in the name of R. Aha: Although ten persons composed the Book of Psalms, the
only one of them to whom it is ascribed is David king of Israel. To illustrate this a comparison
was made to a company of men who sought to sing an ode before the king. Said the king to
them: ' You are all good singers, you are all loyal, you are all famous, and qualified to sing an
ode before me. Still, let So-and-so say it on behalf of you all, because his voice is particularly
sweet.’ So when the ten righteous men sought to utter the book of Psalms, the Holy One,
blessed be He, said to them, ‘You are all of you poetical enough and pious enough and
famous enough to sing an ode before Me; still, let David say it on behalf of you all. Why?
Because his voice is sweet,’ as it says, The sweet one of the Songs of Israel (II Sam. XXIII,
1). R. Huna explained this in the name of R. Aha: Who makes sweet (man'im) the songs of
Israel? David son of Jesse.
L2 - Talmud on Authorship - Source Sheet.doc
10
If David did not write all of Tehillim, why is he generally known as the author of the
book? This is explained in Shir haShirim Rabbah. Have another student read and explain
the Midrash. Stop at the Mashal to make sure it is clear before going on to the Nimshal.
Even though many parts of Tehillim were written by different authors, the entire book is
ascribed to David because he was the most talented, famous, and beloved poet. To take a
Mashal from modern times, since we don’t have kings, many famous speeches are quoted
in the name of the presidents who spoke them even though various speech writers
actually authored those words. Still, we ascribe the words to the president because he
performed them and gave them his authority. Einstein is known for having invented the
theory of relativity even though many of the details of the theory were actually invented
by others and even though his theory has been refined by others since. Einstein is stilled
considered the inventor because he was able to gather what was known, add his own
insights, and formulate the idea more clearly than anyone else.
6. Geonim & Rishonim
The Geonim and Rishonim continued to argue about the authorship of individual
Mizmorim as well as the editing of the book. Sa’adia Gaon (Babylonin, 882-942) thought
that David wrote every single Mizmor. Even those Mizmorim with other names in the
headings were written by David about or for those people. Mizmorim that refer to future
events are said by David prophetically. Moshe Ibn Gikatilla (Spain, 11th cent.) argued
that David did not write any Mizmorim which do not contain David in their title. Asaph
and Bnei Korah were not contemporaries of David but rather writers living in the
Babylonian exile. Ibn Ezra takes a middle position. He says that some Mizmorim are not
written by David such as those by Asaph and Bnei Korah who were contemporaries of
David. But we can assume that anonymous Mizmorim are written by David unless there
is some reason to think otherwise. He does agree with Ibn Gikatilla that Tehillim was not
finalized by David but rather by the Men of the Great Assembly.
11
Who wrote Tehillim?
When was the book completed?
All by David
who completed
the book.
Some written
by ten elders
before David.
David edited
the book.
Sa’adia Gaon
(882-942,
Babylonia)
Talmud
Baba Batra 14b
Most are written
by David.
Asaph &
Bnei Korah
are contemporary
with David.
Anonymous can
be by David.
Edited by Great
Assembly
Most are not
written by David.
Asaph &
Bnei Korah lived
in Babylonian exile.
Abraham Ibn Ezra
(11th cent. Spain)
Moshe Ibn Gikatilla,
(11th cent. Spain)
Anonymous are not
by David.
Edited during
Second Beit Mikdash
L2 - Authorship - Summary Chart.doc
Try to explain these various opinions with the help of a chart on the board. Ask students
which they find most convincing. For less advanced classes use a simplified chart like
this:
Who wrote Tehillim?
When was the book completed?
All By David
Sa’adia Gaon
(882-942, Babylonia)
Some written before David
But David edited them all
Talmud
Baba Batra 14b
Some written after David,
Edited during
Second Beit Mikdash
Moshe Ibn Gikatilla,
Abraham Ibn Ezra
(11th cent. Spain)
For more advanced classes, hand out copies of Ibn Ezra’s introduction to Tehillim (the
second recension) in which he devotes one paragraph each summarizing the positions of
Saadiah Gaon, Ibn Gikatilla (although he does not quote them by name), and his own.
12
The Hebrew and English for this text along with a detailed analysis of each opinion can
be found in the excellent book: Uriel Simon, Four Approaches to the Book of Psalms:
From Saadiah Gaon to Abraham Ibn Ezra (Albany, SUNY Press, 1991), pp. 330-333.
7. Conclusion
There is a wide range of opinion concerning authorship of Tehillim. Evidence from what
we know about David as well as the predominance of David’s name in headings points to
David as having a key role in the creation of Tehillim. However, the names of other
authors in the titles and inclusion of events that occurred after David indicate that there
were other authors as well. As we saw in Lesson 1, duplicate Mizmorim, and the
separation of Tehillim into five books based on groups with similar headings or based on
use of God’s name reflect a multi-layered development of the book rather than a single
author writing at one time.
Whether or not David wrote a particular Mizmor should not detract from its importance
and holiness. A Mimzor is equally worth reciting and studying if it was written by a
prophet, a Levite in the Beit Mikdash, or any inspired poet, who was able to capture the
aspirations and feelings of Bnei Yisrael in Hebrew verse. We can assume that many
thousands of poems were written during the centuries of Israelite existence. But Sefer
Tehillim only records those which spoke to generations of listeners and were deemed
worthy of careful transmission. Questions about when, where, and by whom a Mizmor
was written can still be important for assessing the background and events which inspired
the Mizmor. But they do not affect the importance or sacredness of any Mizmor.
13
Lesson 3 – Musical Performance
Goal:
Students will think about the musical performance of Tehillim. They will see pictures of
instruments and hear examples of what Tehillim might have sounded like when sung.
Finally, students should appreciate the way music can communicate emotions in a way
that words alone can not.
Activity:
1. What types of instruments were used during the times of David and Shelomo? Students
should be able to name all the instruments mentioned in Mizmor 150.
What did these instruments look like and how did they sound? Show pictures on the
powerpoint slides for lesson 3 or print them out. These pictures are from archaological
finds of figurines playing instruments or pictures of instruments painted on clay objects.
These are not necessarily Israelite objects but they are probably very similar to what was
used in the Bet Hamikdash.
How would this music sound? Arachaologists have found one ancient poem in the
Ugaritic language that also has musical notation. Scholars have tried to decipher this
notation.
Play
their
reconstructed
song
for
the
class
found
at:
http://www.amaranthpublishing.com/hurrian.htm. You can also play some modern
renditions of Tehillim to see how Tehillim can ingerate with contemporary musical
styles.
2. See source sheet. Read Ibn Ezra on the power of poetry and music. Then read Mishnah
Tamid 7:3 on how music was integrated into the Avodah. Also point out the Shir Shel
Yom that was recited each day of the week in the Bet Hamikdash and that is still part of
our siddur. See Mishnah Tamid 7:4.
3. How did Tehillim sound when they were sung in ancient times? We do not know for
sure. However, we can get some hint at to how they might have been chanted based on
the Ta’amim (cantilation marks) and the way they are sung in various communities today.
Bring a recording by a Hazzan of your community of the Tehillim being recited.
What are Ta’amim? Can you point them out? Choose any Mizmor and have students find
the Ta’amim for each word. Explain how they work and that the Ta’amim for Tehillim,
Mishle and Iyov use a different system that the rest of Tanakh.
Why do you think these three books have a different system of Ta’amim? Because they
are all poetic. In fact, the first two prose chapters of Iyov use the regular Ta’amim and
then the book switches to Ta’ame Emet (the Ta’amim of איוב, משלי, and )תהיליםwhen
the poetry begins in Perek 3. You can compare the two systems of Ta’amim by looking at
Tehillim 18 and its parallel in 2 Samuel 22.
If you don’t have time to teach the names of all the Ta’amim, students should at least be
able to recognize the most important ones. Sof Pasuk is the strongest break. The next
strongest break is the עולה ויורד. Have students look up Mizmor 115:12. The first יברךhas
a Ta’am above the Bet and below the Resh. Together these two signs make up one Ta’am
called ( עולה ויורדit has that name because it appears both above and below the word).
14
The second half of the Pasuk is then split into two by the next strongest Ta’am, the אתנח,
which is under the word ישראל. Try looking for these Ta’amim in more Pesukim and see
if they accurately indicate the logical breaks in the Pasuk.
Tehillim as Song
הקדמת רבי אברהם אבן עזרא לספר תהלים
Introduction of Rabbi Abraham Ibn Ezra to Tehillim
:נאם אברהם בר' מאיר נ"ע בן עזרא הספרדי
, לא ככח העין.ברוך השם השם כח באזן הנטועה להבין כל שמועה וכחה קשור בכח הנשמה העליונה
ולולי האזנים. ולא יחשכנה מסך או קיר, והיא שומעת משש קצוות,כי גם ביום ובלילה לא נעדר כחה
והנה יש קול מענג וקול. כי מי שומע? והדברים כגופות והטעמים כרוחות,לא נברא ניב שפתים
ואף כי אם, אז יגדיל לעשות עד שיכעיס האוהב וירצה האויב, וכאשר ינשא הטעם במאמר,משומם
שאין מחלה קשה, כי הנה רוח רעה. אז יראה פלאים, ואם יתחב ר עם שיר נגון בכלי.היה על דרך שיר
ועוד "והיה כנגן המנגן ותהי עליו רוח.להים בכנור לפני שאול אז רוח לו- כנגן דוד איש הא,ממנה
. אף כי שירי קדש והם שירי השם, וכאלה רבות עם שירי חול.(טו:אלהים" )מלכים ב ג
Thus says Abraham, the son of R. Meir (his soul rest in Paradise) Ibn Ezra the Spaniard:
Blessed be the Lord who gives power to the ear that is implanted to understand every
sound, and whose power is connected with that of the higher soul – not like the power of
the eye, for its virtue is lacking neither by day nor by night, and it hears from all six
directions, and is not obstructed by veil or wall. Moreover, were it not for the ears, speech
would not have been created, for who would hear it? The words are like bodies and the
meanings like spirits. There are sounds that delight and sounds depress; when the
meaning of the speech is lofty, it may do great things, even angering one’s friend or
appeasing one’s enemy – all the more so if it is said poetically; and when instrumental
music is joined with the poem, then will marvels be beheld. Consider an evil spirit (and
no disease is worse than that): when David the man of God played on the lyre before Saul
he found relief. Moreover: “As the musician played, the spirit of the Lord came upon
him” (2 Kings 3:15). There are many such incidents with profane songs, and all the more
so with sacred songs – the songs of God.
Mishnah Tamid describes how songs were integrated into the Bet haMikdash Avoda
ג:משנה מסכת תמיד ז
תקעו והריעו ותקעו באו ועמדו אצל בן ארזא אחד מימינו ואחד משמאלו שחה לנסך והניף הסגן
בסודרין והקיש בן ארזא בצלצל ודברו הלוים בשיר הגיעו לפרק תקעו והשתחוו העם על כל פרק
תקיעה ועל כל תקיעה השתחויה זה הוא סדר התמיד לעבודת בית אלהינו יהי רצון שיבנה במהרה
:בימינו אמן
The deputy high priest stood on the horn of the altar with the flags in his hand, and two
priests on the table of the fat with two trumpets in their hands. They blew a teki'ah, a
teru'ah and a teki'ah, and then went and stood by Ben Arza, one on his right hand and one
on his left. When he bent down to make the libation the deputy high priest waved the
flags and Ben Arza struck the cymbals and the Levites chanted the psalm. When they
came to a pause a teki'ah was blown, and the public prostrated themselves; at every pause
there was a teki'ah and at every teki'ah a prostration. This was the order of the regular
daily sacrifice for the service of the house of our God. May it be God's will that it be built
speedily in our days, Amen.
L3 - Music - Source Sheet.doc
15
Lesson 4 – Poetry and Parallelism in Tehillim
Goal: Students should be able to recognize poetic aspects of a verse in Tehillim and how
those poetic aspects contribute to its meaning.
Activity:
1. What is the difference between poetry and prose in general? Poetry is a genre that pays
careful attention to how language is used. While prose writing relies mostly on only the
meanings of the words to convey a message, poetry also utilizes the forms and sounds of
words to contribute meaning.
What are some techniques you are likely to find in poetry? (Think about English class.)
Poetry uses rhyme, meter, alliteration, consonance, assonance, similies and metaphors.
Although you can find these techniques also being used in prose, when we find a high
concentration of them in one text, we call it poetry.
Why would a writer choose to write in poetic language rather than prose? Isn’t it more
effieicent to just say what you mean in plain language? Poetry has an ability to convey
complex thoughts and emotions in a way that plain language cannot. Ask students for
examples of poetry they have found to be effective, perhaps from English class or from
the siddur.
2. Break up into small groups. Scan a few Mizmorim of Tehillim looking for any of the
poetic devices listed above or anything else that makes it feel like poetry. Student should
be able to at least notice that Tehillim does not use rhyme or meter regularly and has a
different feel than English poetry.
3. Go through examples on the source sheet. Ask a student to read and translate as best
he can, and then identify the poetic aspects of that text.
Text A (Mizmor 105:20-21): Help students point out the following:
• Notice the rhymes in both verses. Although rhyming is not common there are
some examples of it.
• Each verset contains three words and thus three accents. This gives it a sense of
rhythm.
• The verb שלחapplies to both the frist and second versets of Pasuk 20. The same is
true for the verb in Pasuk 21.
• Notice how the second verset of each Pasuk is parallel to the first. Point out the
parallel words. מלךis parallel to משל עמים. Parallelsim, however, does not simply
repeat the same word or an exact synonym. Usually, the second half will amplify
or intensify the first half in some way. משל עמיםis two words and is also grander
than just מלך.
• ביתוin the first half of Pasuk 21 becomes בכל ביתוin the second half, which is
two words and includes many more possessions.
• Notice parallelism between the two Pesukim with the word משלrepeated in the
second half of each.
16
Text B (Mizmor 29:5):
• ארזיםin the first half becomes more the more specific ארזי הלבנוןin the
second. Cedar trees are known to be mighty but the cedars of Lebanon are
especially strong.
• שברin the first half is in בנין קל. וישברin the second half is in בנין
פיעל. How would you translate these words? The stronger Binyan makes the
action more intense, from “break” to “smatter.”
4. Summarize findings of the previous exercise:
While biblical poetry contains examples of all the poetic features lists earlier, the most
ubiquitous and defining aspect of biblical poetry is parallelism. Parallelsim serves to
emphasize the message and also offers an opportunity to bring out many aspects of the
event or emotion being described. Parallellism usually occurs within a verse but can also
occur from one verse to another. Parallelism does not simply repeat the exact same idea
twice. Rather, the second verset will almost always deepen the imagery and message.
Biblical poets state an idea in the first half of a verse and then repeat, negate, complete,
elaborate, emphasize, or intensify it in the second half. This intensification can occur on
both the semantic level (the meanings of the words) and the grammatical level. Here are
some patterns to look out for:
Semantic intensification:
From general to specific
From literal to figurative
Counting up or zooming in
Grammatical intensification:
From single to plural
From past to future
From Qal to Pi’el
For homework, have students look through Tehllim and find a few examples of
parallelism to see if they fit into the system described above.
Poetry and Parallelism in Tehillim
A
:מ ֵֹשׁל ַע ִמּים וַיְ ַפ ְתּ ֵחהוּ
:וּמ ֵֹשׁל ְבּ ָכל ִקנְ יָנוֹ
תהלים פרק קה
ירהוּ
ֵ ַתּ
ִ )כ( ָשׁ ַלח ֶמ ֶל ְך ַויּ
)כא( ָשׂמוֹ אָדוֹן ְל ֵביתוֹ
B
Ps 29:5
קוֹל יְ הֹוָה שׁ ֵֹבר ֲא ָר ִזים
es
specifi
Ka
int l to
en Pie
sif
ica l tio
n
: אַרזֵי ַה ְלּ ָבנוֹן
ְ וַיְ ַשׁ ֵבּר יְ הֹוָה ֶאת
Bibliography:
Alter, Robert. The Art of Biblical Poetry. Basic
Books: New York, 1985.
Berlin, Adele. The Dynamics of Biblical
Parallelism. Bloomington: Indiana University Press,
1992.
Kugel, James. The Idea of Biblical Poetry:
Parallelism and Its History. New Haven: Yale
University Press, 1981.
L4 – Poetry Source Sheet.doc
17
Mizmorim
Lesson 5 – Mizmor 1: Happiness = Goodness
Goal:
Students will gain experience with the following skills:
1. Defining important words by comparing their uses in many different pesukim.
2. Finding poetic devices such as alliteration, assonance, parallelism, and
metaphor.
3. Breaking down the structure of a Mizmor.
4. Summarizing the main idea of a Mizmor.
5. Showing how the poetic devices and structure effectively convey the message
of a Mizmor.
Students will also discuss the content of the Mizmor and think about how its message can
apply to their own lives.
Activity:
1. What is the heading for Mizmor 1? There is none; it is an anonymous Mizmor. In fact,
the first two as well as the last five Mizmorim of Tehillim are all anonymous. While most
anonymous Mizmorim within Tehillim are simply continuations of the Mizmorim that
precede them, which do have titles, these Mizmorim at the beginning and end of Tehillim
stand alone. They form an introduction and conclusion to the entire book. What do you
expect to find in an introduction? An introduction should say something about the theme
of the rest of the book.
Write this quote on the board:
ר' יודן אומר המזמור הזה משובח מכל המזמורים
()מדרש תהלים מזמור א
We see that this Mizmor is not only first but also foremost, “the most praiseworthy of all
the Mizmorim.” As we read it, let us think about what makes it so special and what it tells
us about the entire book of Tehillim.
2. Have a student read the Mizmor out loud. Encourage him to read it with slowly trying
to bring out its poetic qualities. You may have to demonstrate. Have another student read
it in English, if necessary. Then ask, What is the main idea or message of this Mizmor?
Try to summarize it in one sentence. It discusses good and evil, reward and punishment,
giving in to peer pressure… It encourages the reader to stay away from evil and desire
Torah because that will bring stability and success in the end. This seems to be a basic
and simple message that we were able to sum up in one sentence. Why didn’t the writer
just write one simple sentence? What does the poem add that is missing in our summary?
How does the poem succeed in more effectively conveying its message? See if students
are able to find and appreciate any of the poetic devices used in this Mizmor. Once they
have exhausted their creativity begin a line by line analysis.
3. Line by Line Analysis
18
Have a student read and explain Pasuk 1. Then analyze the Pasuk further using the
leading questions below. Do the same for each Pasuk. Of course, you do not need to use
these exact question in this order. It may even be preferable to ask a more general
question like, What do you notice about this Pasuk? This will give the class a chance to
develop reading skills on their own. If they don’t see all the points then use more specific
questions.
ֲשׁר
ֶ אַשׁרֵי ָהאִישׁ א
ְ ()א
Read the first three words and ask students what sounds they hear. They should recognize
the alliteration of שand assonance of א. Notice how similar these three words are,
especially אשריand אשר. What does this alliteration accomplish? Besides being
aesthetically pleasing to the ear, it also grabs the listener’s attention. It sets up the
expectation of a well presented and thought out statement about the happy man – surely
something everyone wants to hear. Why does the writer choose אישinstead of גברor צדיק
or ?אדםBesides adding to the alliteration, אישalso has more specific connotation that just
“a person.” Look up the three pesukim which contain the word אישon the handout,
“People in Verse 1,” and their contexts. In all three, אישmeans someone who is steadfast,
strong, and courageous. The Mizmor is not addressed to the person who is already a צדיק
but rather to any person who is resolute about doing what is right as he faces difficult
choices in life.
ֲצת ְר ָשׁ ִעים
ַ לֹא ָה ַל ְך ַבּע
וּב ֶד ֶר ְך ַח ָטּ ִאים לֹא ָע ָמד
ְ
:ָשׁב
ָ מוֹשׁב ֵל ִצים לֹא י
ַ וּב
ְ
How many phrases are in the rest of Pasuk 1 to describe the happy man? Three. Write
them out on different lines on the board. Notice the parallelism between them. What
words are parallel? Circle the nouns רשעים – חטאים – לציםand underline the verbs – הלך
עמד – ישב. What does רשעmean? After suggestions from students have them look up the
pesukim on the source sheet. רשעviolates various בין אדם לחבירוlaws ranging from lying,
borrowing without paying back, returning hatred for a favor, to taking advantage of the
weak, stealing, and killing. What does חטאיםmean? See source sheet. The root חטאas a
verb means to miss a target. חטאיםrequire guidance from God when they have veered
from the right path. All people transgress sometimes whether by mistake or because they
are just not so careful. But the ַחטָּאis not as bad as the רשע. Note that ַחטָּאis in the noun
form which usually indicates an occupation like נַגָּרor ַספָּר. Unlike חוטא, who sins
occasionally, ַחטָּאsins regularly. What are the characteristics of the ?לץSee source sheet.
לץis compared with fools and contrasted with חכם. He is haughty and makes fun of
everything. Although his cynicism and foolishness can cause harm in the long run, he
does not actually go out and do anything bad and so is not as bad as the רשעor חטא. Can
you explain why they are in this order? The Mizmor praises the man who does not walk
with the wicked; and not only that, he also does not stand with the transgressor; and
what’s more, he won’t even sit with the fool. Do you see a progression in the verbs? The
verbs go from activity to stasis - from walk to stand to sit. Not only does the happy man
not go out seeking evil, he does not even stay in a path that will lead to sin. Not only that,
he does not even sit passively doing nothing bad but also not being productive. Notice
that the verb comes before the noun in the first verset but after the noun in the next two.
Perhaps this emphasizes the movement of the wicked who is always looking for his next
victim while the sinner and fool are more passive.
19
(Some commentators such as Ibn Ezra explain in reverse that the verbs imply the
successive steps in the career of the wicked from simply following suggestions of the
wicked, to staying consistently on the sinner’s path, to finally sitting with and being one
)of them. This is also valid and if suggested by a student should be recognized as such.
The People Mentioned in Mizmor 1:1
איש Connotation of
שמואל א פרק ד פסוק ט
ָשׁים וְנִ ְל ַח ְמתֶּם:
ַאַשׁר ָעבְדוּ ָלכֶם וִ ְהיִיתֶם ַל ֲאנ ִ
ִשׁתִּים פֶּן ַתּ ַעבְדוּ ָל ִע ְברִים כּ ֶ
ָשׁים ְפּל ְ
ִה ְת ַחזְּקוּ וִהְיוּ ַל ֲאנ ִ
שמואל א פרק כו פסול טו
ִשׂ ָראֵל וְָלמָּה לֹא ָשׁ ַמ ְר ָתּ אֶל אֲדֹנֶי ָך ַה ֶמּ ֶל ְך כִּי בָא אַחַד ָהעָם
וַיֹּאמֶר ָדּוִד אֶל אַ ְבנֵר הֲלוֹא אִישׁ אַתָּה וּמִי כָמוֹ ָך ְבּי ְ
ַשׁחִית אֶת ַה ֶמּ ֶל ְך אֲדֹנֶיךָ:
ְלה ְ
מלכים א פרק ב
)א( וַיִּ ְקרְבוּ יְמֵי ָדוִד לָמוּת וַיְצַו אֶת ְשׁלֹמֹה בְנוֹ לֵאמֹר:
)ב( אָנֹכִי הֹ ֵל ְך ַבּ ֶד ֶר ְך כָּל הָאָרֶץ וְ ָחזַ ְק ָתּ וְ ָהיִי ָת ְלאִישׁ:
רשע Attributes of the
תהלים פרק צד
ְשׁעִים יַעֲלֹזוּ:
ְשׁעִים יְדֹוָד עַד ָמתַי ר ָ
)ג( עַד ָמתַי ר ָ
)ד( יַבִּיעוּ יְַדבְּרוּ ָעתָק יִתְאַמְּרוּ כָּל פֹּ ֲעלֵי אָוֶן:
)ה( ַע ְמּ ָך יְדֹוָד יְַדכְּאוּ וְנַ ֲח ָל ְת ָך יְעַנּוּ:
)ו( אַ ְל ָמנָה וְגֵר יַהֲרֹגוּ וִיתוֹמִים יְ ַרצֵּחוּ:
תהלים פרק קט
ָשׁע וּפִי ִמ ְרמָה ָעלַי ָפּתָחוּ ִדּבְּרוּ ִאתִּי לְשׁוֹן ָשׁקֶר:
)ב( כִּי פִי ר ָ
)ג( וְִד ְברֵי ִשׂנְאָה ְסבָבוּנִי וַיִָּלּחֲמוּנִי ִחנָּם:
ִשׂטְנוּנִי וַ ֲאנִי ְת ִפלָּה:
)ד( ַתּחַת אַ ֲה ָבתִי י ְ
ְשׂנְאָה ַתּחַת אַ ֲה ָבתִי:
ָשׂימוּ ָעלַי ָרעָה ַתּחַת טוֹבָה ו ִ
)ה( וַיּ ִ
תהלים פרק לז
ִשׁרֵי ָד ֶרךְ:
ַשׁתָּם ְל ַהפִּיל ָענִי וְ ֶאבְיוֹן ִלטְבוֹ ַח י ְ
ְשׁעִים וְָדרְכוּ ק ְ
)יד( ֶחרֶב ָפּתְחוּ ר ָ
ְשׁלֵּם וְ ַצדִּיק חוֹנֵן וְנוֹתֵן:
ָשׁע וְלֹא י ַ
)כא( לֹוֶה ר ָ
חוטא\חטּא Attributes of the
שופטים פרק כ פסוק טז
ַשּׂ ֲערָה וְלֹא יַ ֲחטִא:
מִכֹּל ָהעָם ַהזֶּה ְשׁבַע מֵאוֹת אִישׁ בָּחוּר ִאטֵּר יַד יְמִינוֹ כָּל זֶה קֹ ֵל ַע ָבּ ֶאבֶן אֶל ה ַ
תהלים פרק כה פסוק ח
ָשׁר יְדֹוָד עַל כֵּן יוֹרֶה ַח ָטּאִים ַבּ ָדּ ֶרךְ:
טוֹב וְי ָ
קהלת פרק ז פסוק כ
ֲשׂה טּוֹב וְלֹא יֶ ֱחטָא:
ֲשׁר יַע ֶ
כִּי אָדָם אֵין ַצדִּיק בָּאָרֶץ א ֶ
לץ Attributes of the
משלי פרק א פסוק כב
ִשׂנְאוּ ָדעַת:
עַד ָמתַי ְפּ ָתיִם ְתּ ֵאהֲבוּ ֶפתִי וְ ֵלצִים לָצוֹן ָחמְדוּ ָלהֶם וּ ְכסִילִים י ְ
משלי פרק ט פסוק ח
ִשׂנָ ֶא ָךּ הוֹכַח ְל ָחכָם וְיֶ ֱא ָה ֶבךָּ:
אַל תּוֹכַח לֵץ פֶּן י ְ
משלי פרק כא פסוק כד
עוֹשׂה ְבּ ֶע ְברַת זָדוֹן:
זֵד יָהִיר לֵץ ְשׁמוֹ ֶ
משלי פרק כט פסוק ח
ָשׁיבוּ אָף:
ְשׁי לָצוֹן יָפִיחוּ ִק ְריָה וַ ֲח ָכמִים י ִ
אַנ ֵ
L5 - People in Verse 1 - Source Sheet.doc
20
)ב( ִכּי ִאם
תוֹרת יְ דֹ ָוד ֶח ְפצוֹ
ַ ְבּ
:ָליְ ָלה
ָ יוֹמם ו
ָ ֶהגֶּה
ְ תוֹרתוֹ י
ָ וּב
ְ
The next Pasuk goes on to describe in positive terms what the happy person does do. By
delaying this description until Pasuk 2, a greater sense of suspense is created to know
exactly who is the happy person. He desires Torah and recites it all the time. The verbs
here continue the progression begun in Pasuk 1 – walk, stand, sit, (desire – there is no
actual verb in this verset), recite/meditate. Can you find the parallelism in this Pasuk?
תורתוis parallel to ' תורת הwhile חפצוis expanded to יהגה יומם ולילה. The first half says in
general terms that God’s Torah is his desire, but the second half details the specific way
he fulfills that desire – by reciting it by day and by night.
)ג( וְ ָהיָה ְכּ ֵעץ ָשׁתוּל ַעל ַפּ ְלגֵי ָמיִ ם ֲא ֶשׁר
ִפּ ְריוֹ יִ ֵתּן ְבּ ִעתּוֹ
וְ ָע ֵלהוּ לֹא יִ בּוֹל
:יח
ַ ַצ ִל
ְ ֲשׂה י
ֶ וְ כֹל ֲא ֶשׁר ַיע
What does Pasuk 3 describe? The reward or end result of keeping away from evil and
following the Torah. Notice that the progression of verbs from most active to most
stationary continues here. The end result of someone who does not run after evil but
rather sits and meditates on Torah is that he have stability like a permanently rooted tree.
This stability and the happiness and success which it engenders it not an external reward
as much as the automatic effect of being good just as a tree well-planted by a stream will
necessarily produce. (Meir Weiss brings further proof for this interpretation based on
comparison with Jeremiah 17:5-8. See Bibliography.) What poetic device is used here?
Simile. How would you break up this Pasuk? It has the same structure as Pasuk 1 – a
noun phrase followed by אשרfollowed by three descriptions. Do you see a progression in
the three descriptions? They go from good to better to best. This tree gives fruit in its
season, as any good tree should. Not only that, its leaves never whither. In fact, it is
prospers in all ways. To whom or what does the last phrase refer? Some students will say
it refers to the tree. Others will say it refers to the overall success of the person. Perhaps it
is purposely ambiguous and can apply to both at the same time. This serves to ease the
listener out of the metaphor. Does the imagery in this metaphor remind you of anything in
Humash? Gan Eden. The beginning of Tehillim is similar to the beginning of Humash.
Also the steady stream of water may symbolize the Torah that the upright man recites all
the time.
ַ )ד( לֹא ֵכן ָה ְר ָשׁ ִעים ִכּי ִאם ַכּמֹּץ ֲא ֶשׁר ִתּ ְדּ ֶפנּוּ
:רוּח
What does this Pasuk describe? The doomed fate of the wicked. What poetic device does
it use? It uses the same agricultural simile as in the previous Pasuk. The wicked are like
the chaff of the wheat which is blown away during threshing. This is completely opposite
from the well-planted tree. How many phrases were there describing the reward of the
wicked in Pasuk 3? Four. How many phrases are there in this Pasuk to describe the
punishment of the wicked? One. Why? This reinforces the substantiality of the righteous
versus the fleetingness of the wicked person.
:יקים
ִ ֲדת ַצ ִדּ
ַ ָקמוּ ְר ָשׁ ִעים ַבּ ִמּ ְשׁ ָפּט וְ ַח ָטּ ִאים ַבּע
ֻ )ה( ַעל ֵכּן לֹא י
What two nouns in the Pasuk have we already seen beforehand? רשעיםand חטאיםwere
mentioned in Pasuk 1. What kind of people are mentioned here explicitly for the first
time? צדיקים. We even find a “council of righteous” reminding us of the “council of
21
wicked” in Pasuk 1. Why does this Pasuk repeat elements from Pasuk 1? Pasuk 1 set up a
scene where a single individual is surrounded by groups of wicked people, sinners, and
fools who are luring him to join their ranks. Although it may be difficult, the righteous
man sticks his ground and follows the Torah. In Pasuk 5, the lonely righteous man has
been successful, bore fruit, and gathered around him a whole group of righteous people.
Now it is the sinners who are unable to stand in the council of justice and righteousness.
The tables have turned. Can you think of examples from modern history of individuals
who were able to reverse an evil in society by staying their ground and doing what they
knew was right? Discuss the accomplishments of Rosa Parks, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson
Mandella.
:ֹאבד
ֵ יקים וְ ֶד ֶר ְך ְר ָשׁ ִעים תּ
ִ יוֹד ַע יְ דֹוָד ֶדּ ֶר ְך ַצ ִדּ
ֵ )ו( ִכּי
This is an example of antithetical parallelism or תקבולת ניגודית. However, for the
parallelism to be exact we would expect to find “and God hates the way of the wicked.”
Instead we find a passive verb, “the way of the wicked is lost.” The wicked person is not
given the dignity of having any relationship with God, not even a negative one. He is
simply blown away in the wind and forgotten. (Compare this to Rambam’s view of
reward and punishment in Mishneh Torah Hilkhot Teshubah, ch. 8.)
Pasuk 5 opened with wicked and closed with righteous. This verse opens with righteous
and closes with wicked. This creates a chiastic structure (ABBA) where righteous is at
the center.
:ֹאבד
ֵ יקים וְ ֶד ֶר ְך ְר ָשׁ ִעים תּ
ִ יוֹד ַע יְ דֹוָד ֶדּ ֶר ְך ַצ ִדּ
ֵ )ו( ִכּי:יקים
ִ ֲדת ַצ ִדּ
ַ ָקמוּ ְר ָשׁ ִעים ַבּ ִמּ ְשׁ ָפּט וְ ַח ָטּ ִאים ַבּע
ֻ )ה( ַעל ֵכּן לֹא י
This structure also applies to the Mizmor as a whole. The transition phrases כי אםand לא
כןin Pesukim 2 and 4 are key words in this Mizmor. They do not occur anywhere else in
Tehillim and they serve to emphasize the difference between good and bad by placing
them in stark contrast. These terms are placed at the major turning points in the Mizmor.
The first כי אםin Pasuk 2 marks the transition from what the happy person does not do to
what he does do. לא כןand the second כי אםin Pasuk 4 mark the transition from the end
result of the righteous person to the end of the wicked people. The Mizmor begins with
mention of the actions of the wicked and ends with description of their doom. In the
middle of the Mizmor is a description of the actions of the righteous and his prosperity.
The righteous man is the center of attention while the actions and fate of the wicked is
only mentioned to provide contrast. This chiastic structure (wicked – righteous –
righteous – wicked) can be seen graphically in this chart:
22
Structure of Mizmor 1
שׁר
ֶ אַשׁרֵי ָה ִאישׁ ֲא
ְ ()א
ְשׁעִים
ָ לֹא ָה ַל ְך ַבּ ֲעצַת ר
ָמד
ָ וּ ְב ֶד ֶר ְך ַח ָטּ ִאים לֹא ע
:ָשׁב
ָ ְמוֹשׁב ֵלצִים לֹא י
ַ וּב
What the איש
does not do
What the איש
does do
And the
unhappy end
of those he
does not
follow
And his
happy end
)ב( כִּי אִם
בְּתוֹרַת יְדֹוָד ֶחפְצוֹ
:יוֹמם וָָליְלָה
ָ ֶהגֶּה
ְ וּבְתוֹרָתוֹ י
שׁר
ֶ שׁתוּל עַל ַפּ ְלגֵי ָמיִם ֲא
ָ ְהיָה ְכּעֵץ
ָ )ג( ו
ִתּן ְבּעִתּוֹ
ֵ ִפּרְיוֹ י
וְ ָעלֵהוּ לֹא יִבּוֹל
:ִיח
ֶ שׁר יַע
ֶ וְכֹל ֲא
ַ ֲשׂה יְַצל
ְשׁ ִעים
ָ )ד( לֹא כֵן ָהר
:רוּח
ַ ְפנּוּ
ֶ ֲשׁר ִתּדּ
ֶ כִּי ִאם כַּמֹּץ א
:ִיקים
ִ ְח ָטּ ִאים ַבּ ֲעדַת ַצדּ
ַ שׁפָּט ו
ְ ַמּ
ִ ְשׁעִים בּ
ָ ָקמוּ ר
ֻ )ה( עַל כֵּן לֹא י
:ְשׁעִים תֹּאבֵד
ָ ִיקים וְ ֶד ֶר ְך ר
ִ )ו( כִּי יוֹ ֵד ַע יְדֹוָד ֶדּ ֶר ְך ַצדּ
L5 - Structure - Summary Chart.doc
4. Application to life
Is the basic premise of this Mizmor actually true in real life? Do the righteous always
prosper and the wicked always suffer? Of course in the short run wicked may prosper and
the upright man can feel lonely and threatened. This reflects the feeling in Pasuk 1. But
the Mizmor encourages us to look to the long term when truth and goodness will prevail.
The corruption of communism lasted for a long time but it could not stand up to the
freedom of democracy in the long run. The most successful corporations are those with
solid financial grounding and which truly provide for their customers. Companies that
cheat their customers or exaggerate their earnings can last for a while; but, soon enough
they vanish into thin air. (Cite Enron or whatever corporate scandal is happening while
you are teaching this.) The criminal can make a few successful robberies. But he will
always have to be looking over his back, he can never relax. The happy person follows
Torah, does what is right, and thereby achieves stability, comfort, and prosperity.
Rober Alter summarizes the main message of this Mizmor as follows:
The essence of wrongdoing is to miss the mark, to pursue foolish or
unattainable objects of desire that will lead only to frustration, while the
man whose delight is in the Lord’s teaching knows the art of sitting still in
the right place, of finding fulfillment within the limits of law and of his
own human condition. (The Art of Biblical Poetry, p. 117)
The message of this Mizmor correlates with Mishna, Pirke Abot 4:1. The strong person is
not he who goes out and conquers cities but rather one who can control his will. The rich
person does not run after endless wealth but is happy with his lot.
צט( מכל מלמדי השכלתי:בן זומא אומר איזהו חכם הלומד מכל אדם שנאמר )תהלים קיט
לב( טוב ארך אפים מגבור ומושל ברוחו מלוכד עיר:איזהו גבור הכובש את יצרו שנאמר )משלי טז
ב( יגיע כפיך כי תאכל אשריך וטוב לך אשריך בעולם:איזהו עשיר השמח בחלקו שנאמר )תהלים קכח
הזה וטוב לך לעולם הבא
:איזהו מכובד המכבד את הבריות שנאמר )שמואל א' ב'( כי מכבדי אכבד ובוזי יקלו
23
Additional Discussion:
The midrash here also notices that the wicked are not directly described but only in terms
of what the righteous person does not do. The midrash explains that David learned from
Humash that it is always better to speak about positive things and let the negative be
inferred indirectly. This allows one to focus on the good.
מדרש תהלים מזמור א:ג
]אשרי האיש אשר לא הלך .זהו שאמר הכתוב[ בצדק כל אמרי פי אין בהם נפתל ועקש )משלי ח ח( ,אין בהם
לא קפדנות ולא עקמומות ,מצינו שעיקם הכתוב שתים ושלש תיבות ,שלא להוציא דבר מגונה מפיו שנאמר מן
הבהמה הטהורה ומן הבהמה אשר איננה טהורה )בראשית ז ח( ,אמר ר' יודן בר מנשה אף כשבא לפתוח
]בסימני בהמה טמאה ,לא פתח אלא[ בסימני טהרה ,את הגמל כי לא מפריס פרסה אין כתיב כאן ,אלא כי
מעלה גרה )ויקרא יא ד( ,ואת החזיר כי לא מעלה גרה ,אין כתיב כאן ,אלא כי מפריס פרסה )ויקרא י"א ז(,
אמר דוד אף הקב"ה העיד עלי ואמר בקש ה' לו איש כלבבו )שמואל א' יג יד( ,וכינה שמו לבוראו ,מה בוראו
לא הוציא דיבור מגונה ,אף דוד כן ,היה לו לומר ארור האיש אשר הלך בעצת רשעים ,או אשרי האיש אשר
הלך בעצת צדיקים ,ולא אמר אלא אשרי האיש אשר לא הלך בעצת רשעים.
Bibliography:
Alter, Robert. The Art of Biblical Poetry. New York: Basic Books, 1985, pp. 111-118.
Sarna, Nahum. On the Book of Psalms: Exploring the Prayers of Ancient Israel. New
York: Schocken Books, 1985, pp. 25-47.
Weiss, Meir. The Bible From Within. Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 1984, pp. 149-163, 248251.
. Jerusalem: Bialik Institute, 1987, pp. 111-134.מקרות ככוונתם ----------.
24
Lesson 6 – Mizmor 8: The Paradox of Being Human
Goal:
1. Students will practice looking for parallelism within a Pasuk and noticing the
development of an idea from one Pasuk to the next.
2. Students will be able to formulate the fundamental paradox of human existence which
is at the core of this Mizmor and be able to explain how the poetic aspects of the Mizmor
come together to express that paradox.
Activity:
1. Do you ever feel inspired? What do you find inspiring? Is there a time of the day, of
the week, of the year, when you are more likely to feel moved by something? Encourage
students to open up by sharing a personal story of your own. They may feel inspired by
nature, music, exercise, love, reading, a class, a great person…What do you feel like when
you become inspired? Try to elicit a range of responses such as feeling small or
unimportant, feeling like going out and accomplishing something, feeling a sense of awe
or fear, feeling alive or connected… Point out that some of these emotions can be
contradictory, which is ok since our emotions need not make rational sense.
2. Have a student read the entire Mizmor. The rest of the class should read along and look
for key words or phrases, or basic structural aspects of the Mizmor. Students should pick
up on the repetition of Pesukim 2 and 10.
3. Go around the room having each student read a Pasuk, translate it, and explain its use
of parallelism.
:ַצּ ַח ַעל ַה ִגּ ִתּית ִמ ְזמוֹר ְל ָדוִ ד
ֵ )א( ַל ְמנ
Pasuk 1 – למנצחmeans that this Mizmor was given to or dedicated to the leader of the
choir or orchestra in the Bet Mikdash. Compare how this word is used in Divere
haYamim 1 15:21. על הגתיתmay be a musical instruction to play this Mizmor on an
instrument from the city of Gat.
Pasuk 2 – How many parts are there in this Pasuk? Three.
:הוֹד ָך ַעל ַה ָשּׁ ָמיִ ם
ְ ֲא ֶשׁר ְתּנָה
אָרץ
ֶ אַדּיר ִשׁ ְמ ָך ְבּ ָכל ָה
ִ ָמה
)ב( יְ דֹוָד ֲאדֹנֵינוּ
What is the relationship between the three? Do you see any parallelism? The first part
addresses the Mizmor to Hashem, like the beginning of a letter. Indeed the rest of the
Mizmor speaks to Hashem in second person as someone speaking to a close friend about
deep thoughts. The word מהin the second part introduces a rhetorical question – “How
majestic is your name throughout the earth!” Why does the Pasuk emphasize God’s name
instead of God himself? The name of something indicates its essential quality. (Compare
Adam giving names to the animals in Bereshit 2:19.) In what way is God’s name majestic
throughout the land? This can refer to the majesty of the natural creation on earth. Or,
more likely, to the praise given to God on earth in the mouths of people. What inspires
people to praise God? This is explained in the third part. “For you placed your splendor
all over the heavens.” When people look up to the splendor of the sky, they appreciate the
majesty of the Creator. השמיםis parallel to הארץ.
25
:ַקּם
ֵ וּמ ְתנ
ִ יך ְל ַה ְשׁ ִבּית אוֹיֵב
ָ צוֹר ֶר
ְ עוֹל ִלים וְ יֹנְ ִקים יִ ַסּ ְד ָתּ עֹז ְל ַמ ַען
ְ )ג( ִמ ִפּי
Pasuk 3 – This is a very difficult Pasuk. Because there is no single simple explanation for
it, this can be a good opportunity for students to be creative and see if they can come up
with any original ideas about how to understand these words. Any explanation should
answer, Who are the enemies of Hashem here? What do the mouths of babies signify?
How does all this fit into the context of looking up to the heaven? One possible
explanation is that the enemies are those people who deny that Hashem is the creator.
They look up to heaven and say all its beauty came into being by accident. They don’t
appreciate the beauty of the world. The writer says that even the babble of babies is such
an amazing event that it can act as a stronghold to fight off the arguments of those
enemies. The great expanses of the sky and the quiet cooing of an infant both send the
same message to an attentive person who sees a guiding hand in the world. (See Sarna for
an interesting alternative explanation.)
Pasuk 4 – How would you break down this Pasuk into parts? It begins with a subject and
verb, “when I see,” and continues with three objects. The first verb applies to all three
objects. Represent this graphically on the board:
יך
ָ )ד( ִכּי ֶא ְר ֶאה ָשׁ ֶמ
יך
ָ ֲשׂי ֶא ְצ ְבּע ֶֹת
ֵ ַמע
:כוֹכ ִבים ֲא ֶשׁר כּוֹנָנְ ָתּה
ָ ְָר ַח ו
ֵי
Do you see a progression from one object to the next? We see a progression just by
looking at the number of words, from one to two to four. This numeric sequence parallels
the development of ideas from one phrase to the next. The first is a general term for the
sky, although it emphasizes that God created it by calling it “your sky.” The second is
more poetic – “the work of your fingers.” The usual expression is – מעשי ידיךthe work of
your hands. Why does the poet use fingers here? This expression points to the delicate
details of the sky, the care God took for the fine points. The last phrase presents specific
examples of amazing aspects of the nighttime sky, the moon and the stars. Once again,
the poet emphasizes God’s role in their creation by adding “which you set in place.”
Pasuk 5 – How does this Pasuk relate to the previous one? This Pasuk expresses the
reaction of someone who experiences the grandeur of the night sky. We need to fill in the
missing words: “When I see your heavens…[then I wonder] what is man…” Analyze the
parallelism in this Pasuk. This is a straightforward word for word parallelism. מהapplies
to both halves. בן אדם=אנוש, כי=כי, תפקדנו=תזכרנו.
:אָדם ִכּי ִת ְפ ְק ֶדנּוּ
ָ וּבן
ֶ
)ה( ָמה ֱאנוֹשׁ ִכּי ִת ְז ְכּ ֶרנּוּ
Do the two halves say exactly the same thing or is there a progression? אנושmeans man
or mankind and connotes human mortality (see Tehillim 108:15, Iyob 4:17). בן אדםeven
further emphasizes the lowliness of humans who come from and will return to the earth –
( אדמהsee Bereshit 2:7). What is the difference between תזכרנוand זכר ?תפקדנוmeans to
recall or to think about. פקדmeans to attend to, visit, pay attention to (see Bereshit 21:1).
The first says that God generally thinks about man while the second adds a personal,
caring and gracious God. In order to highlight this step-up parallelism, we can translate,
“What is man that You think about him; mere mortals that You should take care of him.”
26
:וְ ָכבוֹד וְ ָה ָדר ְתּ ַע ְטּ ֵרהוּ
ַתּ ַח ְסּ ֵרהוּ ְמּ ַעט ֵמ ֱאל ִֹהים
ְ )ו ( ו
Pasuk 6 – How would you translate the וof ?ותחסרהוThe וprefix does not always mean
“and.” Here it means “yet.” Man is mortal and not worthy of God’s attention and care.
Yet, God has made him only a little less than divine. Is the second half parallel to the
first? The words in each half do not correlate and so there is no repetition. Rather, the
second part completes the idea begun in the first half. In what way did God make man
only a little less than divine? By crowning him with honor and glory. The rest of the
Mizmor delineates in detail the nature of man’s glory.
:כֹּל ַשׁ ָתּה ַת ַחת ַר ְג ָליו
יך
ָ ָד
ֶ ֲשׂי י
ֵ ילהוּ ְבּ ַמע
ֵ )ז( ַתּ ְמ ִשׁ
Pauk 7 – The previous Pasuk said that man is only a little less than divine. In what way
do we see that divine aspect according to this Pasuk? Just as God rules over the world, so
too does man rule over all other species. This similarity between God’s sovereignty and
man’s domination appears in Bereshit 1:26 as well:
מוּתנוּ
ֵ אָדם ְבּ ַצ ְל ֵמנוּ ִכּ ְד
ָ ֲשׂה
ֶ ל ִֹהים ַנע-ֹאמר ֱא
ֶ ַויּ
:אָרץ
ֶ וּב ָכל ָה ֶר ֶמשׂ ָהר ֵֹמשׂ ַעל ָה
ְ אָרץ
ֶ וּב ָכל ָה
ְ וּב ְבּ ֵה ָמה
ַ וּבעוֹף ַה ָשּׁ ַמיִ ם
ְ וְ יִ ְרדּוּ ִב ְדגַת ַהיָּם
God announces His intention to create humans “in our image, after our likeness.” He then
continues, “They shall rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the cattle, the whole
earth, and all the creeping things that creep on earth.” What is the connection between the
two parts of the Pasuk? What is the connection between being in God’s image and ruling
over the animal kingdom? To be in God’s likeness means to have the intellect and ability
to rule over others.
Find the parallel phrases in the two halves of Pasuk 7. שתה תחת רגליו=תמשילהו, מעשי
כל=ידיך. Do you notice more emphasis in the second half over the first? “You have made
him master,” in the first half becomes a vivid picture in the imagery of the second half:
“You have placed under his feet.” In ancient times, a victorious king would place his foot
on the neck of the losing king as a sign of his domination. Here we have the image of
man with the whole world under his feet.
“The work of His hands” in the first half is expanded to “everything” in the second. In
fact, the word כלis a keyword in this Mizmor. It occurs four times: twice in the refrain
(pesukim 2, 10), and twice in the body (pesukim 7 and 8). The two in the refrain apply to
God who is great in “all the land.” The two in the body of the Mizmor refer to that which
is under the rule of mankind. The use of this keyword reinforces the comparison between
God and man in their relationship to “everything” on earth.
:ֻלּם וְ גַם ַבּ ֲהמוֹת ָשׂ ָדי
ָ ַא ָל ִפים כּ
ֲ )ח( צֹנֶה ו
Pasuk 8 – This and the next two pesukim present a list of all the creature under man’s
rule. Do the two halves of this Pasuk refer to the same thing or are there two different
sets of creatures in each? Sheep and oxen are domesticated animals. “Animals” in the
second half can simple be a more inclusive term for all animals. However the conjunction
וגם, “even,” implies that there is something completely new in the second half. בהמות שדי
is better translated as “wild beasts.” Not only does man rule over domestic animals on the
farm, but even the wild beasts of the field.
:ַמּים
ִ אָרחוֹת י
ְ ע ֵֹבר
וּדגֵי ַהיָּם
ְ )ט( ִצפּוֹר ָשׁ ַמיִ ם
Pasuk 9 – How many more sets of creatures are listed in this Pasuk? Only two (not
three): birds and fish. “Whatever travels the paths of the sea” in the second half is parallel
27
to and expands “fish of the sea.” Notice that היםis singular in the first half and becomes
plural ימיםin the second. This emphasizes the great expanse of all the seas and
everything in them. There are over 25,000 documented species of fish besides plants and
other organisms in the seas. Did anyone ever go snorkeling? What did you see?
Make a list of all the creatures in these two pesukim. In what order are they presented?
Compare it with the order in which they were created in Bereshit 1.
Mizmor 8:8-9
Creation
1. Domestic animals
1. Fish
2. Wild animals
2. Birds
3. Birds
3. Animals
4. Fish
Why are they in opposite order? Bereshit organizes them from the least complex to the
most complex, the order in which they were created (or evolved). This Mizmor wants to
show how amazing it is that man can control so many things. Therefore the list goes from
the easiest to control to the most difficult and inaccessible. Animals are on land and easy
to get to. Birds in the air require traps to bring them down to the ground and catch them.
Fish are the most difficult since humans do not live on the sea. Only by building boats
and casting nets are they able to dominate the seas as well.
:אָרץ
ֶ אַדּיר ִשׁ ְמ ָך ְבּ ָכל ָה
ִ )י( יְ דֹוָד ֲאדֹנֵינוּ ָמה
Why is this Pasuk repeated? Don’t we know this already? What does the envelope
structure accomplish? When we read the refrain at the beginning, it does not impact us
on an emotional level. We agree with it intellectually but it sounds like a truism. After
reading the body of the Mizmor, we read the refrain with an entirely new appreciation.
After we have time to concentrate on the greatness of God, the expanse of the nighttime
sky, the puniness of man, the paradox of human existence, and our responsibility as
God’s appointed rulers of earth, we exclaim with fresh enthusiasm that Hashem is truly
majestic throughout the land.
Bibliography
Alter, Robert. The Art of Biblical Poetry. New York: Basic Books, 1985, pp. 118-121.
Sarna, Nahum. On the Book of Psalms: Exploring the Prayers of Ancient Israel. New
York: Schocken Books, 1985, pp. 49-67.
Weiss, Meir. The Bible From Within. Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 1984, pp. 293-297.
----------. מקראות ככוונתם. Jerusalem: Bialik Institute, 1987, pp. 152-173.
28
Lesson 7 – Mizmor 19: A Commentary on Beresheet 1-3
Goal:
Students should be able to find break down the Mizmor into sections and explain why the
sections are joined. Students should will also find parallels between the Mizmor and
Bereshit 1-3 and explain how the Mizmor is a commentary on Bereshit.
Activity:
1. Line by Line Explanation
Have a different student read each Pasuk and explain it as best he can and look for
parallelism. Them bring out the following points:
Pasuk 1 – למנצחmeans that this Mizmor was given to or dedicated to the leader of the
choir or orchestra in the Bet Mikdash. Compare how this word is used in Divere
haYamim 1, 15:21.
Pasuk 2 –What poetic device is being used here? Personification. In what way do the
heavens declare God’s glory? When people look at the heavens they come to appreciate
the glory of God’s work. The poet projects his own experience of the heavens onto the
heavens themselves as if they are praising God. Can you find the parallelism in this
Pasuk? There is close sematic parallelism, however the order of words is reversed to for a
chiastic structure: subject – verb – object // object – verb – subject. What does this
chiastic structure accomplish? Perhaps the chiasm of Pasuk 2 is meant to focus on the
center words, “the glory of God” and “His handiwork” which are the main ideas of this
section.
Pasuk 3 - Can you find the parallelism in this Pasuk? Here the parts of speech are in the
same order in the two halves. Why did the previous Pasuk have a chiastic structure while
this one has a straightforward parallelism? The two halves of Pasuk 2 refer to the same
scene; in Pasuk 3, however, they are in sequence, first comes day then comes night. The
rhythm created by the repetition of the same word sequence emphasizes the predictability
and necessity of the day – night cycle.
Pasuk 4 - How do you explain the first half of this Pasuk? The words are simple to
translate but difficult to explain. The previous Pasuk just said that the heaven does make
an utterance and this Pasuk now contradicts it saying that there is no utterance. Perhaps
the second half of the Pasuk will shed light. What kind of parallelism do you find here?
What does the second half of the Pasuk mean? There are two basic ways to interpret.
According to the Targum, the second half qualifies the first half, meaning, “there is no
utterance, there are no words, whose sound goes unheard.” In other words, every word
uttered by the heavens is heard throughout the land, as Pasuk 5 continues. Radak, on the
other hand, explains that the second half repeats the first half. “There is no utterance,
there are no words, their voices are not heard.” According to this interpretation, this
entire verse contradicts the previous one creating a tension in the mind of the reader. This
tension sets us up for the profound paradox presented in the next Pasuk.
Pasuk 5 – How does this Pasuk relate to the one before? It says that even though the
heavens physically do not utter words, they succeed in inspiring people all over the
world. Pasuk 4 steps out of the metaphor and says that in reality the heavens are silent.
The ability of the heavens to send an inspiring message by day and by night from one end
29
of the earth to the other – even though it does not say a word – is the greatest attestation
to their glory and, by implication, to the glory of their Creator. The rest of this Pasuk until
the end of the section focus in on the magnificent qualities of the sun.
The meaning of the rest of the Mizmor is straightforward. Ask students to scan the rest of
the Mizmor for words they do not know. List these words on the board with their
translations for them to remember as vocabulary words. They will analyze the rest of the
Mizmor more carefully in the following sections.
2. Structure
In small groups, ask students to read through the Mizmor with an eye towards finding its
structure. Have them mark off where each section begins and ends and give a title to the
sections based on content. A member of each group should present its findings, although
after the first couple of answers, the rest can just say they found the same thing. The
answers should converge on:
2-7
Grandeur of heavens and the sun attest to God’s glory
8-11 Praise and benefits of Torah
12-15 Prayer to be saved from sin
Can you explain the connections between each part? There are many possible answers to
this so give students time to think. Some possibilities are:
To connect parts one and two, Rashi explains that just as the sun gives light so to does the
Torah enlighten its students. Ibn Ezra explains that creation and revelation are the two
ways we can come to know God. Both find that the words used to describe the Torah can
also be applied to the sun, such as מאירת ענים, תמימה, and משיבת נפש.
The Unity of Mizmor 19
רש"י
(' גם היא מאירה כשמש כמו שנאמר בסוף הענין מאירת עינים ואומר )משלי ו- )ח( תורת ה' תמימה
כי נר מצוה ותורה אור
אבן עזרא
)ח( ולפי דעתי שהזכיר עד כה איך יוכל המשכיל למצוא עדות על האלהות ולהכיר מעשיו ואמר דוד
גם יש עד אחר נכבד ממנו ויותר נאמן והיא תורת השם ועדותיו ופיקודיו ומצותיו ויראתו ומשפטיו
ופירוש תורה שתורה הדרך הישרה בסימנים נזכרי' כמו תורת הצרע' והנזיר והזכיר משיבת נפש כי
התורה תסיר הספק מן הנפש וטעם לאמר תמימ' כנגד השמש בעבור היות השמש תמימ' באור' ואיננה
כמו הלבנה וטעם משיבת נפש כשמש כי מעת היות השמש בחצי גלגל העולה תשוב נפש רבים
מהחולים הפך מה שיקרה בהיותו בחצי גלגל היורד והרופאים ידעו זה
L7 - Unity of Mizmor - Source Sheet.doc
Nahum Sarna explains that in the ancient Near East, it was generally believed that the sun
god, as the source of light (associated with good) and all-seeing ( )אין נסתר מחמתוwas the
guardian of law and justice. This Mizmor is a polemic against such belief. The first part
of the Mizmor says that the sun can not be a god since the sun itself praises Hashem. The
second part emphasizes that the law comes from Hashem by repeating six times “God’s
Torah”, “God’s laws…”
30
To connect parts two and three, one can explain that once the writer internalizes the
importance of God’s laws, then he immediately recognizes his own shortcoming and
prays for forgiveness.
However, there may be a better explanation for the connection between these three parts.
But this requires a digression into inner-biblical exegesis, when one section of Tanakh
quotes, makes references to, or comments upon, another part of Tanakh.
3. Bereshit Parallels
[Comments in brackets are less important and can be skipped if time is lacking.]
Pasuk 2 - Of what imagery from Humash does Pasuk 2 remind you? Creation in Bereshit
1. What Pasuk specifically? השמיםin 1:1 and להים לרקיע שמים- ויקרא אin 1:8 which is
the only other Pasuk in Tanakh in which the words שמיםand רקיעoccur together. Can
you find any other references to Bereshit? See what students are able to come up with.
Then do a line by line analysis to show correlations between the Mizmor and Bereshit.
Pasuk 3 - For which words in Pasuk 2 do you find a parallel anywhere in Bereshit? יום
and לילהare an obvious allusion to Bereshit 1:5. The first half of the Pasuk says, “Each
day brings forth an utterance ()אמר.” Once we notice that each day of creation begins
with להים-ויאמר א, we can translate this Pasuk as, “Each day brings forth a creative
commandment ([ )אמרby God].” [Can you find any hint to יחוה דעתin Bereshit? Use
your imagination. דעתreminds of ( עץ הדעת2:9) and יחוהsounds like the name חוה
(3:20).]
31
Parallels Between Mizmor 19 & Bereshit 1-3
Creation - Genesis 1
Psalm 19
ל בראשׁית ברא להם את-השׁמים מספרים כבוד א
להים לרקיע שׁמים-ויקרא א
ומעשׂה ידיו מגיד הרקיע
(v 8) Day 2
(3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24, 26) להים-ויאמר א
יום ליום יביע אמר
(5) ויקרא *לה*ם לאור יום ולחשׁך קרא לילה
:ולילה ללילה יחוה דעת
Day 1
Ve
rse
(v 1) השׁמים
(3:20) :]ויקרא האדם שׁם אשׁתו חוה כי הוא היתה אם כל חי
ויצמח *הוה להם מן האדמה כל עץ נחמד למראה וטוב למאכל ועץ החיים בתוך
[(2:9 and cf. 2:17) :הגן ועץ הדעת טוב ורע
]וישׁמעו את קול *הוה להם מתהלך בגן לרוח היום ויתחבא האדם ואשׁתו מפני
*הוה אלהים
(3:8) :בתוך עץ הגן
(3:10) :ויאמר את קלך שׁמעתי בגן ואירא כי עירם אנכי ואחבא
[(3:17) ולאדם אמר כי שׁמעת לקול אשׁתך
אין אמר ואין דברים
:בלי נשׁמע קולם
להים יקוו המים מתחת השׁמים אל מקום אחד ות-ויאמר א
בכל הארץ יצא קום
. היבשׁה ויהי כןDay 3 ובקצה תבל מליהם
(9-10) להים ליבשׁה ארץ ולמקוה המים קרא ימים-ויקרא א
:לשׁמשׁ שׂם אהל בהם
להים את שׁני המארת הגדלים את המאור הגדל לממשׁלת- ויעשׂ אDay 4
(16) היום
Day 6
(2:22) ]ויבאה אל האדם
והוא כחתן יצא מחפתו
[(2:24) על כן יעזב אישׁ את אביו ואת אמו ודבק באשׁתו והיו לבשׂר אחד
:ישׂישׂ כגבור לרוץ ארח
L7 - Bereshit Parallels - Summary Chart.doc
2
3
4
ראה
5
6
[Pasuk 4 – There is no obvious reference here to creation but the last two words do come
up three times in chapter 3. Adam and Havah hear God’s voice but hide from making
believe as if they don’t hear it (3:8, 10) which is hinted to in the words – בלי נשמע קולם.
The same words are used to say that Adam listened to the voice of Havah, even though he
shouldn’t have. Bereshit uses the same words for both events in order to emphasize that
Adam didn’t hear God’s voice when he was supposed to but did listen to Havah’s voice
when he was not supposed to.]
Pauk 5 – Do any words in this Pasuk sound familiar from Bereshit? ארץrefers to the
creation of land on the third day of creation. The root of קום, meaning voice (see Sarna p.
80 note 26), is also the root of יקווand מקוהin Bereshit 1:8-9. In Bereshit, these words
refer to the gathering of the waters which reveals the land on the third day. The mention
of שמשrefers to its creation on the fourth day. The image of the heavens as a tent for the
sun is also based on Bereshit which repeats three times that Hashem placed the sun and
stars within the heavens (1: 14, 15, 17).
[Pasuk 6 – Besides referring to the sun, the groom here can also hint to the creation of
Adam who is the first groom once Hashem creates a wife for him.]
At this point, take a break and review the parallels from the perspective of Bereshit. Go
through each day of creation and show how the Mizmor makes reference to something
32
which was created on each day. The introduction of Berethit 1:1-2 is parallel to the
opening of Mizmor 19:2a. Then the establishment of day and night of day 1 is presented
in Mizmor 19:3. The creation of the רקיעon day 2 is referred to in Mizmor 19:2b - ויעש
ומעשה ידיו מגיד הרקיע = להם את הרקיע. The creation of land on day 3 is referred to in v 5 –
בכל הארץand בקצה תבל. The same day’s creation of sea may be hinted to in the word קום
of v 5 in the psalm which sounds the same as יקווand ( מקוהGen 1:9,10). The creation of
the sun on day 4 appears in v 5 as well – לשמש שם אהל בהם. The activity of day 5 is not
mentioned. V 6 describes the creation of man on day 6.
Pasuk 7 – This Pasuk states that nothing can hide from the heat of the sun. The ability of
the sun to heat the earth was the source of the pagan belief that the sun-god judges all
actions. In Bereshit, it is Hashem who sees all while Adam tries to hide from His anger
(3:8). (חמתו, meaning its heat, can also mean his anger.)
Pasuk 8 – The Torah has the ability to restore life – משיבת נפש. What image from the
continuation of the Gad Eden story do these words conjure up? The עץ הדעת. The abiblity
of Torah to restore life contrasts with the tree of knowledge which brings death to those
who eat it (2:17; 3:3,4,19,22). The Torah also makes the simple wise – מחכימת פתי.
Havah similarly thinks of the tree as desirable as a source of wisdom – נחמד העץ להשכיל
(3:6). פתיis one who requires instruction and is the opposite of ( ערוםMishle 1:4). Since
the נחשis described as ( ערוםBereshit 3:1), פתיcan refer to Adam and Havah. However,
instead of seeking forbidden knowledge they should have turned to God’s Torah for
wisdom.
Pasuk 9 – Hashem’s laws rejoice the heart – משמחי לב. Bereshit does not use the word
שמחהto refer to the tree but does say generally that Havah thought it was “good for
eating.” The commandments of Hashem enlighten the eyes – מאירת ענים. Does this
remind you of the tree of knowledge? Find a relevant Pasuk. The נחשfirst promises that
once they eat from the tree their eyes will be opened - ( ונפקחו עיניכםGen 3:5). חוהthen
sees that the tree is a delight to the eyes - תאוה הוא לענים...( ותרא האשה כיibid v 6). After
she and her husband eat from it their eyes were in fact opened and they perceived that
they were naked – ( ותפקחנה עיני שניהם וידעו כי עירמים הםGen 3:7). The word
commandment, מצות, can also refer to God’s original commandment not to eat from the
tree, ...הוה-( ויצו י2:16).
33
Ve
rse
Psalm 19
Tree of Knowledge - Genesis 2-3
מקצה השׁמים מוצאו וישׁמעו את קול *הוה להם מתהלך בגן לרוח היום ויתחבא האדם ואשׁתו
7
ותקופתו על קצותם מפני *הוה אלהים בתוך עץ הגן(3:8) :
ארור… )(3:14-19
ואין נסתר מחמתו:
תורת *הוה תמימה ביום אכלך ממנו מות תמות )(2:17
פן תמתון )(3:3
משׁיבת נפשׁ
8a
לא מות תמתון )(3:4
ואל עפר תשׁוב )(3:19
ועתה פן ישׁלח ידו ולקח גם מעץ החיים ואכל וחי לעלם )(3:22
עדות *הוה נאמנה ונחמד העץ להשׂכיל )(3:6
8b
מחכימת פתי
פקודי *הוה ישׁרים ותרא האשׁה כי טוב העץ למאכל וכי תאוה הוא לעינים ונחמד העץ
9a
להשׂכיל ותקח מפריו ותאכל ותתן גם לאישׁה עמה ויאכל(3:6) :
משׂמחי לב
ברה ויצו *הוה להם על האדם לאמר מכל עץ הגן אכל תאכל(2:16) :
מצות *הוה
כי ביום אכלכם ממנו ונפקחו עיניכם והייתם כא-להים ידעי טוב ורע )(3:5
מאירת עינים
9b
ותרא האשׁה כי טוב העץ למאכל וכי תאוה הוא לעינים )(3:6
ותפקחנה עיני שׁניהם וידעו כי עירמם הם )(3:7
יראת *הוה טהורה ויתחבא האדם ואשׁתו מפני *הוה א-להים )(3:8
10a
ועתה פן ישׁלח ידו ולקח גם מעץ החיים ואכל וחי לעלם )(3:22
עומדת לעד
משׁפטי *הוה אמת
10b
צדקו יחדו
הנחמדים מזהב ומפז ותרא האשׁה כי טוב העץ למאכל וכי תאוה הוא לעינים ונחמד העץ
11רב ומתוקים מדבשׁ להשׂכיל ותקח מפריו ותאכל ותתן גם לאישׁה עמה ויאכל(3:6) :
ונפת צופים:
גם עבדך נזהר בהם ויקח *הוה א-להים את האדם וינחהו בגן עדן לעבדה ולשׁמרה )(2:15
ואיבה אשׁית בינך ובין האשׁה ובין זרעך ובין זרעה הוא ישׁופך ראשׁ ואתה
12בשׁמרם עקב רב:
תשׁופנו עקב )(3:15
ויתחבא האדם ואשׁתו מפני *הוה א-להים )(3:8
שׁגיאות מי יבין
13
מנסתרות נקני:
אל האשׁה אמר הרבה ארבה עצבונך והרנך בעצב תלדי בנים ואל אישׁך
גם מזדים חשׂך עבדך
אל ימשׁלו בי אז איתם תשׁוקתך והוא ימשׁל בך )(3:16
14
ונקיתי מפשׁע רב:
הלוא אם תיטיב שׂאת ואם לא תיטיב לפתח חטאת רבץ ואליך תשׁוקתו
ואתה תמשׁל בו )(4:7
Pasuk 10 - Fear of Hashem is pure and stands forever. Adam is fears Hashem when he
hides from Him. But this is an immature fear, thinking that Hashem will not see him.
True fear would have prevented Adam from sinning and could have brought him
. There is no obviousעומדת לעד everlasting life – which is hinted to in the words
connection to Bereshit in the rest of this Pasuk.
?) than gold and sweeter than honeyנחמד( Pasuk 11 – What is considered more desirable
desire more than anything? To eat from the tree. She saw that theחוה Torah. What did
) to look at and good for food” (2:9). The Mizmor comes toנחמד( tree was “desirable
prevent us from making the same mistake of believing that anything else is more
desirable than Torah.
34
Pasuk 12 – What is the consequence of keeping the commandments? Great reward – עקב
רב. This contrasts with the great punishment for not keeping them seen in Bereshit.
Pasuk 13 – This Pasuk is a request to be cleaned from hidden sins, a reference to Adam’s
attempt to hide from God.
Pasuk 14 – This Pasuk refers to purposeful sins, זדים, and great sin, פשע רב. What great
sin does this refer to? Eating from the tree in Gan Eden. There is also a request that sin
should not have control over me – אל ימשלו בי. God similarly tells Cain that he can
control sin – ( ואתה תמשל בוBereshit 4:7).
Pasuk 15 – This is a conclusion in which the writer prays that his words אמרי פיshould
come before God similar to the אמרof the heavens in Pasuk 3.
4. Look for the names of God throughout the Mizmor. Which name is used in each
section? The first section uses ל- אwhile the other two use הוה-י. Can you explain why?
Bereshit chapter 1, which is parallel to part 1 of the Mizmor, uses להים- אwhile the next
two chapters, which are parallel to the next two sections of the Mizmor, use הוה-י.
5. What is the overall message of the Mizmor?
Mizmor 19 begins with the experience of the grandeur of the heavens. This leads the
writer to appreciate God’s glory. But God is not only the Creator, He is also the
Commander. Once man appreciates the grandeur of creation, he begins to contemplate his
role within creation. The Mizmor explains that following the Torah leads to ultimate
happiness. Upon this realization, the writer prays for forgiveness for past sins.
What does it tell us about Bereshit 1-3?
Bereshit begins with an objective, day by day, account of creation. Creation ends with the
creation of man who is given responsibilities to watch over creation and is given one
commandment. However, man violates that commandment and is punished. Mizmor 19
comments upon each of these stages. Mizmor 19 turns the narrative of Bereshit into
poetry by presenting the reaction of one who looks upon creation. The Mizmor draws out
the emotional response implied by creation. The proper next step, as given in the
Mizmor, is to learn wisdom from God’s teachings and follow his commandments. The
Mizmor presents the ideal situation. Bereshit, on the other hand, presents the more
negative reality. Man did not seek God and did not keep his commandment, but instead
sought after whatever he desired. The Mizmor encourages us to learn from the mistakes
of man in Bereshit and act properly. Instead of hiding from past sins, we must
acknowledge them and ask for forgiveness. Instead of seeking that which seems desirous
in our eyes, we should follow Torah which brings ultimate happiness.
Bibliography:
Clines, D.J.A., “The Tree of Knowledge and the Law of YHWH (Psalm XIX)”, Vetus
Testamentum 24 (1974).
Sarna, Nahum, On the Book of Psalms: Exploring the Prayers of Ancient Israel. New
York: Schocken Books, 1985, pp. 69-96.
35
Lesson 8 – Mizmor 104: Recounting Creation from Man’s Perspective
Goal:
Students will compare the sequence of events and style of this Mizmor with Bereshit 1 in
order to arrive at the Mizmor’s central message.
Activity:
1. Ask students to take one minute and skim Mizmor 104 very quickly and provide a one
or two word title for it. They should come up with something like, “Nature” or “God’s
”Creation.
2. Explain that since this Mizmor is about creation, we need to have the creation story in
Bereshit 1 fresh in our minds in order to understand the Mizmor. Review the order of
creation using the handout below which shows how the creation of light on the first day
parallels the luminaries on the fourth day, creation of sea and sky on the second day
parallels creation of fish and birds on the fifth day, creation of land and vegetation on the
third day parallel creation of animals and man who live on the land on the sixth day. The
colors on the chart show how each day follows almost the exact same formula of God’s
command, it’s fulfillment, it was good, and the enumeration of the day.
Structure of the Creation Story
ַשּׁ ַמיִם וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ:
ֵאשׁית ָבּרָא א-להים אֵת ה ָ
בראשית פרקך א )א( ְבּר ִ
ְחשׁ ְך עַל ְפּנֵי תְהוֹם וְרוּ ַח א-להים ְמ ַר ֶחפֶת עַל ְפּנֵי ַה ָמּיִם:
)ב( וְהָאָרֶץ ָהיְתָה תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ ו ֶ
)ג( וַיֹּאמֶר א-להים יְהִי אוֹר וַיְהִי
אוֹר:
)ד( וַיַּ ְרא א-להים אֶת הָאוֹר כִּי טוֹב
וַיַּ ְבדֵּל א-להים בֵּין הָאוֹר וּבֵין
ַחשׁ ְך:
ה ֶ
)ה( וַיִּ ְקרָא א-להים לָאוֹר יוֹם
ַחשׁ ְך ָקרָא ָליְלָה וַיְהִי ֶערֶב וַיְהִי
וְל ֶ
בֹקֶר יוֹם ֶאחָד:
ַשּׁ ַמיִם ְל ַה ְבדִּיל בֵּין הַיּוֹם וּבֵין ַה ָלּיְלָה
)יד( וַיֹּאמֶר א-להים יְהִי מְאֹרֹת ִבּ ְרקִי ַע ה ָ
ְשׁנִים:
וְהָיוּ לְאֹתֹת וּלְמוֹ ֲעדִים וּ ְליָמִים ו ָ
ַשּׁ ַמיִם ְל ָה ִאיר עַל הָאָרֶץ וַיְהִי כֵן:
)טו( וְהָיוּ ִלמְאוֹרֹת ִבּ ְרקִי ַע ה ָ
ְשׁלֶת
)טז( וַיַּעַשׂ א-להים אֶת ְשׁנֵי ַהמְּאֹרֹת ַהגְּדֹלִים אֶת ַהמָּאוֹר ַהגָּדֹל ְל ֶממ ֶ
ְשׁלֶת ַה ַלּיְלָה וְאֵת הַכּוֹ ָכבִים:
הַיּוֹם וְאֶת ַהמָּאוֹר ַהקָּטֹן ְל ֶממ ֶ
ַשּׁ ָמיִם ְל ָהִאיר עַל הָאָרֶץ:
)יז( וַיִּתֵּן אֹתָם א-להים ִבּ ְרקִי ַע ה ָ
ַחשׁ ְך וַיַּ ְרא א-להים כִּי
)יח( וְ ִלמְשֹׁל בַּיּוֹם וּ ַב ַלּיְלָה וּ ֲל ַה ְבדִּיל בֵּין הָאוֹר וּבֵין ה ֶ
טוֹב:
)יט( וַיְהִי ֶערֶב וַיְהִי בֹקֶר יוֹם ְרבִיעִי:
)ו( וַיֹּאמֶר א-להים יְהִי ָרקִי ַע בְּתוֹ ְך
ַה ָמּיִם וִיהִי ַמ ְבדִּיל ֵבּין ַמיִם ָל ָמיִם:
)ז( וַיַּעַשׂ א-להים אֶת ָה ָרקִי ַע וַיַּ ְבדֵּל
ֲשׁר ִמ ַתּחַת ָל ָרקִי ַע וּבֵין
בֵּין ַה ַמּיִם א ֶ
ֲשׁר ֵמעַל ָל ָרקִי ַע וַיְהִי כֵן:
ַה ַמּיִם א ֶ
)ח( וַיִּ ְקרָא א-להים ָל ָרקִי ַע ָשׁ ָמיִם
וַיְהִי ֶערֶב וַיְהִי בֹקֶר יוֹם ֵשׁנִי:
ִשׁרְצוּ ַה ַמּיִם ֶשׁרֶץ נֶפֶשׁ ַחיָּה וְעוֹף יְעוֹפֵף ַעל הָאָרֶץ עַל ְפּנֵי
)כ( וַיֹּאמֶר א-להים י ְ
ַשּׁ ָמיִם:
ְרקִי ַע ה ָ
ֲשׁר
ֶשׂת א ֶ
)כא( וַיִּ ְברָא א-להים אֶת ַה ַתּנִּינִם ַהגְּדֹלִים וְאֵת כָּל נֶפֶשׁ ַה ַחיָּה הָרֹמ ֶ
ָשׁרְצוּ ַה ַמּיִם ְלמִינֵהֶם וְאֵת כָּל עוֹף ָכּנָף ְלמִינֵהוּ וַיַּרְא א-להים כִּי טוֹב:
)כב( וַיְ ָב ֶר ְך אֹתָם א-להים לֵאמֹר פְּרוּ וּרְבוּ וּ ִמלְאוּ אֶת ַה ַמּיִם ַבּיַּמִּים וְהָעוֹף יִרֶב
בָּאָרֶץ:
ִישׁי:
)כג( וַיְהִי ֶערֶב וַיְהִי בֹקֶר יוֹם ֲחמ ִ
)ט( וַיֹּאמֶר א-להים יִקָּווּ ַה ַמּיִם
ַשּׁ ַמיִם אֶל מָקוֹם ֶאחָד
ִמ ַתּחַת ה ָ
ָשׁה וַיְהִי כֵן:
וְ ֵת ָראֶה ַהיַּבּ ָ
ָשׁה ֶארֶץ
)י( וַיִּ ְקרָא א-להים ַליַּבּ ָ
וּ ְל ִמ ְקוֵה ַה ַמּיִם ָקרָא יַמִּים
וַיַּרְא א-להים כִּי טוֹב:
)כד( וַיֹּאמֶר א-להים תּוֹצֵא הָאָרֶץ נֶפֶשׁ ַחיָּה ְלמִינָהּ ְבּ ֵהמָה וָ ֶרמֶשׂ וְ ַחיְתוֹ ֶארֶץ
ְלמִינָהּ וַיְהִי כֵן:
)כה( וַיַּעַשׂ א-להים אֶת ַחיַּת הָאָרֶץ ְלמִינָהּ וְאֶת ַה ְבּ ֵהמָה ְלמִינָהּ וְאֵת כָּל ֶר ֶמשׂ
ָה ֲא ָדמָה ְלמִינֵהוּ וַיַּרְא א-להים כִּי טוֹב:
ֲשׂה אָדָם ְבּ ַצ ְלמֵנוּ ִכּדְמוּתֵנוּ וְיִרְדּוּ ִב ְדגַת ַהיָּם וּבְעוֹף
)כו( וַיֹּאמֶר א-להים נַע ֶ
)יא( וַיֹּאמֶר א-להים ַתּד ֵ
ַשּׁ ַמיִם וּ ַב ְבּ ֵהמָה וּ ְבכָל הָאָרֶץ וּ ְבכָל ָה ֶרמֶשׂ הָרֹמֵשׂ עַל הָאָרֶץ:
ְשׁא הָאָרֶץ ה ָ
)כז( וַיִּ ְברָא א-להים ֶאת הָאָדָם ְבּ ַצלְמוֹ ְבּ ֶצלֶם א-להים ָבּרָא אֹתוֹ זָכָר וּנְ ֵקבָה
ֵשׂב ַמזְרִי ַע זֶרַע עֵץ ְפּרִי
ֶשׁא ע ֶ
דֶּ
ָבּרָא אֹתָם:
ֲשׁר זַרְעוֹ בוֹ עַל
עֹשׂה ְפּרִי ְלמִינוֹ א ֶ
ֶ
הָאָרֶץ וַיְהִי כֵן:
)כח( וַיְ ָב ֶר ְך אֹתָם א-להים וַיֹּאמֶר ָלהֶם א-להים פְּרוּ וּרְבוּ וּ ִמלְאוּ אֶת הָאָרֶץ
ֶשׁא ע ֶ
)יב( וַתּוֹצֵא הָאָרֶץ דּ ֶ
ֶשׂת עַל הָאָרֶץ:
ְשׁ ָה וּרְדוּ ִבּ ְדגַת ַהיָּם וּבְעוֹף ה ָ
ֵשׂב ַמזְרִי ַע וְ ִכב ֻ
ַשּׁ ַמיִם וּ ְבכָל ַחיָּה הָרֹמ ֶ
)כט( וַיֹּאמֶר א-להים ִהנֵּה נָ ַתתִּי ָלכֶם אֶת כָּל ע ֶ
ֲשׁר עַל ְפּנֵי כָל
ֵשׂב זֹ ֵר ַע זֶרַע א ֶ
ֲשׁר
עֹשׂה ְפּרִי א ֶ
זֶרַע ְלמִינֵהוּ וְעֵץ ֶ
ֲשׁר בּוֹ ְפרִי עֵץ זֹ ֵר ַע זָרַע ָלכֶם יִ ְהיֶה לְאָ ְכלָה:
זַרְעוֹ בוֹ ְלמִינֵהוּ וַיַּרְא א-להים כִּי
הָאָרֶץ וְאֶת כָּל ָהעֵץ א ֶ
ֲשׁר בּוֹ נֶפֶשׁ
ַשּׁ ַמיִם וּלְכֹל רוֹמֵשׂ עַל הָאָרֶץ א ֶ
)ל( וּ ְלכָל ַחיַּת הָאָרֶץ וּ ְלכָל עוֹף ה ָ
טוֹב:
ֵשׂב לְאָ ְכלָה וַיְהִי כֵן:
ַחיָּה אֶת כָּל יֶרֶק ע ֶ
)יג( וַיְהִי ֶערֶב וַיְהִי בֹקֶר יוֹם
ָשׂה וְ ִהנֵּה טוֹב מְאֹד וַיְהִי ֶערֶב וַיְהִי בֹקֶר יוֹם
ֲשׁר ע ָ
)לא( וַיַּרְא א-להים אֶת כָּל א ֶ
ִישׁי:
ְשׁל ִ
ַשּׁ ִשּׁי:
הִ
ַשּׁ ַמיִם וְהָאָרֶץ וְכָל ְצבָאָם:
פרק ב )א( וַיְכֻלּוּ ה ָ
ָשׂה:
ֲשׁר ע ָ
ַשּׁבִיעִי ִמכָּל ְמלַאכְתּוֹ א ֶ
ִשׁבֹּת בַּיּוֹם ה ְ
ָשׂה וַיּ ְ
ֲשׁר ע ָ
ַשּׁבִיעִי ְמלַאכְתּוֹ א ֶ
)ב( וַיְכַל א-להים בַּיּוֹם ה ְ
ֲשׁר ָבּרָא א-להים ַלעֲשׂוֹת:
ַשּׁבִיעִי וַיְַקדֵּשׁ אֹתוֹ כִּי בוֹ ָשׁבַת ִמכָּל ְמלַאכְתּוֹ א ֶ
)ג( וַיְ ָב ֶר ְך א-להים אֶת יוֹם ה ְ
Intro
)Light (1
&
Luminaries
)(4
Waters in
Sea and
)Sky (2
&
Fish in Sea
and Birds
)in Sky (4
Land and
Vegetation
)(3
&
Animals
on Land
and Man
to Eat
Vegetation
)(6
Conclusion
L8 - Bereshit 1 Parallel Days - Summary Chart.doc
36
3. Go around the room and have each student read a Pasuk and explain it. For each Pasuk
ask what object in nature is being described. Because the Mizmor uses a lot of figurative
language some are not obvious. Then ask, What day of creation does this correlate to? Is
it in the right order or out of place? Keep a running chart on the board listing which
pesukim describe each day of creation and which are in order or out of place.
Textual Notes – added explanations to point out for these pesukim.
Pasuk 1 is an introduction to the theme of the entire Mizmor. The writer commands his
soul, his life-force and emotions, to bless God. What does it mean for humans to bless
God? Of course, God does not need our blessing. “To bless” in reference to God simply
means we will praise or thank Hashem (Ibn Ezra). Do you see parallelism in this Pasuk?
גדלת מאד, a simple description, becomes a grand metaphor in the next parallel phrase,
“you are clothed in glory and majesty” – as if such traits can be worn and as if God had a
body to wear them.
Pasuk 2 continues this imagery by describing God as “wrapped in a robe of light.” This is
the first direct allusion to Bereshit 1. On what day is light created? The first day. The
Pasuk continues with a poetic description of the creation of the heavens. What does it
mean to say that God is wrapped in light and spreads a tent cloth between Himself and
man? Clothing and a tent-cloth are both means of hiding ourselves, of keeping our
privacy. We can not know anything about God’s essence; He is completely hidden from
us. We only know of God from nature and the grandeur of the sky make us think of the
heavens as God’s residence. Clothing usually blocks light and so to have a garment of
light is paradoxical. This paradox reflects the paradox of a God who is at once the source
of life and light and yet hidden from view. On what day is the שמיםcreated? The second
day.
Pasuk 3 – What does it mean that God “covers his lofts with water”? This can be
explained by the description of the creation of heavens in Bereshit 1:6-7 where the רקיע
or שמיםseparates between the water below it on earth and the water above it. Many
poetic texts in Tanakh picture God as riding on the clouds. The idea that God moves on
the winds of the wind echoes Bereshit 1:2 – להים מרחפת על פני המים-ורוח א. Pasuk 4
continues to elaborate on the wind. The wind and fiery flames are God’s messengers.
Where do we find wind and fire together in nature? This refers to the strong winds and
lightening during a storm.
Pasuk 5 describes the creation of land and so parallels the third day of creation. Pesukim
6-9 detail the process by which land was created. At first it was covered with water, just
as described in Bereshit 1:9. God shouted at them, a reference to God’s command in
Bereshit, and they fled to their place revealing the mountains and valleys. God placed a
border for them at the seashore which the waters can not pass. However, Pesukim 10-12
state that God did allow some water into the land by creating canals for rivers which
quench the thirst of animals and birds. The singing of the birds adds life to this beautiful
scene. Ask artistic students to draw this scene for extra credit. The mention of animals
and birds, which are created on the sixth and fifth days, seems out of place. Make a note
of this on the chart, take suggestions as to why they are out of place, but do not fully
explain until students have studied the rest of the Mizmor.
Pasuk 13 states that not only does the lower water go out of its place, but also the upper
waters fall from the sky as rain. This rain is called fruit because it feeds and satiates the
37
personified earth. Mention of the word fruit here also foreshadows vegetation that grows
from the earth in the next Pesukim. God makes grass grow for cattle and herbage for man
to work (Pasuk 14) – all references to the growth of grass and trees on the third day of
creation. Humans do not eat raw herbage like animals do but rather make grapes into
wine, olives into oil, and grain into bread (Pasuk 15). The rain also satisfies the great
trees which provide habitat for birds (Pesukim 16-17). Once we mention the topic of
habitat, the writer goes on a tangent to say that the mountains are the habitat for various
animals (Pasuk 18). Here again, mention of humans, animals, and birds seems out of
place in a description of the third day of creation, but this will be explained later.
Pasuk 19 praises God for creating the moon and the sun which we use for our calendar,
thus recalling the fourth day of creation. Pesukim 20-23 describe the cycle of night and
day and the activities of animals and humans during each.
In Pasuk 24, the writer wonders at the bounty and wisdom of creation. Pasuk 25 then
points to yet another example, “There is the sea” teeming with creatures, referring to the
fifth day of creation. גדלותis an allusion to the תנינים הגדוליםin Bereshit 1:21. The sea is
also the where boats sail (Pasuk 26). What are boats doing in the middle of a list of things
God created? The answer to this is related to why animals and humans are mentioned
out of place. All this will be clarified later. לויתן זה יצרת לשחק בוis open to multiple
interpretations with important consequences. There are two basic approaches represented
by Rashi and Ibn Ezra.
Leviathan
תהלים פרק קד פסוק כו
:ָצ ְר ָתּ ְל ַשׂ ֶחק בּוֹ
ַ ָתן זֶה י
ָ ָשׁם ֳאנִ יּוֹת יְ ַה ֵלּכוּן ִלוְ י
רש"י
שלש שעות ביום כך אמרו רבותינו במסכת עבודת אלילים וכך מפורש בספר איוב התשחק- לשחק בו
:(כט:בו כצפור )איוב מ
:בבלי מסכת עבודה זרה דף ג
, שלש הראשונות הקב"ה יושב ועוסק בתורה, שתים עשרה שעות הוי היום:אמר רב יהודה אמר רב
עומד מכסא הדין ויושב על, כיון שרואה שנתחייב עולם כלייה, יושב ודן את כל העולם כולו- שניות
יושב- רביעיות, יושב וזן את כל העולם כולו מקרני ראמים עד ביצי כנים- שלישיות,כסא רחמים
! )תהלים קד( לויתן זה יצרת לשחק בו: שנאמר,ומשחק עם לויתן
אבן עזרא
ו”בו” שב אל הים כי כל הדגים מאכל לו. שם לכל דג גדול כמותו או הוא שם לכל מין ידוע- לויתן
:והוא איננו מאכל
Ibn Ezra says that Leviathan is just a name for any big fish. The subject of לשחקis the
Leviathan and בוrefers to the ocean. He would translate, “This Leviathan You have
created to play in [the seas].” Rashi, however, says that the subject of לשחקis God and בו
refers to the Leviathan. Rashi would translate, “This Leviathan which You have created
in order to play with it.” Rashi has strong proof for this interpretation from a pasuk in
Iyob which also speaks of God playing with the Leviathan as well as an Aggadah in the
name of Rav.
38
What does it mean that God plays with the Leviathan? The Leviathan was known in
ancient Near Eastern mythology as a great sea monster with whom the warrior God’s did
battle. This Pasuk comes to reject that mythology by stating that the Leviathan is God’s
creation, not an independent force, and is simply a plaything for God, not a force to be
reckoned with.
Pesukim 27-30 declare the dependence of all life on God’s providence. When God turns
His face, they perish but when he returns His life-breath they are renewed. This may refer
to the passing of seasons - from dormant winters to the renewal of life in the spring. This
section alludes to day six (Bereshit 1:29-30) where God offers vegetation to humans and
animals for food.
Pesukim 31-35 form a conclusion. Pasuk 31 is a prayer that the glory of God should
endure forever and that He should rejoice in His words. This alludes to Bereshit 1:31
where God sees all He created and declares it is very good - ָשׂה וְ ִהנֵּה
ָ ֲשׁר ע
ֶ להים אֶת כָּל א-וַיַּרְא א
טוֹב מְאֹד. Pasuk 32 emphasizes God’s power by noting that a simple glance at the world by
God causes an earthquake and His slight touch causes a volcano. The writer commits
himself to praise God as long as he lives and he hopes his words will be acceptable to
God. God’s glory endures forever, but a human can only praise Him as long as he lives.
The writer rejoices in God (Pasuk 34) just as God rejoices in His words (Pasuk 31)
indicating a mutual harmonious relationship. Having recounted the perfection of creation,
there is but one afterthought which bothers the writer: the existence of evil in the world.
He therefore ends with a prayer for their destruction. Finally, the last words form an
envelope with the opening words and add הללויה.
4. Analyze the list of items mentioned in order of creation and out of order. What is out of
order and why?
בראשית א
Out of Order
מזמור קד
יום הששי – חלק א
יום חמישי
In Order of Creation
בראשית א
מזמור קד
יום ראשון
)ב( ע ֶֹטה אוֹר ַכּ ַשּׂ ְל ָמה
יום שני
:יעה
ָ נוֹטה ָשׁ ַמ ִים ַכּיְ ִר
ֶ
יום שלישי – חלק א
ָסד ֶא ֶרץ
ַ )ה( י
ַשׁקוּ ָכּל ַח ְיתוֹ ָשׂ ָדי
ְ )יא( י
יהם עוֹף ַה ָשּׁ ַמיִ ם
ֶ ֲל
ֵ )יב( ע
יום שלישי – חלק ב
יום הששי – חלק א
יום הששי – חלק ב
יום חמישי
יח ָח ִציר
ַ )יד( ַמ ְצ ִמ
ְע ֶשׂב
ֵ ַל ְבּ ֵה ָמה ו
ַל ְבּ ֵה ָמה
אָדם
ָ ַל ֲעב ַֹדת ָה
ֳרים
ִ )יז( ֲא ֶשׁר ָשׁם ִצפּ
יום רביעי
יום הששי – חלק א
:ָער
ַ ָכּל ַח ְיתוֹ י
יום הששי – חלק ב
אָדם
ָ ֵצא
ֵ )כג( י
ָר ַח
ֵ )יט( ָע ָשׂה י
יום רביעי
)כב( ִתּ ְז ַרח ַה ֶשּׁ ֶמשׁ
יום חמישי
...)כה( זֶה ַהיָּם גָּדוֹל
Notice that all the inanimate and inaccessible objects in nature are in order while humans
and the animals and birds which live with humans are out of order. Fish are animate but
do not live with us on land and so are part of surrounding nature. Bereshit is an objective,
step-by-step account of each state of creation. Mizmor 104, besides describing the same
39
creation with fantastic imagery and metaphor, is a subjective view of creation. It reflects
the experience of a person looking around at nature and appreciating all the ways that it
provides for his needs and for the needs of the animals and birds who he lives with. Meir
Weiss sums up this experience:
When [the poet] looks at the springs of water, he sees near them the beasts of the field
since the streams provide their drink, and he also feels the presence of the birds and hears
their voices among the branches of the trees which grow alongside the water. When he
thinks of the plants, he remembers their usefulness to living creatures, to men and birds.
Similarly, when he remembers the luminaries, by night and by day, he immediately recalls
the function they fulfill for animals and human beings. Our poet does not, then see the
phenomena of nature in isolation from one another, but rather in their interrelationship. He
sees in them what they serve to supply for other creaters, for the whole of creation. (p. 89)
This also explains the mention of boats. When the writer looks out at the sea and thinks
about the 25,000 species it contains, he also sees boats and expresses how useful the sea
is to humans that humans can travel on it by ship.
5. Summarize overall messages of the Mizmor. Everything is made with wisdom. All is
under God’s reign. Each part of creation provides us with our needs and we are
completely dependent on God’s continued providence.
Review the structure of the Mizmor. Show how it simply follows each of the six days of
creation but elaborates on each from the perspective of how whatever is created on that
day is needed for animals and humans to survive. See chart below.
[It is noteworthy that while humans are seen as more advanced than animals (they bake
bread while animals eat raw grass), animals are not viewed as servants of man. This goes
hand in hand with the hierarchy of creation in Bereshit 1 where animals and humans are
created on the same day and both are blessed by God with vegetarian sustenance. This
changes only after the flood when man is permitted to eat meat.]
40
תהלים פרק קד
ַפ ִשׁי ֶאת יְ דֹוָד
ֲכי נ ְ
)א( ָבּר ִ
ָד ְל ָתּ ְמּאֹד הוֹד וְ ָה ָדר ָל ָב ְשׁ ָתּ:
יְ דֹוָד ֱאל ַֹהי גּ ַ
)ב( ע ֶֹטה אוֹר ַכּ ַשּׂ ְל ָמה
יעה:
נוֹטה ָשׁ ַמ ִים ַכּיְ ִר ָ
ֶ
ַה ָשּׂם ָע ִבים ְרכוּבוֹ
יּוֹתיו
)ג( ַה ְמ ָק ֶרה ַב ַמּ ִים ֲע ִל ָ
רוּח:
ַה ְמ ַה ֵלּ ְך ַעל ַכּנְ ֵפי ַ
ְמ ָשׁ ְר ָתיו ֵאשׁ ל ֵֹהט:
אָכיו רוּחוֹת
)ד( ע ֶֹשׂה ַמ ְל ָ
ָעד:
עוֹלם ו ֶ
ֶיה ַבּל ִתּמּוֹט ָ
ָסד ֶא ֶרץ ַעל ְמכוֹנ ָ
)ה( י ַ
ַע ְמדוּ ָמיִ ם:
)ו( ְתּהוֹם ַכּ ְלּבוּשׁ ִכּ ִסּיתוֹ ַעל ָה ִרים י ַ
ֵח ֵפזוּן:
ֲר ְת ָך יְ נוּסוּן ִמן קוֹל ַר ַע ְמ ָך י ָ
)ז( ִמן ַגּע ָ
ָס ְד ָתּ ָל ֶהם:
ֵרדוּ ְב ָקעוֹת ֶאל ְמקוֹם זֶה י ַ
)ח( ַיעֲלוּ ָה ִרים י ְ
אָרץ:
)ט( ְגּבוּל ַשׂ ְמ ָתּ ַבּל ַי ֲעבֹרוּן ַבּל יְ שׁוּבוּן ְל ַכסּוֹת ָה ֶ
)י( ַה ְמ ַשׁ ֵלּ ַח ַמ ְעיָנִ ים ַבּנְּ ָח ִלים ֵבּין ָה ִרים יְ ַה ֵלּכוּן:
ַשׁקוּ ָכּל ַחיְ תוֹ ָשׂ ָדי יִ ְשׁ ְבּרוּ ְפ ָר ִאים ְצ ָמאָם:
)יא( י ְ
ֳפאיִ ם יִ ְתּנוּ קוֹל:
יהם עוֹף ַה ָשּׁ ַמיִ ם יִ ְשׁכּוֹן ִמ ֵבּין ע ָ
ֲל ֶ
)יב( ע ֵ
אָרץ:
יך ִתּ ְשׂ ַבּע ָה ֶ
ֲשׂ ָ
יּוֹתיו ִמ ְפּ ִרי ַמע ֶ
ֲל ָ
)יג( ַמ ְשׁ ֶקה ָה ִרים ֵמע ִ
הוֹציא ֶל ֶחם
אָדם ְל ִ
יח ָח ִציר ַל ְבּ ֵה ָמה ְו ֵע ֶשׂב ַל ֲעב ַֹדת ָה ָ
)יד( ַמ ְצ ִמ ַ
אָרץ:
ִמן ָה ֶ
)טו( וְ יַיִ ן יְ ַשׂ ַמּח ְל ַבב ֱאנוֹשׁ ְל ַה ְצ ִהיל ָפּנִ ים ִמ ָשּׁ ֶמן וְ ֶל ֶחם ְל ַבב
ֱאנוֹשׁ יִ ְס ָעד:
ָטע:
אַרזֵי ְל ָבנוֹן ֲא ֶשׁר נ ָ
ֲצי יְ דֹוָד ְ
)טז( יִ ְשׂ ְבּעוּ ע ֵ
יתהּ:
רוֹשׁים ֵבּ ָ
ידה ְבּ ִ
ֳרים יְ ַקנֵּנוּ ֲח ִס ָ
)יז( ֲא ֶשׁר ָשׁם ִצפּ ִ
)יח( ָה ִרים ַה ְגּב ִֹהים ַליְּ ֵע ִלים ְס ָל ִעים ַמ ְח ֶסה ַל ְשׁ ַפנִּ ים:
ָדע ְמבוֹאוֹ:
ֲדים ֶשׁ ֶמשׁ י ַ
ָר ַח ְלמוֹע ִ
)יט( ָע ָשׂה י ֵ
ָער:
יהי ָל ְי ָלה בּוֹ ִת ְרמֹשׂ ָכּל ַחיְ תוֹ י ַ
)כ( ָתּ ֶשׁת ח ֶֹשׁ ְך וִ ִ
אָכ ָלם:
וּל ַב ֵקּשׁ ֵמ ֵאל ְ
ֹא ִגים ַל ָטּ ֶרף ְ
ירים שׁ ֲ
)כא( ַה ְכּ ִפ ִ
ֵאָספוּן וְ ֶאל ְמעוֹנ ָֹתם יִ ְר ָבּצוּן:
)כב( ִתּ ְז ַרח ַה ֶשּׁ ֶמשׁ י ֵ
ֲדי ָע ֶרב:
אָדם ְל ָפעֳלוֹ וְ ַל ֲעב ָֹדתוֹ ע ֵ
ֵצא ָ
)כג( י ֵ
אָרץ
ית ָמ ְלאָה ָה ֶ
ֻלּם ְבּ ָח ְכ ָמה ָע ִשׂ ָ
יך יְ דֹוָד כּ ָ
ֲשׂ ָ
)כד( ָמה ַרבּוּ ַמע ֶ
ֶך:
ִקנְ ָינ ָ
ָדיִ ם ָשׁם ֶר ֶמשׂ וְ ֵאין ִמ ְס ָפּר ַחיּוֹת
וּר ַחב י ָ
)כה( זֶה ַהיָּם גָּדוֹל ְ
ְק ַטנּוֹת ִעם ְגּדֹלוֹת:
ָצ ְר ָתּ ְל ַשׂ ֶחק בּוֹ:
ָתן זֶה י ַ
)כו( ָשׁם ֳאנִ יּוֹת יְ ַה ֵלּכוּן ִלוְ י ָ
אָכ ָלם ְבּ ִעתּוֹ:
יך יְ ַשׂ ֵבּרוּן ָל ֵתת ְ
ֻלּם ֵא ֶל ָ
)כז( כּ ָ
ָד ָך יִ ְשׂ ְבּעוּן טוֹב:
)כח( ִתּ ֵתּן ָל ֶהם יִ ְלקֹטוּן ִתּ ְפ ַתּח י ְ
ֲפ ָרם
רוּחם יִ ְגוָעוּן וְ ֶאל ע ָ
ֶיך יִ ָבּ ֵהלוּן תּ ֵֹסף ָ
)כט( ַתּ ְס ִתּיר ָפּנ ָ
יְ שׁוּבוּן:
וּת ַח ֵדּשׁ ְפּנֵי ֲא ָד ָמה:
רוּח ָך יִ ָבּ ֵראוּן ְ
)ל( ְתּ ַשׁ ַלּח ֲ
ֲשׂיו:
עוֹלם יִ ְשׂ ַמח יְ דֹוָד ְבּ ַמע ָ
)לא( יְ ִהי ְכבוֹד יְ דֹוָד ְל ָ
ֱשׁנוּ:
ַתּ ְר ָעד יִ גַּע ֶבּ ָה ִרים וְ ֶיע ָ
אָרץ ו ִ
)לב( ַה ַמּ ִבּיט ָל ֶ
עוֹדי:
ַמּ ָרה ֵלאל ַֹהי ְבּ ִ
ירה ַלידֹוָד ְבּ ַחיָּי ֲאז ְ
אָשׁ ָ
ִ
)לג(
יחי אָנ ִֹכי ֶא ְשׂ ַמח ַבּידֹוָד:
ֱרב ָע ָליו ִשׂ ִ
)לד( ֶיע ַ
וּר ָשׁ ִעים עוֹד ֵאינָם
אָרץ ְ
)לה( יִ ַתּמּוּ ַח ָטּ ִאים ִמן ָה ֶ
ַפ ִשׁי ֶאת יְ דֹוָד ַה ְללוּ יָהּ:
ֲכי נ ְ
ָבּר ִ
Parallel to Bereshit 1
)(Introduction
First Day
Second Day
Third Day – Part 1
(Adds that even though God
made a boundary for the sea,
there are still rivers which
provide water for animals and
)birds.
Third Day – Part 2
(Rivers water ground which
produces vegetation for animals
and man to consume and trees
for birds to live in. Once on the
subject of habitat, mountains
)provide homes for animals.
Fourth Day
(Adds the way that the day and
night cycle effects animals and
)humans.
Fifth Day
Sixth Day
(Already mentioned animals
and humans, so focuses on
)God’s blessing of sustenance.
)(Conclusion
Bibliography:
”Rabbi Moshe Shamah. “On the Linkage Between Psalm 104 and Genesis 1.
Weiss, Meir. The Bible From Within. Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 1984, pp. 78-93.
41
Lesson 9 – Mizmor 15: The Importance of Ethics
Goal:
For students to think about the relative value of Mizvot בין אדם למקוםand בין אדם לחבירו
and appreciate the perspective presented in this Mizmor.
Activity:
1. Background
Are some Mizvot more important than others? If so, which are the most important? Make
a list on one half of the board of the eleven most popular responses.
2. Performance
This Mizmor is structured as a question and answer. We can guess that it was also meant
to be performed as a call and response (antiphonic). Have one students or one half of the
class recite Pasuk 1 and then another student or the other half of the class respond with
Pesukim 2-5.
3. Textual Notes
Have individual students read each Pasuk, explain it, and look for parallelism or other
poetic devices. Make sure to bring out the following points:
)א( ִמ ְזמוֹר ְל ָדוִ ד
:ִמי יִ ְשׁכֹּן ְבּ ַהר ָק ְד ֶשׁ ָך
אָה ֶל ָך
ֳ יְ דֹוָד ִמי יָגוּר ְבּ
Notice parallelism, מי=מי, ישכן=יגור, בהר קדשך=באהלך. The second half intensifies the
first. יגורmeans to sojourn, to live temporarily. ישכןmeans to dwell and connotes more
permanence. אהלis a tent meant for temporary nomadic living while הר קדשךrefers to
the Beit Mikdash which is built on a mountain and is a permanent structure. What might
be an appropriate setting for this question? Who would ask it of whom? When pilgrims
come to the Beit Mikdash on holidays, the Leviim at the gates might recite this Mizmor
to remind those entering that they come to a holy place and must be worthy of entering.
Even if the Mimzor originated in a pilgrimage ceremony, it may also have figurative
meaning – who can live with a sense of holiness and sanctity, feeling comfortable that he
fulfills what Hashem wants of him. Radak thinks it refers to the heavenly sanctuary and
asks who will merit the world to come.
:וְ ד ֵֹבר ֱא ֶמת ִבּ ְל ָבבוֹ
וּפ ֵֹעל ֶצ ֶדק
הוֹל ְך ָתּ ִמים
ֵ
( )ב
To walk in perfection means to live without blame by never doing evil. פעל צדקconnotes
more active doing of good deeds. What does it mean to speak truth “in his heart”? As
opposed to the liar who is – אחד בפה ואחד בלבthinking one thing and saying another, the
honest person says what is in his heart (meaning mind). Notice that the three verbs הולך,
פעל, and דבר, can also be read as nouns – a walker in perfection, a do-gooder, a speaker of
truth. These traits are not simply actions one sometimes does but rather must be part of
one’s personality.
:ָשׂא ַעל ְקרֹבוֹ
ָ וְ ֶח ְר ָפּה לֹא נ
)ג( לֹא ָרגַל ַעל ְלשֹׁנוֹ לֹא ָע ָשׂה ְל ֵר ֵעהוּ ָר ָעה
The previous Pasuk listed three positive traits. This Pasuk lists three things the good
person does not do. רגלmeans to slander. It uses the same root as the word for “leg”
because it implies one who walks from place to place collecting and spreading gossip. He
also does not harm his friend or cause embarrassment to his relative. Does this mean one
42
may harm and embarrass an enemy or a stranger? No. It just uses the most common
example since we interact most with our friends and family. רעהוcan also mean fellow
and קרבוcan mean those around him.
:ָמר
ִ נִ ְשׁ ַבּע ְל ָה ַרע וְ לֹא י
)ד( נִ ְבזֶה ְבּ ֵעינָיו נִ ְמאָס וְ ֶאת יִ ְר ֵאי יְ דֹוָד יְ ַכ ֵבּד
A good person must not only do good but also associate with good people. He despises
the – נבזהthe contemptible person but gives honor to the God-fearing person. If one
honors a bad person then he will become corrupt also, as the Gemara says: :אמר אביי
טוב לצדיק טוב לשכינו,( אוי לרשע אוי לשכינו:)סוכה נו. Even when he swears to his own
detriment, he does not retract but fulfills the oath.
:עוֹלם
ָ ָקי לֹא ָל ָקח ע ֵֹשׂה ֵא ֶלּה לֹא יִ מּוֹט ְל
ִ ֶשׁ ְך וְ שׁ ַֹחד ַעל נ
ֶ ָתן ְבּנ
ַ )ה( ַכּ ְספּוֹ לֹא נ
Next, we find two traits relating to money. The good person does not lend money with
interest or take bribes against the innocent. Notice parallelism between נתןand לקח. Also,
the order of words is different in each phrase such that the two negative words נשךand
שחדare back to back in the middle. For homework, or as an in-class assignment, ask
students to find Pesukim in the Torah which prohibit these two actions. What is so bad
about charging interest? In an agricultural economy it was usually the poor farmer to
needed a loan to buy seed and equipment in order to grow a good crop. By charging
interest to a poor person, one only deepens his poverty. In today’s economy, even rich
people will take a mortgage when their other assets are not liquid which is why the
Rabbis instituted a Heter Iska for such cases.
The last phrase sums up that one who does all of these things will never fall. This
intensifies the permanence of the reward mentioned in the first Pasuk.
4. How many character traits are listed here? Eleven. What do they have in common?
How do they compare to the list of most important Mizvot we made at the beginning of
class? These are all ethical requirements – בין אדם לחבירו. Some of the pilgrims bringing
sacrifices may have believed that they could steal, cheat, and lie at home and then repent
for them by bringing a sacrifice. The Mizmor reminds them, and us, that such rituals are
only effective if they actually make us better people, not if they are done mechanically.
5. Read this famous Midrash together and discuss its meaning. The continuation of the
Midrash is also very interesting if you have time.
43
From 613 to 11
תלמוד בבלי מסכת מכות דף כג עמוד ב
שלש מאות וששים וחמש לאוין, שש מאות ושלש עשרה מצות נאמרו לו למשה:דרש רבי שמלאי
? מאי קרא: אמר רב המנונא. ומאתים וארבעים ושמונה עשה כנגד איבריו של אדם,כמנין ימות החמה
אנכי ולא יהיה לך, תורה בגימטריא שית מאה וחד סרי הוי,)דברים ל"ג( תורה צוה לנו משה מורשה
.( דמשמ"ק ס"ק: )סימן.מפי הגבורה שמענום
)תהלים ט"ו( מזמור לדוד ]ה'[ מי יגור באהלך מי ישכון בהר: דכתיב,בא דוד והעמידן על אחת עשרה
לא רגל על לשונו לא עשה לרעהו רעה, הולך תמים ופועל צדק ודובר אמת בלבבו,קדשך
וחרפה לא
כספו לא נתן בנשך ושוחד, נבזה בעיניו נמאס ואת יראי ה' יכבד נשבע להרע ולא ימיר,נשא על קרובו
.על נקי לא לקח עושה אלה לא ימוט לעולם
R. Simlai when preaching said: Six hundred and thirteen precepts were communicated to
Moses, three hundred and sixty-five negative precepts, corresponding to the number of
solar days [in the year], and two hundred and forty-eight positive precepts, corresponding
to the number of the members of man's body. Said R. Hamnuna: What is the text for this?
It is, “Moses commanded us torah, an inheritance of the congregation of Jacob.” ‘Torah’
being in letter-value, equal to six hundred and eleven, ‘I am’ and ‘Thou shall have no
[other Gods]’ [not being reckoned, because] we heard from the mouth of the Might
[Divine].
David came and reduced them to eleven [principles], as it is written, A Psalm of David.
Lord, who shall sojourn in Thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in Thy holy mountain? — [i]
He that walketh uprightly, and [ii] worketh righteousness, and [iii] speaketh truth in his
heart; that [iv] hath no slander upon his tongue, [v] nor doeth evil to his fellow, [vi] nor
taketh up a reproach against his neighbour, [vii] in whose eyes a vile person is despised,
but [viii] he honoureth them that fear the Lord, [ix] He sweareth to his own hurt and
changeth not, [x] He putteth not out his money on interest, [xi] nor taketh a bribe against
the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved.
L9 - Eleven Commandments - Source Sheet.doc
What does it mean that all 613 commandments can be summed up in these eleven? The
purpose of all the commandments, even the ritual ones בין אדם למקום, are intended to
make one more aware of God’s presence, more sensitive to the world around him, and
therefore more motivated and capable of helping others.
Bibliography:
Sarna, Nahum. On the Book of Psalms: Exploring the Prayers of Ancient Israel. New
York: Schocken Books, 1985, pp. 98-121.
44
Lesson 10 – Mizmor 24: Returning the Aron Ceremony
Goal:
To reinforce goal of previous lesson concerning the centrality of ethics in Judaism.
To understand how the setting of a Mizmor, where and when it was recited, helps us
explain its structure.
Activity:
1. This Mizmor was said by the Leviim on Sundays, just as we do in the Tefillah. The
source of this is from the Mishnah:
משנה מסכת תמיד פרק ז
השיר שהיו הלוים אומרים במקדש ביום הראשון היו אומרים לה' הארץ ומלואה תבל ויושבי בה בשני
היו אומרים גדול ה' ומהולל מאד בעיר אלהינו הר קדשו בשלישי היו אומרים אלהים נצב בעדת אל
בקרב אלהים ישפוט ברביעי היו אומרים אל נקמות ה' אל נקמות הופיע וגו' בחמישי היו אומרים
הרנינו לאלהים עזנו הריעו לאלהי יעקב בששי היו אומרים ה' מלך גאות לבש וגו' בשבת היו אומרים
:מזמור שיר ליום השבת מזמור שיר לעתיד לבא ליום שכולו שבת מנוחה לחיי העולמים
תלמוד בבלי מסכת ראש השנה דף לא עמוד א
, )תהלים כד( לה' הארץ ומלואה- בראשון מה היו אומרים: רבי יהודה אומר משום רבי עקיבא,תניא
.על שם שקנה והקנה ושליט בעולמו
The Gemara explains that it is appropriate on the first day of the week, which marks the
beginning of creation to recite this Mizmor which opens with a declaration that Hashem
owns and rules the world.
2. Structure
Skim the Mizmor and break it down into sections.
1-2
3-6
7-10
God’s creation and ownership of the world.
Ethical standards for entering Hashem’s sanctuary.
Hashem’s entrance into the gates.
What do these three sections have to do with each other? See what students come up
with, but don’t explain fully until Mizmor is studied Pasuk by Pasuk.
3. Textual Notes
)א( ְל ָדוִ ד ִמ ְזמוֹר
:ֵתּ ֵבל וְ י ְֹשׁ ֵבי ָבהּ
וּמלוֹאָהּ
ְ אָרץ
ֶ ַלידֹוָד ָה
Notice rhyme. Notice parallelism, תבל=הארץ, יושבי בה=ומלואה. ארץmeans all of the land,
while תבל, a rarer noun, may refer to only the inhabited parts of the land. מלואהpoints to
everything on earth while ישבי בהrefers only to people and perhaps animals who dwell
on land. This is an example of intensification by going from general to specific.
:ֶה
ָ וְ ַעל נְ ָהרוֹת יְ כוֹנְ נ
ַמּים יְ ָס ָדהּ
ִ )ב( ִכּי הוּא ַעל י
The rhyme scheme is continued here. We also find parallelism, ועל נהרות=על ימים,
יכוננה=יסדה. In both this and the previous verse, the subject Hashem is only mentioned in
the first half and carried over to the second half as well. The first Pasuk which mentions
land complements the second Pasuk which mentions the sea. Hashem rules over land,
sea, and all that is in it.
:וּמי יָקוּם ִבּ ְמקוֹם ָק ְדשׁוֹ
ִ
ֲלה ְב ַהר יְ דֹוָד
ֶ )ג( ִמי ַיע
45
We now shift to ask a question similar to that in Mizmor 15. We find parallelism, ומי=מי,
יקום=יעלה, במקום קדשו=בהר ידוד. His holy place, referring to the Bet Mikdash, is more
specific that Hashem’s mountain.
וּבר ֵל ָבב
ַ
)ד( נְ ִקי ַכ ַפּיִ ם
:וְ לֹא נִ ְשׁ ַבּע ְל ִמ ְר ָמה
"ָשׂא ַל ָשּׁוְ א "נ ְַפ ִשׁי
ָ ֲא ֶשׁר לֹא נ
Four character traits are mentioned. The first two form a pair – both are two words long
and have similar meaning. ( נקיclean) = ( ברpure), לבב=כפיםboth are body parts. His
thoughts (the heart was believed to be the center of thought and feeling) and actions are
both good. The last two also form a semantic pair about not swearing falsely. The last
phrase goes a step further than the previous one since swearing in order to deceive
someone, למרמה, is worse than a false oath, לשוא, which may be harmless to others.
Notice the alliteration of ( שperhaps to hint to the sound of a sly snake). The Pasuk quotes
the person swearing who says “by my life…” Other manuscripts read נפשוwhich can
refer to people swearing by Hashem’s life.
:וּצ ָד ָקה ֵמ ֱאל ֵֹהי יִ ְשׁעוֹ
ְ
)ה( יִ ָשּׂא ְב ָר ָכה ֵמ ֵאת יְ דֹוָד
Parallelism: וצדקה=ברכה, מאלהי ישעו=מאת ידוד. The person with these good traits
receives blessing from Hashem. The second phrase intensifies the first using the rarer
צדקהin the sense of reward or success and referring to Hashem in the more poetic form,
“God of my salvation.”
:ֶיך ַי ֲעקֹב ֶס ָלה
ָ ְמ ַב ְק ֵשׁי ָפנ
)ו( זֶה דּוֹר דּ ְֹר ָשׁיו
Now the congregation of people wishing to enter respond, “This is the generation of
those who seek Him, those who seek Your face, [our name is] Jacob.” Notice alliteration
in דור דרשיו. How does this answer respond to the requirements listed by the
gatekeepers? The congregation can not say that they fulfill these requirements perfectly
since all humans are imperfect. However, he explains that they are sincerely trying to
seek the way of Hashem and would like to enjoy in His presence. Selah is a paragraph
break indicating a new subject.
:וְ יָבוֹא ֶמ ֶל ְך ַה ָכּבוֹד
עוֹלם
ָ ָשׂאוּ ִפּ ְת ֵחי
ְ וְ ִהנּ
יכם
ֶ אשׁ
ֵ )ז( ְשׂאוּ ְשׁ ָע ִרים ָר
Now the congregants request of the gates to raise their heads for the eternal doors to be
uplifted so that the King of glory can enter. Who is the King of glory? Obviously,
Hashem. But why is Hashem entering with them? Doesn’t he dwell in the Beit haMikdash
already? The entrance of Hashem can refer to the Aron which contain the Luchot being
carried into the Beit haMikdash. David brought the Aron to Jerusalem (2 Sam 6:12-15),
Shelomoh brought it into the newly built Bet haMikdash (1 Kings 8:1-11), and it was
often taken out during wartime and then brought back when the war was over (See
Bemidbar 10:35-36 and 1 Sam 4:3-7) . Notice the step up parallelism between each of the
three cola in this Pasuk. שאוin בנין קלbecomes הנשאוin בנין התפעל. שעריםbecomes the
more grand פתחי עולם. The last colon finally gives the purpose why the gates must open
and enlarge – so that the glorious King may enter.
:יְ דֹוָד ִגּבּוֹר ִמ ְל ָח ָמה
יְ דֹוָד ִעזּוּז וְ ִגבּוֹר
)ח( ִמי זֶה ֶמ ֶל ְך ַה ָכּבוֹד
The gatekeepers then ask, “Who is the King of Glory?” The congregation responds that it
is Hashem who is mighty and valiant, Hashem who is valiant in battle. The third colon
picks up on one word from the second, גבור, and expands it by repeating it and adding
another word. The reference to battle here tells us that this Mizmor was likely used when
returning the Aron from the battlefield.
:וְ ָיבֹא ֶמ ֶל ְך ַה ָכּבוֹד
עוֹלם
ָ וּשׂאוּ ִפּ ְת ֵחי
ְ
יכם
ֶ אשׁ
ֵ )ט( ְשׂאוּ ְשׁ ָע ִרים ָר
46
As part of this elaborate ceremony, the congregants repeat their request of the
gatekeepers.
:יְ דֹוָד ְצ ָבאוֹת הוּא ֶמ ֶל ְך ַה ָכּבוֹד ֶס ָלה
)י( ִמי הוּא זֶה ֶמ ֶל ְך ַה ָכּבוֹד
The gatekeepers again ask them to identify and describe the King. Now they respond
even more directly that it is the God of the hosts (of armies, of angels) who is the holy
king.
5. Summary & Unity of Mizmor
All three parts of this Mizmor can be explained as part of a ceremony taking place at the
entrance to the Bet Mikdash as the army returning from the battlefield brings that Aron
back to its place. The opening two Pesukim could be recited by the Leviim to declare that
Hashem owns the world, and certainly rules over the Beit haMikdash and therefore one
must ask permission before entering. In the second section, the returning army inquires
about the requirements for entrance, the Leviim respond, and the congregants once again
reaffirm their intention to enter and seek Hashem. In the final section, they request that
the gates open for the Aron. The Leviim ask who is the king in order to provoke an
elaborate ceremony in which Hashem’s might and greatness are celebrated.
6. Performance
Have three students stand at the head of the class to represent the Leviim gatekeepers.
The rest of the class will represent the congregation coming back form the battle with the
Aron. Have each group recite their appropriate part of the Mizmor as delineated in the
handout.
Performance of Mizmor 24
:ֵתּ ֵבל וְ י ְֹשׁ ֵבי ָבהּ
וּמלוֹאָהּ
ְ אָרץ
ֶ ַלידֹוָד ָה
:ֶה
ָ וְ ַעל נְ ָהרוֹת יְ כוֹנְ נ
)א( ְל ָדוִ ד ִמ ְזמוֹר
ַמּים יְ ָס ָדהּ
ִ )ב( ִכּי הוּא ַעל י
לויים
?וּמי יָקוּם ִבּ ְמקוֹם ָק ְדשׁוֹ
ִ
ֲלה ְב ַהר יְ דֹוָד
ֶ הקהל )ג( ִמי ַיע
וּבר ֵל ָבב
ַ
לויים )ד( נְ ִקי ַכ ַפּיִ ם
:וְ לֹא נִ ְשׁ ַבּע ְל ִמ ְר ָמה
ַפ ִשׁי
ְ ָשׂא ַל ָשּׁוְ א נ
ָ ֲא ֶשׁר לֹא נ
:וּצ ָד ָקה ֵמ ֱאל ֵֹהי יִ ְשׁעוֹ
ְ
)ה( יִ ָשּׂא ְב ָר ָכה ֵמ ֵאת יְ דֹוָד
הקהל )ו( זֶה דּוֹר >דרשו< דּ ְֹר ָשׁיו
יכם
ֶ אשׁ
ֵ )ז( ְשׂאוּ ְשׁ ָע ִרים ָר
?לויים )ח( ִמי זֶה ֶמ ֶל ְך ַה ָכּבוֹד
:יְ דֹוָד ִגּבּוֹר ִמ ְל ָח ָמה
יְ דֹוָד ִעזּוּז וְ ִגבּוֹר
הקהל
:וְ ָיבֹא ֶמ ֶל ְך ַה ָכּבוֹד
וֹלם
ָ וּשׂאוּ ִפּ ְת ֵחי ע
ְ
יכם
ֶ אשׁ
ֵ )ט( ְשׂאוּ ְשׁ ָע ִרים ָר
?לויים )י( ִמי הוּא זֶה ֶמ ֶל ְך ַה ָכּבוֹד
:יְ דֹוָד ְצ ָבאוֹת הוּא ֶמ ֶל ְך ַה ָכּבוֹד ֶס ָלה
הקהל
L10 - Performance - Source Sheet.doc
This Mizmor is recited by Sepharadim on Rosh haShanah at the end of the Tefillah. Each
of the three sections is related to Rosh haShanah. The first part on creation related to
Rosh haShanah as the day the world was created. The second part on judging the
character traits of those who wish to enter reflects Rosh haShanah as Yom haDin. The
last Pesukim which declare God as king are included in the מלכויותsection of Mussaf on
Rosh haShanah.
:וְ יָבוֹא ֶמ ֶל ְך ַה ָכּבוֹד
:ֶיך ַי ֲעקֹב ֶס ָלה
ָ ְמ ַב ְק ֵשׁי ָפנ
עוֹלם
ָ ָשׂאוּ ִפּ ְת ֵחי
ְ וְ ִהנּ
47
Further Discussion:
In Mizmorim 15 & 24 we saw that ethical laws are emphasized above ritual laws as
בין אדם לחבירו requirements for coming to the Beit haMikdash. The reason why only
Mizvot are emphasized in each of these Mizmorim may be related to a common theme
throughout Nach. The Neviim again and again speak out against people who cheat, lie,
and commit evil all year long and then bring a fancy sacrifice and think everything is
alright. They explain that Hashem does not need sacrifices and all and detests such
meaningless rituals. Rather, Hashem wants people to pray sincerely and do justice and
righteousness. The following sources are just a few examples.
Sacrifices Vs. Ethics
עמוס פרק ה
יכם:
יח ְבּ ַע ְצּר ֵֹת ֶ
אָר ַ
ֵיכם וְ לֹא ִ
אַס ִתּי ַחגּ ֶ
ֵאתי ָמ ְ
)כא( ָשׂנ ִ
אַבּיט:
יכם לֹא ִ
יא ֶ
יכם לֹא ֶא ְר ֶצה וְ ֶשׁ ֶלם ְמ ִר ֵ
וּמנְ ח ֵֹת ֶ
)כב( ִכּי ִאם ַתּעֲלוּ ִלי עֹלוֹת ִ
יך לֹא ֶא ְשׁ ָמע:
יך וְ ִז ְמ ַרת נְ ָב ֶל ָ
)כג( ָה ֵסר ֵמ ָע ַלי ֲהמוֹן ִשׁ ֶר ָ
יתן:
ַחל ֵא ָ
וּצ ָד ָקה ְכּנ ַ
)כד( וְ יִ גַּל ַכּ ַמּיִ ם ִמ ְשׁ ָפּט ְ
אַר ָבּ ִעים ָשׁנָה ֵבּית יִ ְשׂ ָר ֵאל:
ַשׁ ֶתּם ִלי ַב ִמּ ְד ָבּר ְ
וּמנְ ָחה ִהגּ ְ
)כה( ַה ְזּ ָב ִחים ִ
הושע פרק ו פסוק ו
ָבח וְ ַד ַעת ֱאל ִֹהים ֵמעֹלוֹת:
ִכּי ֶח ֶסד ָח ַפ ְצ ִתּי וְ לֹא ז ַ
ישעיהו פרק א
תּוּדים
וּכ ָב ִשׂים וְ ַע ִ
יאים וְ ַדם ָפּ ִרים ְ
ילים וְ ֵח ֶלב ְמ ִר ִ
ֹאמר יְ דֹוָד ָשׂ ַב ְע ִתּי עֹלוֹת ֵא ִ
יכם י ַ
)יא( ָל ָמּה ִלּי רֹב ִז ְב ֵח ֶ
לֹא ָח ָפ ְצ ִתּי:
ֶד ֶכם ְרמֹס ֲח ֵצ ָרי :
)יב( ִכּי ָתבֹאוּ ֵל ָראוֹת ָפּנָי ִמי ִב ֵקּשׁ זֹאת ִמיּ ְ
ֲצ ָרה:
אוּכל אָוֶן ַוע ָ
תּוֹע ָבה ִהיא ִלי ח ֶֹדשׁ וְ ַשׁ ָבּת ְקרֹא ִמ ְק ָרא לֹא ַ
תוֹסיפוּ ָה ִביא ִמנְ ַחת ָשׁוְ א ְקט ֶֹרת ֵ
)יג( לֹא ִ
יתי נְ שֹׂא:
ַפ ִשׁי ָהיוּ ָע ַלי ָלט ַֹרח נִ ְל ֵא ִ
יכם ָשׂנְ אָה נ ְ
ֲד ֶ
יכם וּמוֹע ֵ
)יד( ָח ְד ֵשׁ ֶ
יכם ָדּ ִמים ָמ ֵלאוּ:
אַע ִלים ֵעינַי ִמ ֶכּם גַּם ִכּי ַת ְרבּוּ ְת ִפ ָלּה ֵאינֶנִּ י שׁ ֵֹמ ַע יְ ֵד ֶ
יכם ְ
וּב ָפ ִר ְשׂ ֶכם ַכּ ֵפּ ֶ
)טו( ְ
יכם ִמ ֶנּגֶד ֵעינָי ִח ְדלוּ ָה ֵר ַע:
)טז( ַר ֲחצוּ ִהזַּכּוּ ָה ִסירוּ ר ַֹע ַמ ַע ְל ֵל ֶ
אַל ָמנָה:
אַשּׁרוּ ָחמוֹץ ִשׁ ְפטוּ יָתוֹם ִריבוּ ְ
יטב ִדּ ְרשׁוּ ִמ ְשׁ ָפּט ְ
)יז( ִל ְמדוּ ֵה ֵ
תהלים פרק נ
יך ְלנ ְֶג ִדּי ָת ִמיד:
יח ָך וְ עוֹל ֶֹת ָ
אוֹכ ֶ
יך ִ
)ח( לֹא ַעל ְז ָב ֶח ָ
תּוּדים:
יך ַע ִ
ית ָך ָפר ִמ ִמּ ְכ ְלא ֶֹת ָ
)ט( לֹא ֶא ַקּח ִמ ֵבּ ְ
אָלף:
ָער ְבּ ֵהמוֹת ְבּ ַה ְר ֵרי ֶ
)י( ִכּי ִלי ָכל ַחיְ תוֹ י ַ
ָד ְע ִתּי ָכּל עוֹף ָה ִרים וְ ִזיז ָשׂ ַדי ִע ָמּ ִדי:
)יא( י ַ
וּמלֹאָהּ:
)יב( ִאם ֶא ְר ַעב לֹא א ַֹמר ָל ְך ִכּי ִלי ֵת ֵבל ְ
תּוּדים ֶא ְשׁ ֶתּה:
ירים וְ ַדם ַע ִ
אַבּ ִ
אוֹכל ְבּ ַשׂר ִ
)יג( ַה ַ
יך:
תּוֹדה וְ ַשׁ ֵלּם ְל ֶע ְליוֹן נְ ָד ֶר ָ
)יד( ְז ַבח ֵלאל ִֹהים ָ
וּת ַכ ְבּ ֵדנִ י:
וּק ָר ֵאנִ י ְבּיוֹם ָצ ָרה ֲא ַח ֶלּ ְצ ָך ְ
)טו( ְ
יך:
ֲלי ִפ ָ
יתי ע ֵ
ַתּ ָשּׂא ְב ִר ִ
אָמר ֱאל ִֹהים ַמה ְלּ ָך ְל ַס ֵפּר ֻח ָקּי ו ִ
)טז( וְ ָל ָר ָשׁע ַ
יך:
אַח ֶר ָ
ַתּ ְשׁ ֵל ְך ְדּ ָב ַרי ֲ
מוּסר ו ַ
ֵאת ָ
אַתּה ָשׂנ ָ
)יז( וְ ָ
ָא ִפים ֶח ְל ֶק ָך:
ַתּ ֶרץ ִעמּוֹ וְ ִעם ְמנ ֲ
ית ַגנָּב ו ִ
)יח( ִאם ָר ִא ָ
וּלשׁוֹנְ ָך ַתּ ְצ ִמיד ִמ ְר ָמה:
יך ָשׁ ַל ְח ָתּ ְב ָר ָעה ְ
)יט( ִפּ ָ
יך ְת ַד ֵבּר ְבּ ֶבן ִא ְמּ ָך ִתּ ֶתּן דּ ִֹפי:
אָח ָ
)כ( ֵתּ ֵשׁב ְבּ ִ
L10 - Sacrifices Vs Ethics - Source Sheet.doc
Mizmorim 15 and 24 tell the visitors to the Bet haMikdash, who often come with animals
to sacrifice, that they are only welcome to seek Hashem if they are upstanding in their
moral activity towards their fellow human beings. Can you think of any modern
?applications of this message
Bibliography:
Sarna, Nahum. On the Book of Psalms: Exploring the Prayers of Ancient Israel. New
York: Schocken Books, 1985, pp. 121-135.
48
Lesson 11 – Introduction to Hallel
Goal:
Students will be able to locate Hallel within Tehillim, list the days on which we recite
Hallel, describe the way Hallel was performed antiphonically and how the Leviim
coordinated reciting Hallel with Korban Pesah, and explain how we know that Mizmorim
113-118 form one unit.
Activity:
1. Have students skim Mizmorim 113 to 118 to see that Hallel comes from Tehillim.
Noticed that only Mizmor 113 has a heading – – הללויהwhile the rest have no heading.
When a Mizmor has no heading, it is often an indication that it is connected to the
previous Mizmor. This is a first sign that these Mizmorim are part of a unit. What themes
run throughout these six Mizmorim? They all praise Hashem for saving us from
suffering. (Mizmor 119 also has no heading but its subject matter, praise of Torah, is
different from that of the previous Mizmorim.)
2. When do we say Halel? Students should remember from synagogue days on which full
and half Hallel are recited. Why don’t we say Hallel on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur?
Even thought these are holidays, they are also serious days of judgment on which Hallel
is not appropriate (See Bavli Arachin 10a-b). Why we do say Hallel on Hanuka but not
on Purim? See the answer given in the Gemara. Another explanation is that we only
recite Hallel on Shalosh Regalim. However, according to the book of Maccabbees, the
Maccabbees were not able to celebrate Sukkoth during the war because they had to hide
in caves. They therefore celebrated Hanukah as a substitute for Sukkoth. We
commemorate this by reciting Hallel on the eight days of Hannukah just as we do on the
eight days of Sukkoth:
II Maccabees 10:6
They celebrated it for eight days with rejoicing, in the manner of the festival
of booths, remembering how not long before, during the festival of booths, they had
been wandering in the mountains and caves like wild animals. 7Therefore, carrying ivywreathed wands and beautiful branches and also fronds of palm, they offered hymns of
thanksgiving to him who had given success to the purifying of his own holy
place. 8They decreed by public edict, ratified by vote, that the whole nation of the Jews
should observe these days every year.
Why don’t we say Hallel on the last six days of Pesah? The Gemara in Arachin explains
that we only say Hallel when there is a different number of Korbanot. Each day of
Sukkoth has a different number of Korbanot but each day of Pesah remains the same. The
Midrash gives another, more inspiring, reason. We should not sing when people are
suffering and dying, even if they are our enemies who tried to kill us. Why not? How can
we apply this lesson to current events?
49
Hallel in the Prayers
?When do we say full Hallel
רמב"ם הלכות מגילה וחנוכה פרק ג הלכה ו-ז
ושמונה עשר יום בשנה מצוה לגמור בהן את ההלל ,ואלו הן :שמונת ימי החג ,ושמונת ימי חנוכה,
וראשון של פסח ויום עצרת ,אבל ראש השנה ויום הכפורים אין בהן הלל לפי שהן ימי תשובה ויראה
ופחד לא ימי שמחה יתירה ,ולא תקנו הלל בפורים שקריאת המגילה היא ההלל.
מקומות שעושין ימים טובים שני ימים גומרין את ההלל באחד ועשרים יום ,בתשעת ימי החג ,ושמונת
ימי חנוכה ,ושני ימים של פסח ,ושני ימים של עצרת ,אבל בראשי חדשים קריאת ההלל מנהג ואינה
מצוה ,ומנהג זה בצבור לפיכך קוראין בדילוג.
?Why don’t we say full Hallel on the last six days of Pesah
תלמוד בבלי מסכת סנהדרין דף לט עמוד ב
דאמר רבי שמואל בר נחמן אמר רבי יונתן :מאי דכתיב ) שמות י"ד( ולא קרב זה אל זה כל הלילה,
באותה שעה בקשו מלאכי השרת לומר שירה לפני הקדוש ברוך הוא ,אמר להן הקדוש ברוך הוא:
מעשה ידי טובעין בים ואתם אומרים שירה לפני?
פסיקתא דרב כהנא נספחים פרשה ב ד"ה ושמחת בחגיך
וכן את מוצא כל שבעת ימי החג אנו קורין בהן את ההלל ,אבל בפסח אין אנו קורין בהן את ההלל
אלא ביום טוב הראשון ולילו ,למה ,כדאמר שמואל בנפול אויביך אל תשמח )משלי כד :יז( .
How the Leviim repeated Hallel while the Kohanim slaughtered the Pesah sacrifices.
משנה מסכת פסחים פרק ה משניות ה-ז
הפסח נשחט בשלש כתות שנאמר ) שמות יב( ושחטו אותו כל קהל עדת ישראל קהל ועדה וישראל
נכנסה כת הראשונה נתמלאת העזרה נעלו דלתות העזרה תקעו הריעו ותקעו...יצתה כת ראשונה
ונכנסה כת שניה יצתה שניה נכנסה שלישית כמעשה הראשונה כך מעשה השניה והשלישית קראו את
ההלל אם גמרו שנו ואם שנו שלשו אף על פי שלא שלשו מימיהם רבי יהודה אומר מימיהם של כת
שלישית לא הגיע לאהבתי כי ישמע ה' מפני שעמה מועטין:
How the Hallel was recited.
רמב"ם הלכות מגילה וחנוכה פרק ג
הלכה יב -מנהג קריאת ההלל בימי חכמים הראשונים כך היה ,אחר שמברך הגדול שמקרא את
ההלל מתחיל ואומר הללויה וכל העם עונין הללויה וחוזר ואומר הללו עבדי ה' וכל העם עונין הללויה
וחוזר ואומר הללו את שם ה' וכל העם עונין הללויה וחוזר ואומר יהי שם ה' מבורך מעתה ועד עולם
וכל העם עונין הללויה וכן על כל דבר ,עד שנמצאו עונין בכל ההלל הללויה מאה ושלש ועשרים פעמים
סימן להם שנותיו של אהרן.
הלכה יג -וכן כשהקורא מגיע לראש כל פרק ופרק הן חוזרין ואומרין מה שאמר ,כיצד כשהוא אומר
בצאת ישראל ממצרים כל העם חוזרין ואומרין בצאת ישראל ממצרים ,והקורא אומר בית יעקב מעם
לועז וכל העם עונין הללויה עד שיאמר אהבתי כי ישמע ה' את קולי תחנוני וכל העם חוזרין ואומרין
אהבתי כי ישמע ה' וכו' ,וכן כשיאמר הקורא הללו את ה' כל גוים כל העם חוזרין ואומרין הללו את
ה' כל גוים.
הלכה יד -הקורא אומר אנא ה' הושיעה נא והן עונין אחריו אנא ה' הושיעה נא ,אע"פ שאינו ראש
פרק ,הוא אומר אנא ה' הצליחה נא והן עונין ] אחריו[ אנא ה' הצליחה נא ,הוא אומר ברוך הבא וכל
העם אומרים בשם ה' ,ואם היה המקרא את ההלל קטן או עבד או אשה עונה אחריהם מה שהן
אומרין מלה מלה בכל ההלל .זה הוא המנהג הראשון ובו ראוי לילך ,אבל בזמנים אלו ראיתי בכל
המקומות מנהגות משונות בקריאתו ובעניית העם ואין אחד מהם דומה לאחר.
L11 - Hallel in the Prayers - Source Sheet.doc
50
2. Performance
Read the Mishnah about how the Leviim would repeat the Hallel during each of the three
shifts of Pesah sacrifices. Then read the Rambam about how the Hazan should interact
with the congregation during Hallel. How do you think it should be said? How do you say
Hallel in your shul?
3. Structure
Mizmor 115:9-11 contains a repeating refrain where only one element is changed from
one Pasuk to the next. First it says, “Israel, trust in the LORD! He is their help and shield.”
Then the subject become more narrow with “House of Aaron” and finally “Those who
fear Hashem.” If we look ahead to Mizmor 118:2-4, we find a similar progression also
within the context of a repeating refrain. First it says “Let Israel declare, ‘His steadfast
love is eternal.’” Then Israel is once again replaced by “House of Aaron” and “Those
who fear Hashem.” These two sections obviously correspond to each other. If we count
the number of words from the beginning of Hallel until the fist section we find 171
words, excluding the word הללויהwhich is a heading and coda for Mizmor 113 but not an
integral part of the Mizmor. When we count from the end of Hallel backwards to the
second refrain we also find 171 words. It is very improbable that this could be just a
coincidence. Rather, it shows that the entire Hallel is one carefully authored unit. These
repeating refrain stand like two pillars of the structure. These pillars encapsulate the main
message of Hallel. We praise Hashem because He is our help and shiled and His love is
eternal.
Bibliography:
Jacob Bazak, Numeric Structures in the Psalms (Jerusalem: Rubin Mass, 1999), 35-38.
51
Structure of Hallel: Mizmorim 113-118
תהילים פרק קיג
)א( ) ַהלְלוּיָהּ( ַהלְלוּ ַע ְבדֵי יְהֹוָה ַהלְלוּ אֶת ֵשׁם יְהֹ וָה) :ב( יְהִי ֵשׁם יְהֹוָה מְבֹ ָר ְך ֵמ ַעתָּה וְעַד עוֹלָם) :ג( ִמ ִמּזְרַח ֶשׁמֶשׁ
ָשׁבֶת:
ַשּׁ ַמיִם כְּבוֹדוֹ) :ה( מִי כַּיהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ ַה ַמּגְבִּיהִי ל ָ
עַד מְבוֹאוֹ ְמ ֻהלָּל ֵשׁם יְהֹוָה) :ד( רָם עַל כָּל גּוֹיִם יְהֹוָה עַל ה ָ
ַשּׁ ַמיִם וּבָאָרֶץ) :ז( ְמקִימִי ֵמ ָעפָר דָּל מ ְ
ַשׁפִּילִי ִל רְאוֹת בּ ָ
ְהוֹשׁיבִי עִם נְדִיבִים עִם נְדִיבֵי
ֵאַשׁפֹּת יָרִים ֶאבְיוֹן) :ח( ל ִ
)ו( ַהמּ ְ
מוֹשׁיבִי ֲע ֶקרֶת ַה ַבּיִת אֵם ַה ָבּנִים ְשׂ ֵמחָה ) ַהלְלוּיָהּ(:
עַמּוֹ) :ט( ִ
תהילים פרק קיד
ְשׁלוֹתָיו) :ג( ַהיָּם רָאָה וַיָּנֹס
)א( ְבּצֵאת י ְ
ִשׂ ָראֵל ַממ ְ
ִשׂ ָראֵל ִמ ִמּ ְצ ָר יִם בֵּית יַעֲקֹב ֵמעַם לֹעֵז) :ב( ָהיְתָה יְהוּדָה ְל ָקדְשׁוֹ י ְ
ַהיַּ ְרדֵּן יִסֹּב לְאָחוֹר) :ד( ֶה ָהרִים ָרקְדוּ ְכאֵילִים גְּבָעוֹת ִכּ ְבנֵי צֹאן) :ה( מַה ְלּ ָך ַהיָּם כִּי תָנוּס ַהיַּ ְרדֵּן תִּסֹּב לְאָחוֹר) :ו(
ֶה ָהרִים ִתּ ְרקְדוּ ְכאֵילִים גְּבָעוֹת ִכּ ְבנֵי צֹאן) :ז( ִמ ִלּ ְפנֵי אָדוֹן חוּלִי אָרֶץ ִמ ִלּ ְפנֵי אֱלוֹ ַהּ יַעֲקֹב) :ח( הַהֹ ְפכִי הַצּוּר ֲאגַם ָמיִם
ַח ָלּמִישׁ ְל ַמ ְעיְנוֹ ָמיִם:
תהילים פרק קטו
ְשׁ ְמ ָך תֵּן כָּבוֹד עַל ַח ְס ְדּ ָך עַל ֲא ִמ ֶתּךָ ) :ב( ָלמָּה יֹאמְרוּ הַגּוֹיִם אַיֵּה נָא אֱלֹהֵיהֶם) :ג(
)א( לֹא לָנוּ יְהֹוָה לֹא לָנוּ כִּי ל ִ
ֲשׂה יְדֵי אָדָם) :ה( פֶּה ָלהֶם וְלֹא יְַדבֵּרוּ עֵינַיִם ָלהֶם
ָשׂה) :ד( ַע ַצבֵּיהֶם ֶכּסֶף וְזָהָב ַמע ֵ
ֲשׁר ָחפֵץ ע ָ
ַשּׁ ָמיִם כֹּל א ֶ
וֵאלֹהֵינוּ ב ָ
ִשׁמָעוּ אַף ָלהֶם וְלֹא יְרִיחוּן) :ז( יְדֵיהֶם וְלֹא יְמִישׁוּן ַרְגלֵיהֶם וְלֹא יְ ַהלֵּכוּ לֹא יֶהְגּוּ
וְלֹא יִרְאוּ) :ו( אָזְנַיִם ָלהֶם וְלֹא י ְ
ֲשׁר בֹּ ֵט ַח ָבּהֶם:
עֹשׂיהֶם כֹּל א ֶ
ִבּגְרוֹנָם) :ח( כְּמוֹהֶם יִהְיוּ ֵ
171 words
25 Pesukim
ְבּטַח בַּיהֹוָה ֶע זְרָם וּ ָמִגנָּם הוּא:
ִשׂ ָראֵל
)ט( י ְ
)י( בֵּית אַהֲרֹן ִבּטְחוּ בַיהֹוָה ֶעזְרָם וּ ָמִגנָּם הוּא:
)יא( יִ ְראֵי יְהֹוָה ִבּטְחוּ בַיהֹוָה ֶעזְרָם וּ ָמִגנָּם הוּא:
20 words
3 Pesukim
ִשׂ ָראֵל יְָב ֵר ְך אֶת בֵּית אַהֲרֹן) :יג( יְָב ֵר ְך יִ ְראֵי יְהֹוָה ַה ְקּ ַטנִּים עִם ַהגְּדֹלִים) :יד(
)יב( יְהֹוָה זְ ָכרָנוּ יְָב ֵר ְך יְָב ֵר ְך אֶת בֵּית י ְ
ַשּׁ ַמיִם ָשׁ ַמיִם לַיהֹוָה
עֹשׂה ָשׁ ַמיִם וָאָרֶץ) :טז( ה ָ
יֹסֵף יְהֹוָה ֲעלֵיכֶם ֲעלֵיכֶם וְעַל ְבּנֵיכֶם) :טו( בְּרוּכִים אַתֶּם לַיהֹוָה ֵ
וְהָאָרֶץ נָתַן ִל ְבנֵי אָדָם) :יז( לֹא ַה ֵמּתִים יְ ַהלְלוּ יָהּ וְלֹא כָּל יֹ ְרדֵי דוּמָה ) :יח( וַ ֲאנַחְנוּ נְ ָב ֵר ְך יָהּ ֵמ ַעתָּה וְעַד עוֹלָם ) ַהלְלוּ
יָהּ(:
תהילים פרק קטז
ִשׁמַע יְהֹוָה אֶת קוֹלִי ַתּחֲנוּנָי) :ב( כִּי ִהטָּה אָזְנוֹ לִי וּ ְביָמַי ֶא ְקרָא) :ג( ֲאפָפוּנִי ֶח ְבלֵי ָמוֶת וּ ְמ ָצ רֵי ְשׁאוֹל
)א( אָ ַה ְבתִּי כִּי י ְ
ְשׁי) :ה( חַנּוּן יְהֹוָה וְ ַצדִּיק וֵאלֹהֵינוּ ְמ ַרחֵם) :ו(
ְשׁם יְהֹוָה ֶא ְקרָא אָנָּה יְהֹוָה ַמ ְלּטָה נַפ ִ
ְמצָאוּנִי ָצרָה וְיָגוֹן ֶא ְמצָא) :ד( וּב ֵ
ְשׁי ִמ ָמּוֶת אֶת
ְשׁי ִלמְנוּ ָחיְכִי כִּי יְהֹוָה גָּמַל ָע ָליְכִי) :ח( כִּי ִח ַלּ ְצ ָתּ נַפ ִ
ְהוֹשׁיעַ) :ז( שׁוּבִי נַפ ִ
שֹׁמֵר ְפּתָאיִם יְהֹוָה דַּלֹּתִי וְלִי י ִ
עֵינִי מִן ִדּ ְמעָה אֶת ַרְגלִי ִמ ֶדּחִי) :ט( ֶא ְת ַה ֵלּ ְך ִל ְפנֵי יְהֹוָה בְּאַרְצוֹת ַה ַח יִּים) :י( ֶה ֱא ַמנְתִּי כִּי ֲא ַדבֵּר ֲאנִי ָענִיתִי מְאֹד) :יא(
ְשׁם יְהֹוָה
ֶשּׂא וּב ֵ
אָשׁיב לַיהֹוָה כָּל ַתּגְמוּלוֹהִי ָעלָי) :יג( כּוֹס יְשׁוּעוֹת א ָ
ֲאנִי אָ ַמ ְרתִּי ְב ָח ְפזִי כָּל הָאָדָם כֹּזֵב) :יב( מָה ִ
ֲשׁלֵּם נֶ ְגדָה נָּא ְלכָל עַמּוֹ) :טו( יָקָר ְבּעֵינֵי יְהֹוָה ַה ָמּוְתָה ַל ֲחסִידָיו) :טז( אָנָּה יְהֹוָה כִּי ֲאנִי
ֶא ְקרָא) :יד( נְָדרַי לַיהֹוָה א ַ
ֲשׁלֵּם נְֶגדָה
ְשׁם יְהֹוָה ֶא ְקרָא) :יח( נְָדרַי לַיהֹוָה א ַ
ַע ְב ֶדּ ָך אַנִי ַע ְב ְדּ ָך בֶּן ֲא ָמ ֶת ָך ִפּ ַתּ ְח ָתּ לְמוֹ ֵסרָי) :יז( ְל ָך ֶאזְבַּח זֶבַח תּוֹדָה וּב ֵ
ְרוּשׁלִָם ) ַהלְלוּ יָהּ(:
נָּא ְלכָל עַמּוֹ) :יט( ְבּ ַחצְרוֹת בֵּית יְהֹוָה בְּתוֹ ֵככִי י ָ
תהילים פרק קיז
)א( ַהלְלוּ אֶת יְהֹוָה כָּל גּוֹיִם ַשׁבְּחוּהוּ כָּל ָה ֻאמִּים) :ב( כִּי גָבַר ָעלֵינוּ ַחסְדּוֹ וֶ ֱאמֶת יְהֹוָה לְעוֹלָם) ַהלְלוּיָהּ(:
תהילים פרק קיח
)א( הוֹדוּ לַיהֹוָה כִּי טוֹב כִּי לְעוֹלָם ַחסְדּוֹ:
ִשׂ ָראֵל כִּי לְעוֹלָם ַחסְדּוֹ:
יְ
)ב( יֹאמַר נָא
)ג( יֹאמְרוּ נָא בֵית אַהֲרֹן כִּי לְעוֹלָם ַחסְדּוֹ:
)ד( יֹאמְרוּ נָא יִ ְראֵי יְהֹוָה כִּי לְעוֹלָם ַחסְדּוֹ:
ֲשׂה לִי אָדָם) :ז( יְהֹוָה לִי בְּעֹזְרָי וַ ֲאנִי ֶא ְראֶה
)ה( מִן ַה ֵמּצַר ָקרָאתִי יָּהּ ָענָנִי ַב ֶמּ ְרחָב יָהּ) :ו( יְהֹוָה לִי לֹא אִירָא מַה יַּע ֶ
ְשׁם
בְשׂנְאָי) :ח( טוֹב ַלחֲסוֹת בַּיהֹוָה ִמבְּטֹ ַח בָּאָדָם) :ט( טוֹב ַלחֲסוֹת בַּיהֹוָה ִמבְּטֹ ַח ִבּנְדִיבִים) :י( כָּל גּוֹיִם ְסבָבוּנִי בּ ֵ
ְשׁם יְהֹוָה
ְשׁם יְהֹוָה כִּי ֲאמִילַם) :יב( סַבּוּנִי ִכדְבוֹרִים דֹּעֲכוּ ְכּאֵשׁ קוֹצִים בּ ֵ
יְהֹוָה כִּי ֲאמִילַם) :יא( סַבּוּנִי גַם ְסבָבוּנִי בּ ֵ
כִּי ֲאמִילַם) :יג( דַּחֹה ְדחִי ַתנִי ִלנְפֹּל וַיהֹוָה ֲעזָ ָרנִי) :יד( ָעזִּי וְזִ ְמרָת יָהּ וַיְהִי לִי לִישׁוּעָה) :טו( קוֹל ִרנָּה וִישׁוּעָה בְּאָ ֳהלֵי
עֹשׂה ָחיִל) :טז( יְמִין יְהֹוָה רוֹ ֵממָה יְמִין יְהֹוָה ָ
ַצדִּיקִים יְמִין יְהֹוָה ָ
ֲשׂי
עֹשׂה ָחיִל) :יז( לֹא אָמוּת כִּי ֶא ְחיֶה וַ ֲא ַספֵּר ַמע ֵ
יָהּ) :יח( יַסֹּר יִ ְסּ ַרנִּי יָּהּ וְ ַל ָמּוֶת לֹא נְ ָתנָנִי) :יט( ִפּתְחוּ לִי ַשׁ ֲערֵי ֶצדֶק אָבֹא בָם אוֹדֶה יָהּ:
ַשּׁעַר לַיהֹוָה
) כ( זֶה ה ַ
ַצדִּיקִים יָבֹאוּ בוֹ) :כא( אוֹ ְד ָך כִּי ֲענִי ָתנִי וַ ְתּהִי לִי לִישׁוּעָה) :כב( ֶאבֶן ָמאֲסוּ הַבּוֹנִים ָהיְתָה לְרֹאשׁ ִפּנָּה:
)כג( ֵמאֵת
הוֹשׁיעָה נָּא אָנָּא
ִשׂ ְמחָה בוֹ) :כה( אָנָּא יְהֹוָה ִ
ָשׂה יְהֹוָה נָגִילָה וְנ ְ
יְהֹוָה ָהיְתָה זֹּאת הִיא נִ ְפלָאת ְבּעֵינֵינוּ) :כד( זֶה הַיּוֹם ע ָ
ְשׁם יְהֹוָה ֵבּ ַרכְנוּכֶם ִמבֵּית יְהֹוָה) :כז( אֵל יְהֹוָה וַיָּאֶר לָנוּ ִאסְרוּ חַג ַבּעֲבֹתִים עַד
יְהֹוָה ַה ְצלִיחָה נָּא) :כו( בָּרוּ ְך ַהבָּא בּ ֵ
ַקרְנוֹת ַה ִמּזְ ֵבּחַ) :כח( ֵאלִי אַתָּה וְאוֹ ֶד ָךּ אֱלֹהַי אֲרוֹ ְמ ֶמךָּ) :כט( הוֹדוּ לַיהֹוָה כִּי טוֹב כִּי לְעוֹלָם ַחסְדּוֹ:
L11 - Structure - Summary Sheet.doc
52
201 words
29 Pesukim
20 words
3 Pesukim
171 words
25 Pesukim
Lesson 12 – Mizmor 114: Learning From History
Goal:
Students will be able to identify historical events mentioned in Mizmor 114 and explain
why the Mizmor chose those events, how it recasts them, and how they contribute to the
message of the Mizmor. Students should also be able to point out elision and parallelism
in each Pasuk.
Activity:
1. As a Do Now, ask students to add punctuation to Mizmor 114. They can use pencil in
their Tanakhim or use this handout. Then ask them to list all of the historical events that
are mentioned in the Mizmor and try to find the Pesukim in Humash or Neviim where
those events occur.
Worksheet for Mizmor 114
1. Add Punctuation Marks to Mizmor 114:
תהילים פרק קיד
)א( ְבּ ֵצאת יִ ְשׂ ָר ֵאל ִמ ִמּ ְצ ָריִ ם ֵבּית ַי ֲעקֹב ֵמ ַעם ל ֵֹעז
לוֹתיו
ָ הוּדה ְל ָק ְדשׁוֹ יִ ְשׂ ָר ֵאל ַמ ְמ ְשׁ
ָ ְ)ב( ָהיְ ָתה י
ַר ֵדּן יִ סֹּב ְלאָחוֹר
ְ )ג( ַהיָּם ָראָה ַו ָיּנֹס ַהיּ
ילים גְּ ָבעוֹת ִכּ ְבנֵי צֹאן
ִ )ד( ֶה ָה ִרים ָר ְקדוּ ְכ ֵא
ַר ֵדּן ִתּסֹּב ְלאָחוֹר
ְ )ה( ַמה ְלּ ָך ַהיָּם ִכּי ָתנוּס ַהיּ
ילים גְּ ָבעוֹת ִכּ ְבנֵי צֹאן
ִ )ו( ֶה ָה ִרים ִתּ ְר ְקדוּ ְכ ֵא
לוֹהּ ַי ֲעקֹב
ַ אָרץ ִמ ִלּ ְפנֵי ֱא
ֶ חוּלי
ִ )ז( ִמ ִלּ ְפנֵי אָדוֹן
)ח( ַהה ְֹפ ִכי ַהצּוּר ֲאגַם ָמיִ ם ַח ָלּ ִמישׁ ְל ַמ ְעיְ נוֹ ָמיִ ם
2. Fill in this chart by listing the historical events mentioned in Mizmor 114
and searching for the Pesukim in Humash or Neviim where those events are
recounted.
Mizmor 114
Original Story
L12 - Punctuation - Worksheet.doc
53
Ask a student to read the Mizmor with emphasis on the punctuation. If that student made
a mistake (like reading Pesukim 5-6 as a statement rather than as a question) have another
student try again. They should find that each pair of Pesukim forms a complete sentence
such that we can break down the Mizmor into four parts: 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8.
,] ְבּ ֵצאת[ ֵבּית ַי ֲעקֹב ֵמ ַעם ל ֵֹעז
.לוֹתיו
ָ ] ָהיְ ָתה[ יִ ְשׂ ָר ֵאל ַמ ְמ ְשׁ
,)א( ְבּ ֵצאת יִ ְשׂ ָר ֵאל ִמ ִמּ ְצ ָריִ ם
,הוּדה ְל ָק ְדשׁוֹ
ָ ְ)ב( ָהיְ ָתה י
,ַר ֵדּן ] ָראָה ַו[יִ סֹּב ְלאָחוֹר
ְ ַהיּ
.ְגּ ָבעוֹת ] ָר ְקדוּ[ ִכּ ְבנֵי צֹאן
,)ג( ַהיָּם ָראָה ַו ָיּנֹס
,ילים
ִ )ד( ֶה ָה ִרים ָר ְקדוּ ְכ ֵא
,ַר ֵדּן ִתּסֹּב ְלאָחוֹר
ְ ] ַמה ְלּ ָך[ ַהיּ
?ְגּ ָבעוֹת ] ִתּ ְר ְקדוּ[ ִכּ ְבנֵי צֹאן
,)ה( ַמה ְלּ ָך ַהיָּם ִכּי ָתנוּס
,ילים
ִ )ו( ֶה ָה ִרים ִתּ ְר ְקדוּ ְכ ֵא
- [אָרץ
ֶ חוּלי
ִ ] לוֹהּ ַי ֲעקֹב
ַ ִמ ִלּ ְפנֵי ֱא
.] ַהה ְֹפ ִכי[ ַח ָלּ ִמישׁ ְל ַמ ְעיְ נוֹ ָמיִ ם
,אָרץ
ֶ חוּלי
ִ )ז( ִמ ִלּ ְפנֵי אָדוֹן
,)ח( ַהה ְֹפ ִכי ַהצּוּר ֲאגַם ָמיִ ם
3. Going around the room, have students read, translate, and analyze each Pasuk looking
for parallelism and other poetic devices. Point out the following:
Pasuk 1 – The word בצאתapplies to the second half as well even though it does not
appear there. We have placed it in brackets above to indicate this continuation of
meaning. When a word is omitted while its meaning is assumed this is called elision.
בית יעקב=ישראל, a step up from one word to two words; מעם לעז=ממצרים, again one word to
two words. The second term is more poetic than the first. “Egypt” is the objective name
of the oppressor while “a foreign nation” represents our subjective judgment of them. It
emphasizes how Israel never felt at home in Egypt and were always treated as outsiders.
By eliding בצאתand then adding more words in the second half, the Pasuk remains
metrically balanced.
Pasuk 2 – This Pasuk continues the sentence begun in Pasuk 1:
When Israel left, then… היתהis elided in the second half. The anachronistic parallelism of
יהודהto ישראלreflects a later time when Judah takes leadership over the Southern
Kingdom, and eventually comes to represent the entire nation (which is why we are
called Jews). ממשלותיו=קדשו. Notice that the referent of pronoun in “His holy” and “His
dominion” is unclear since God was not previously mentioned in this Mizmor. Why isn’t
God mentioned at the beginning? The Mizmor purposely keeps us in suspense as we will
see. Pasuk 1 contains ישראלin its first half and Pasuk 2 has ישראלin its second half thus
forming an envelope and indicating that these two Pesukim are one section. Both of these
Pesukim borrow ideas and words from Shemot 19:1-6.
Pasuk 3 – ויסב לאחור=וינס- one word is replaced by two and “turning backwards” is more
descriptive than “fleeing.” הירדן=היםthese refer to the two times in history when a river
was split so the people could go through (see chart). Why do the rivers split in the story
as told in Shemot and Yehoshua? Because Bnei Yisrael needed to get to the other side.
Splitting of the sea had a functional goal. Why does the sea split in this Mizmor? Because
they are afraid of Hashem. The waters are personified and given emotions. ראהis elided
in the second half. What did the sea see? We assume it is Hashem, but why is this not said
explicitly? It is as if we are hearing only one side of the conversation or seeing someone’s
reaction to something without knowing what he is experiencing. This omission raises our
curiosity to know from what the water is running away and further keeps us in suspense.
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References to Humash-Neviim in Mizmor 114
שמות פרק יט
תהילים מזמור קיד
ישׁי ְל ֵצאת ְבּנֵי יִ ְשׂ ָר ֵאל ֵמ ֶא ֶרץ
)א( ְבּ ֵצאת יִ ְשׂ ָר ֵאל ִמ ִמּ ְצ ָריִ ם ֵבּית ַי ֲעקֹב ֵמ ַעם ל ֵֹעז) :א( ַבּח ֶֹדשׁ ַה ְשּׁ ִל ִ
ִמ ְצ ָריִ ם ַבּיּוֹם ַהזֶּה ָבּאוּ ִמ ְד ַבּר ִסינָי:
ַחנוּ
ידים ַו ָיּבֹאוּ ִמ ְד ַבּר ִסינַי ַויּ ֲ
)ב( וַיִּ ְסעוּ ֵמ ְר ִפ ִ
ַבּ ִמּ ְד ָבּר וַיִּ ַחן ָשׁם יִ ְשׂ ָר ֵאל ֶנגֶד ָה ָהר:
)ג( וּמ ֶֹשׁה ָע ָלה ֶאל ָה ֱאל ִֹהים וַיִּ ְק ָרא ֵא ָליו יְ דֹוָד ִמן
ֹאמר ְל ֵבית ַי ֲעקֹב וְ ַתגֵּיד ִל ְבנֵי
ָה ָהר ֵלאמֹר כֹּה ת ַ
יִ ְשׂ ָר ֵאל:
ָא ָשּׂא
יתי ְל ִמ ְצ ָריִ ם ו ֶ
יתם ֲא ֶשׁר ָע ִשׂ ִ
אַתּם ְר ִא ֶ
)ד( ֶ
לוֹתיו:
הוּדה ְל ָק ְדשׁוֹ יִ ְשׂ ָר ֵאל ַמ ְמ ְשׁ ָ
)ב( ָהיְ ָתה יְ ָ
ָאָבא ֶא ְת ֶכם ֵא ָלי:
ֶא ְת ֶכם ַעל ַכּנְ ֵפי נְ ָשׁ ִרים ו ִ
וּשׁ ַמ ְר ֶתּם ֶאת
מוֹע ִתּ ְשׁ ְמעוּ ְבּק ִֹלי ְ
)ה( וְ ַע ָתּה ִאם ָשׁ ַ
יתי וִ ְהיִ ֶ
ְבּ ִר ִ
ֻלּה ִמ ָכּל ָה ַע ִמּים ִכּי ִלי ָכּל
יתם ִלי ְסג ָ
אָרץ:
ָה ֶ
ֹהנִ ים וְ גוֹי ָקדוֹשׁ ֵא ֶלּה
אַתּם ִתּ ְהיוּ ִלי ַמ ְמ ֶל ֶכת כּ ֲ
)ו( וְ ֶ
ַה ְדּ ָב ִרים ֲא ֶשׁר ְתּ ַד ֵבּר ֶאל ְבּנֵי יִ ְשׂ ָר ֵאל:
שמות פרק יד
ַר ֵדּן יִ סֹּב ְלאָחוֹר:
)ג( ַהיָּם ָראָה ַו ָיּנֹס ַהיּ ְ
ַיּוֹל ְך יְ דֹוָד ֶאת
)כא( ַויֵּט מ ֶֹשׁה ֶאת יָדוֹ ַעל ַהיָּם ו ֶ
ילים ְגּ ָבעוֹת ִכּ ְבנֵי צֹאן:
)ד( ֶה ָה ִרים ָר ְקדוּ ְכ ֵא ִ
ָשׂם ֶאת ַהיָּם
רוּח ָק ִדים ַעזָּה ָכּל ַה ַלּיְ ָלה ַויּ ֶ
ַהיָּם ְבּ ַ
ַר ֵדּן ִתּסֹּב ְלאָחוֹר:
)ה( ַמה ְלּ ָך ַהיָּם ִכּי ָתנוּס ַהיּ ְ
ֶל ָח ָר ָבה וַיִּ ָבּ ְקעוּ ַה ָמּיִ ם:
ילים ְגּ ָבעוֹת ִכּ ְבנֵי צֹאן:
)ו( ֶה ָה ִרים ִתּ ְר ְקדוּ ְכ ֵא ִ
ַבּ ָשׁה וְ ַה ַמּיִ ם
תוֹך ַהיָּם ַבּיּ ָ
)כב( ַו ָיּבֹאוּ ְבנֵי יִ ְשׂ ָר ֵאל ְבּ ְ
לוֹהּ ַי ֲעקֹב:
אָרץ ִמ ִלּ ְפנֵי ֱא ַ
חוּלי ֶ
)ז( ִמ ִלּ ְפנֵי אָדוֹן ִ
ֹאלם:
וּמ ְשּׂמ ָ
ימינָם ִ
ָל ֶהם ח ָֹמה ִמ ִ
יהושע פרק ג
ֹהנִ ים
ַר ֵדּן וְ ַר ְג ֵלי ַהכּ ֲ
וּכבוֹא נ ְֹשׂ ֵאי ָהאָרוֹן ַעד ַהיּ ְ
)טו( ְ
ַר ֵדּן ָמ ֵלא ַעל ָכּל
נ ְֹשׂ ֵאי ָהאָרוֹן נִ ְט ְבּלוּ ִבּ ְק ֵצה ַה ָמּיִ ם וְ ַהיּ ְ
דוֹתיו כֹּל יְ ֵמי ָק ִציר:
ְגּ ָ
ַע ְמדוּ ַה ַמּיִ ם ַהיּ ְֹר ִדים ִמ ְל ַמ ְע ָלה ָקמוּ נֵד ֶא ָחד
)טז( ַויּ ַ
אָדם ָה ִעיר ֲא ֶשׁר ִמ ַצּד ָצ ְר ָתן
ַה ְר ֵחק ְמאֹד >באדם< ֵמ ָ
ֲר ָבה יָם ַה ֶמּ ַלח ַתּמּוּ נִ ְכ ָרתוּ וְ ָה ָעם
וְ ַהיּ ְֹר ִדים ַעל יָם ָהע ָ
ָע ְברוּ ֶנגֶד יְ ִריחוֹ:
ַע ְמדוּ ַהכּ ֲ
)יז( ַויּ ַ
ֹהנִ ים נ ְֹשׂ ֵאי ָהאָרוֹן ְבּ ִרית יְ דֹוָד
ַר ֵדּן ָה ֵכן וְ ָכל יִ ְשׂ ָר ֵאל ע ְֹב ִרים ֶבּ ָח ָר ָבה
תוֹך ַהיּ ְ
ֶבּ ָח ָר ָבה ְבּ ְ
ַר ֵדּן:
ַעד ֲא ֶשׁר ַתּמּוּ ָכּל ַהגּוֹי ַל ֲעבֹר ֶאת ַהיּ ְ
)ח( ַהה ְֹפ ִכי ַהצּוּר ֲאגַם ָמיִ ם ַח ָלּ ִמישׁ ְל ַמ ְעיְ נוֹ ָמיִ ם:
שמות פרק יט
ָרד ָע ָליו יְ דֹוָד
)יח( וְ ַהר ִסינַי ָע ַשׁן כֻּלּוֹ ִמ ְפּנֵי ֲא ֶשׁר י ַ
ֶח ַרד ָכּל ָה ָהר ְמאֹד:
ֲשׁנוֹ ְכּ ֶע ֶשׁן ַה ִכּ ְב ָשׁן ַויּ ֱ
ַעל ע ָ
ָבּ ֵאשׁ ַויּ ַ
שמות פרק יז
ֹאמר יְ דֹוָד ֶאל מ ֶֹשׁה ֲעבֹר ִל ְפנֵי ָה ָעם וְ ַקח
)ה( ַויּ ֶ
ית בּוֹ ֶאת ַהיְ אֹר
וּמ ְטּ ָך ֲא ֶשׁר ִה ִכּ ָ
ִא ְתּ ָך ִמ ִזּ ְקנֵי יִ ְשׂ ָר ֵאל ַ
ָד ָך וְ ָה ָל ְכ ָתּ:
ַקח ְבּי ְ
ית
ֶיך ָשּׁם ַעל ַהצּוּר ְבּח ֵֹרב וְ ִה ִכּ ָ
)ו( ִהנְ נִ י ע ֵֹמד ְל ָפנ ָ
ַעשׂ ֵכּן מ ֶֹשׁה
ָצאוּ ִמ ֶמּנּוּ ַמיִ ם וְ ָשׁ ָתה ָה ָעם ַויּ ַ
ַבצּוּר וְ י ְ
ְל ֵעינֵי ִז ְקנֵי יִ ְשׂ ָר ֵאל:
דברים פרק ח
ָחשׁ ָשׂ ָרף
נּוֹרא נ ָ
ֲך ַבּ ִמּ ְד ָבּר ַה ָגּדֹל וְ ַה ָ
מּוֹליכ ָ
)טו( ַה ִ
מּוֹציא ְל ָך ַמיִ ם ִמצּוּר
וְ ַע ְק ָרב וְ ִצ ָמּאוֹן ֲא ֶשׁר ֵאין ָמיִ ם ַה ִ
ַה ַח ָלּ ִמישׁ :
L12 - References to Humash - Summary Chart.doc
55
Pasuk 4 – גבעות=הריםand כבני צאן=כאילים. תרקדוis elided in the second half. This Pasuk
uses a simile to make the movement of the earthquake more vivid. This seems to be a
reference to Har Sinai. Alternatively, there may have been an earthquake at the same time
as the splitting of the sea and perhaps was even the cause of a tsunami-like phenomenon.
Pesukim 5 & 6 – These two Pesukim repeat the previous two word for word in the form
of a question. The suspense that has been building up in the first half of the Mizmor
finally is made explicit. The question is somewhat rhetorical since we already know the
answer. Nevertheless, it builds up tension for the dramatic conclusion. When performed,
the question may be recited antiphonically.
Pasuk 7 – Hashem is hinted to all along until He makes a grand entrance in this Pasuk.
מלפני=מלפני. חולי ארץis elided. אלוה יעקב=אדון- step up from general word “Master” to
specific “God of Jacob.” Jacob here recalls the mention of the house of Jacob in Pasuk 1.
Pasuk 8 – חלמיש=צור- a flintstone is harder than most other rocks. מעין=אגם. אגםis a pool
of water while מעיןis a flowing fountain. The second half thus intensifies the first half.
Not only can God turn a plain rock into a pond, he can even turn a very hard rock into a
flowing fountain. What historical event does this refer to? Moshe hitting the rock to bring
forth water. Why is this event singled out from all the other miracles that occurred such
as the falling of the ?מןWhy is this event the climax of the Mizmor? It has to do with
water just like splitting the sea. Water is our most basic need, and God can provide it for
us even from something as hard as a flint stone. God can just as easily turn a river into
dry land as He can turn a rock into a fountain.
4. Summarize
This Mizmor recalls a series of historical events in a more poetic light. The rivers and
mountains are personified and their movement is exaggerated. At the same time, God’s
presence is understated. Pasuk 2 uses only a pronoun with no referent, Pasuk 3 does not
state what the water saw, and Pesukim 5-6 wonder what force is behind the movement.
The exaggeration and personification of the miracles and the subduing of God’s presence
through most of the Mizmor serve to enhance the drama of the last two Pesukim. We
finally realize that God is behind all of history and nature. The Mizmor opened by stating
God and Israel have a special relationship. In case anyone should think that Hashem is
Israel’s God and other nations have other gods, which was the common belief in
polytheistic societies, this Mizmor tells us that the God of Jacob also controls all of
nature. The God of Israel directs history and rules over all of creation. There is only one
driving force in the world.
Bibliography:
.315-320 ,1982 , מוסד הרב קוק: ירושלים. פני ספר תהלים. פיבל,מלצר
Weiss, Meir. The Bible From Within. Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 1984, pp. 93-100; 352378.
----------. מקראות ככוונתם. Jerusalem: Bialik Institute, 1987, pp. 252-262.
56
Lesson 13 – Introduction to Pesuke Dezimra
Goal:
Students should be able to trace the development of Pesuke Dezimra citing relevant
sources from the Gemara. Students will also experience comparing the printed Gemara
with a manuscript version.
Activity:
1. Explain how the Rabbis instituted the structure of many prayers to be a section of
Tanakh preceded and followed by a Blessing. Examples of this are reading the Torah,
Haftarot, Megilat Esther, Keriat Shema, Hallel, and Pesuke Dezimra. What is the source
for saying Mizmorim 145-150 every day? See Source Sheet, 1.
Sources for Pesuke Dezimra
תלמוד בבלי מסכת שבת דף קיח עמוד ב.1
הרי זה- הקורא הלל בכל יום: איני? והאמר מר. יהא חלקי מגומרי הלל בכל יום:אמר רבי יוסי
. בפסוקי דזמרא- כי קאמרינן- !מחרף ומגדף
תלמוד בבלי מסכת ברכות דף ד עמוד ב.2
Printed Vilna Edition
- ( כל האומר ) תהלים קמ"ה( תהלה לדוד בכל יום )שלש פעמים:אמר רבי אלעזר אמר רבי אבינא
נימא ) תהלים- מאי טעמא? אילימא משום דאתיא באל"ף בי"ת.מובטח לו שהוא בן העולם הבא
- קי"ט( אשרי תמימי דרך דאתיא בתמניא אפין! אלא משום דאית ביה ) תהלים קמ"ה( פותח את ידך
. משום דאית ביה תרתי: אלא- ! )תהלים קל"ו( נתן לחם לכל בשר:נימא הלל הגדול דכתיב ביה
Manuscript Paris (written in 15th cent.)
L13 - Pesuke Dezimra - Source Sheet.doc
57
It seems that at the time of R. Yose it was not yet a universal custom to say these
Mizmorim each day but only the habit of an elite few. Over time, most people strove to
accomplish this goal and it became the widespread practice.
2. There is another source for saying specifically Mizmor 145 each day. See Source
Sheet, 2. Notice that the words שלש פעמיםare in parenthesis. These words do appear in
printed editions of the Talmud but are absent in many manuscripts and quotes from the
Rishonim (See Gilyon haShas). Rather, the original statement encourages saying this
Mizmor once a day. This is based on reading Pauk 2 as a conditional statement, “[If] I
bless you every day, [then] I will [merit the opportunity to] praise Your Name forever
and ever [in the world to come].” Later on, the Geonim instituted that it should be said
three times a day in order to ensure that it will be said at least once with proper
concentration. The custom of reciting this Mizmor every day is at least as old as the
fourth century when R. Avina lived. Of course, this is not meant to say that one can be a
רשעand still deserve Olam Haba just by saying this Mizmor. Rather, this hyperbole
should be understood as a strong encouragement in the sense that if one reads,
understands, internalizes, and acts upon the message of this Mizmor, then he will be
deserving of Olam Haba.
Why was this Mizmor chosen? The Gemara gives two reasons, one based on its form and
the other based on its content. Its form is an acrostic. Why would someone write an
acrostic? What is so significant about an alphabetic acrostic. It is easy to memorize.
There is more significance to it which we will see later on. What is the main message of
the Mizmor? What is so important about ?פותח את ידךThis Pasuk summarizes the
essence of this Mizmor which is praise to Hashem for sustaining all life.
3. Look up Mizmor 145 in a Tanakh. What is missing? Notice that there are three extra
Pesukim in the Siddur that are not part of this Mizmor. We add two Pesukim before,
Mizmor 84:5 and 144:15, and one Pasuk after, 115:18. Why do we add these Pesukim?
From 84:5 we learn that one should sit and meditate before praying. חסידים הראשונים היו
. אמר קרא )תהלים פ"ד( אשרי יושבי ביתך: מנא הני מילי? אמר רבי יהושע בן לוי.שוהין שעה אחת
The Pasuk says “It is well with those who sit in your house” and only afterwards “they
will ever praise you.” Saying this Pasuk reminds us that we need to be in a relaxed state
of mind in order to concentrate on the prayer.
There was once a custom to say many Pesukim that begin with אשריbefore Mizmor 145.
Most were dropped but 144:15 remained, perhaps because it is in any case adjacent to
Mizmor 145. Also, Mizmor 145 is completely universal. It includes all beings. this Pasuk
may have been added as a reminder that Israel is special.
115:18 ends with הללויהand connects this Mizmor with the next few Mizmorim which
begin and end with the word הללויה. Also, the words מעתה ועד עולםecho the last Pasuk of
Mizmor 145, לעולם ועד.
58
”Ingredients in “Ashre
תהלים מזמור פד:ה
ית ָך
יוֹשׁ ֵבי ֵב ֶ
אַשׁ ֵרי ְ
ְ
לוּך ֶסּ ָלה:
עוֹד יְ ַה ְל ָ
תהלים מזמור קמד:טו
אַשׁ ֵרי ָה ָעם ֶשׁ ָכּ ָכה לּוֹ
ְ
אַשׁ ֵרי ָה ָעם ֶשׁיֲדֹוָד ֱא-ל ָֹהיו:
ְ
תהילים מזמור קמה
)א( ְתּ ִה ָלּה ְל ָדוִ ד
לוֹהי ַה ֶמּ ֶל ְך
רוֹמ ְמ ָך ֱאַ -
ֲא ִ
)ב( ְבּ ָכל יוֹם ֲא ָב ְר ֶכ ָךּ
וּמ ֻה ָלּל ְמאֹד
)ג( גָּדוֹל ידוד ְ
יך
ֲשׂ ָ
)ד( דּוֹר ְלדוֹר יְ ַשׁ ַבּח ַמע ֶ
הוֹד ָך
)ה( ֲה ַדר ְכּבוֹד ֶ
ֹאמרוּ
יך י ֵ
נוֹרא ֶֹת ָ
)ו( ֶועֱזוּז ְ
ַבּיעוּ
טוּב ָך י ִ
ֵכר ַרב ְ
)ז( ז ֶ
)ח( ַחנּוּן וְ ַרחוּם ידוד
)ט( טוֹב ידוד ַלכֹּל
יך
ֲשׂ ָ
יוֹדוּך ידוד ָכּל ַמע ֶ
ָ
)י(
ֹאמרוּ
כוּת ָך י ֵ
)יא( ְכּבוֹד ַמ ְל ְ
אָדם ְגּבוּר ָֹתיו
יע ִל ְבנֵי ָה ָ
הוֹד ַ
)יב( ְל ִ
כוּת ָך ַמ ְלכוּת ָכּל ע ָֹל ִמים
)יג( ַמ ְל ְ
סוֹמ ְך ידוד ְל ָכל ַהנּ ְֹפ ִלים
)יד( ֵ
יך יְ ַשׂ ֵבּרוּ
)טו( ֵעינֵי כֹל ֵא ֶל ָ
ָד ָך
פּוֹת ַח ֶאת י ֶ
)טז( ֵ
)יז( ַצ ִדּיק ידוד ְבּ ָכל ְדּ ָר ָכיו
)יח( ָקרוֹב ידוד ְל ָכל ק ְֹראָיו
ֲשׂה
)יט( ְרצוֹן יְ ֵראָיו ַיע ֶ
שׁוֹמר ידוד ֶאת ָכּל א ֲֹה ָביו
)כ( ֵ
)כא( ְתּ ִה ַלּת ידוד יְ ַד ֶבּר ִפּי
ָעד:
עוֹלם ו ֶ
ַא ָב ְר ָכה ִשׁ ְמ ָך ְל ָ
וֲ
ָעד:
עוֹלם ו ֶ
ַא ַה ְל ָלה ִשׁ ְמ ָך ְל ָ
וֲ
ֻלּתוֹ ֵאין ֵח ֶקר:
וְ ִל ְגד ָ
יך י ִַגּידוּ:
וּגבוּר ֶֹת ָ
ְ
יחה:
אָשׂ ָ
יך ִ
וְ ִד ְב ֵרי נִ ְפ ְלא ֶֹת ָ
ֻלּו ְת ָך ֲא ַס ְפּ ֶרנָּה:
וּגד ָ
ְ
וְ ִצ ְד ָק ְת ָך יְ ַרנֵּנוּ:
וּג ָדל ָח ֶסד:
אַפּיִ ם ְ
ֶא ֶר ְך ַ
ֲשׂיו:
וְ ַר ֲח ָמיו ַעל ָכּל ַמע ָ
כוּכה:
יך יְ ָב ְר ָ
יד ָ
ַח ִס ֶ
וֲ
בוּר ְת ָך יְ ַד ֵבּרוּ:
וּג ָ
ְ
וּכבוֹד ֲה ַדר ַמ ְלכוּתוֹ:
ְ
וּמ ְמ ַשׁ ְל ְתּ ָך ְבּ ָכל דּוֹר ָודֹר:
ֶ
פוּפים:
זוֹקף ְל ָכל ַה ְכּ ִ
וְ ֵ
אָכ ָלם ְבּ ִעתּוֹ:
נוֹתן ָל ֶהם ֶאת ְ
אַתּה ֵ
וְ ָ
יע ְל ָכל ַחי ָרצוֹן:
וּ ַמ ְשׂ ִבּ ַ
ֲשׂיו:
וְ ָח ִסיד ְבּ ָכל ַמע ָ
ְלכֹל ֲא ֶשׁר יִ ְק ָר ֻאהוּ ֶב ֱא ֶמת:
יעם:
יוֹשׁ ֵ
וְ ֶאת ַשׁוְ ָע ָתם יִ ְשׁ ַמע וְ ִ
ַשׁ ִמיד:
וְ ֵאת ָכּל ָה ְר ָשׁ ִעים י ְ
ָעד:
עוֹלם ו ֶ
יב ֵר ְך ָכּל ָבּ ָשׂר ֵשׁם ָק ְדשׁוֹ ְל ָ
וִ ָ
תהלים מזמור קטו:יח
ַחנוּ נְ ָב ֵר ְך ָי-הּ
ַאנ ְ
וֲ
עוֹלם ַה ְללוּ ָי-הּ:
ֵמ ַע ָתּה וְ ַעד ָ
L13 - Ashre - Summary Sheet.doc
59
Lesson 14 – Mizmor 145: All Encompasing Praise
Goal:
Students should be able to break down this Mizmor into its sections and summarize the
content of each section and of the entire Mizmor.
Activity:
1. Since this Mizmor is very familiar and does not contain many difficult words, this is a
good chance to encourage students to discover the structure, progression, and meaning of
this Mizmor on their own. Ask students to break up into small groups and analyze the
Mizmor together looking for the following:
What is the main idea of the Mizmor?
What is the structure of the Mizmor?
What keywords are used in the Mizmor?
What other poetic devices do you see?
Do you see any flow of ideas or progression from beginning to end?
What else do you notice that is worth mentioning?
2. Students should be able to find many of the keywords. When they mention a key word
ask them to look for every occurrence of it. If they are all near one another, this becomes
a section. Once the students have said everything they have found and they begin to see
the structure forming, review each key word in order from the beginning and delineate
each section.
Refrains - This is the only Mizmor that opens with the word תהלה. The last verse also
begins תהלת. Both of these words are from the root הללwhich is the key word running
throughout this and the next five Mizmorim. Pesukim 1 and 2 both end with שמך לעולם
ועד. These words also end the last Pasuk only slightly expanded, שם קדשו לעולם ועד. The
verb ברךoccurs four times in the Mizmor in vv 1, 2, 10, and 21. Taking all these words
together, we find that the first two pesukim and the last Pasuk form an envelope around
the rest of the Mizmor. Since the only other occurrence of ברכis in the middle Pasuk at v
10, this Pasuk too is linked to the opening and closing. Once we compare these Pesukim
side by side we find that there is a progression from one to the next.
:ָעד
ֶ עוֹלם ו
ָ ַא ָב ְר ָכה ִשׁ ְמ ָך ְל
ֲ לוֹהי ַה ֶמּ ֶל ְך ו
ַ -רוֹמ ְמ ָך ֱא
ִ )א( ְתּ ִה ָלּה ְל ָדוִ ד ֲא
:ָעד
ֶ עוֹלם ו
ָ ַא ַה ְל ָלה ִשׁ ְמ ָך ְל
ֲו
)ב( ְבּ ָכל יוֹם ֲא ָב ְר ֶכ ָךּ
...
:כוּכה
ָ יְב ְר
ָ יך
ָ יד
ֶ ַח ִס
ֲו
יך
ָ יוֹדוּך ידוד ָכּל ַמ ֲע ֶשׂ
ָ
()י
...
:ָעד
ֶ עוֹלם ו
ָ יב ֵר ְך ָכּל ָבּ ָשׂר ֵשׁם ָק ְדשׁוֹ ְל
ָ ִו
)כא( ְתּ ִה ַלּת ידוד יְ ַד ֶבּר ִפּי
In the first two pesukim, the singer blesses Hashem by himself. In the middle Pasuk, a
small group of faithful ones – חסידיךbless Hashem. By the end, all creatures bless His
Holy Name. We can picture someone beginning to sing by himself, then being joined by
a few devotees, and finally rallying everyone to sing together. These four Pesukim act as
a refrain in the beginning, middle, and end of the Mizmor.
60
Section 1 – Both halves of Pasuk 3 begin with גדול. The word is found again in Pasuk 6.
Everything between these Pesukim also describes Hashem’s greatness with words like
מעשיך, גבורתיך, כבוד הודך, נפלאתיך, and נוראתיך. All of these words connote the great
works of Hashem in creation and nature. They relate to Hashem as transcendent,
powerful, and beyond reach. Therefore, both the keyword גדולand the content mark off
Pesukim 3-6 as a section praising Hashem’s greatness. (Even though גדלcomes up once
more in Pasuk 8, it is only an adjective there amplifying חסד.)
Section 2 – Pasuk 7 introduces celebration for Hashem’s goodness – טובך. The word טוב
comes up only once more in Pasuk 9. Everything between these words similarly praises
Hashem’s goodness and kindness with words like צדקתך, חנון ורחום, ארך אפים, and גדל
חסד. Pasuk 8 is paraphrase of Hashem’s thirteen attributes of mercy (Shemot 34:6). In
this section we feel Hashem’s closeness to us, His care, and His accessibility. Therefore,
both the keyword טובand the content of Pesukim 7-9 mark off these Pesukim as a section
praising Hashem’s goodness.
Section 3 – After the refrain at Pasuk 10, we find three Pesukim in a row which contain
( מלכותtwice in Pasuk 13). The root מלךoccurs outside of this section only once in Pasuk
1. This section shares some words with Section 1 such as כבודand גבורתךand adds other
words which are even more royal such as הדרand ממשלתך. Similar to Section 1, this
section also gives off the sense of Hashem as transcendent just like a human king is
beyond the reach of the ordinary citizen. Therefore, the keyword מלכותas well as the
royal content of Pesukim 11-13 set off these Pesukim as praise for Hashem’s kingship.
Remarkably, the three Pesukim of this section begin with the letters כ, ל, and מ. When
read backwards, these letters spell !מלךThis further proves that these three Pesukim form
a section about kingship.
Section 4 – Pesukim 14 – 20 form the last section. Everything in these Pesukim describes
how Hashem provides help and sustenance to the needy (Pesukim 14-16), and responds
to and protects the deserving (Pesukim 18-20). This section is summed up in its middle
Pasuk (17) – “Hashem is beneficent in all His ways and faithful in all His works.” This
message is similar to that in Section 2. The most predominate word in this section is כל
which is repeated ten times. Although כלappears seven more times in the rest of the
Mizmor, its concentration in Section 4 makes it this section’s keyword. It emphasizes that
Hashem is not just selectively good to some people sometimes but rather all-good all the
time to all living beings. In turn, it is incumbent upon all people to seek out and love
Hashem (Pesukim 15, 18, and 20).
Some philosophers speak of God as a transcendent, infinite, all-powerful being about
whom we can know nothing and from whom we wouldn’t expect special favors. Others
think of God as a close, ever-compassionate father like figure to thinks about us and cares
for our every need. In philosophy, it is difficult to reconcile these two conceptions.
However, when meditating or when in a state of prayer, our emotions can often shift from
one to the other and back. The four sections of this Mizmor similarly vacillate these two
extremes. Sections 1 and 3 think of God as transcendent in their calls to proclaim His
61
greatness and kingship. Sections 2 and 4, on the other hand, think of God as near at hand
as they praise His goodness.
L14 - Structure - Summary Sheet.doc
We can now trace the movement of the reader as he experiences this Mizmor. At first
alone, the reader begins by thinking of God’s greatness and awesomeness in Section 1
but he doesn’t feel close to Him. Once he begins to fathom God’s mighty acts in creation,
we begin to think of acts He performs for us. In Section two we begin to sense God’s
mercy. The reader now reaches a higher level where he feels connected with a group of
“faithful ones” in the refrain. Now he thinks about God as an infinite king in Section 3.
But even a king must take care of his subjects and the infinite king provides infinite care
for all beings. It is significant that the last section is the longest and most detailed. It is
clearly the climax of the Mizmor and contains its most essential message.
3. There are two types of Pesukim in this Mizmor. Some Pesukim contain praise of
Hashem. Other only announce an intention to praise Hashem. For example, the first two
Pesukim say, “I will extol…and bless…and praise Your name…” But this is only a
promise to praise in the future, not actual praise. Pasuk 3, on the other hand, is a
straightforward praise “Great is Hashem…” Go through the Mizmor quickly Pasuk by
Pasuk and have the class call out whether each Pasuk is praise or intention to praise. The
results can be summed up as follows:
62
Structure of Mizmor 145
:ָעד
ֶ עוֹלם ו
ָ ַא ָב ְר ָכה ִשׁ ְמ ָך ְל
ֲו
:ָעד
ֶ עוֹלם ו
ָ ַא ַה ְל ָלה ִשׁ ְמ ָך ְל
ֲו
ְתּ ִה ָלּה ְל ָדוִ ד
לוֹהי ַה ֶמּ ֶל ְך
ַ -וֹמ ְמ ָך ֱא
ִ
ְבּ ָכל יוֹם ֲא ָב ְר ֶכ ָךּ
I - Greatness
:ֻלּתוֹ ֵאין ֵח ֶקר
ָ וְ ִל ְגד
:יך י ִַגּידוּ
ָ וּגבוּר ֶֹת
ְ
:יחה
ָ אָשׂ
ִ יך
ָ וְ ִד ְב ֵרי ִנ ְפ ְלא ֶֹת
:ֻלּו ְת ָך ֲא ַס ְפּ ֶרנָּה
ָ וּגד
ְ
וּמ ֻה ָלּל ְמאֹד
ְ גָּדוֹל ידוד
יך
ָ ְשׁ ַבּח ַמ ֲע ֶשׂ
ַ דּוֹר ְלדוֹר י
הוֹד ָך
ֶ ֲה ַדר ְכּבוֹד
ֹאמרוּ
ֵ יך י
ָ נוֹרא ֶֹת
ְ ֶעזוּז
ֱו
II - Goodness
:וְ ִצ ְד ָק ְת ָך י ְַרנֵּנוּ
:וּג ָדל ָח ֶסד
ְ אַפּיִם
ַ ֶא ֶר ְך
:וְ ַר ֲח ָמיו ַעל ָכּל ַמ ֲע ָשׂיו
טוּב ָך י ִַבּיעוּ
ְ ֵכר ַרב
ֶז
ַחנּוּן וְ ַרחוּם ידוד
טוֹב ידוד ַלכֹּל
:כוּכה
ָ יך י ְָב ְר
ָ יד
ֶ ַח ִס
ֲו
יך
ָ יוֹדוּך ידוד ָכּל ַמ ֲע ֶשׂ
ָ
Refrain
Refrain
III - Kingship
IV - Goodness
Refrain
:בוּר ְת ָך י ְַד ֵבּרוּ
ָ וּג
ְ
ֹאמרוּ
ֵ כוּת ָך י
ְ ( ְכּבוֹד ַמ ְל
:וּכבוֹד ֲה ַדר ַמ ְלכוּתוֹ
ְ אָדם ְגּבוּר ָֹתיו
ָ יע ִל ְבנֵי ָה
ַ הוֹד
ִ ( ְל
:וּמ ְמ ַשׁ ְל ְתּ ָך ְבּ ָכל דּוֹר ָודֹר
ֶ כוּת ָך ַמ ְלכוּת ָכּל ע ָֹל ִמים
ְ ( ַמ ְל
:פוּפים
ִ זוֹקף ְל ָכל ַה ְכּ
ֵ ְו
:אָכ ָלם ְבּ ִעתּוֹ
ְ נוֹתן ָל ֶהם ֶאת
ֵ אַתּה
ָ ְו
:יע ְל ָכל ַחי ָרצוֹן
ַ וּמ ְשׂ ִבּ
ַ
:וְ ָח ִסיד ְבּ ָכל ַמ ֲע ָשׂיו
:ְלכֹל ֲא ֶשׁר י ְִק ָר ֻאהוּ ֶב ֱא ֶמת
:יעם
ֵ יוֹשׁ
ִ ְִשׁ ַמע ו
ְ וְ ֶאת ַשׁוְ ָע ָתם י
:ַשׁ ִמיד
ְ וְ ֵאת ָכּל ָה ְר ָשׁ ִעים י
סוֹמ ְך ידוד ְל ָכל ַהנּ ְֹפ ִלים
ֵ (
ְשׂ ֵבּרוּ
ַ יך י
ָ ( ֵעינֵי כֹל ֵא ֶל
ָד ָך
ֶ פּוֹת ַח ֶאת י
ֵ (
( ַצ ִדּיק ידוד ְבּ ָכל ְדּ ָר ָכיו
( ָקרוֹב ידוד ְל ָכל ק ְֹראָיו
ַע ֶשׂה
ֲ ְראָיו י
ֵ ( ְרצוֹן י
שׁוֹמר ידוד ֶאת ָכּל א ֲֹה ָביו
ֵ
:ָעד
ֶ עוֹלם ו
ָ יב ֵר ְך ָכּל ָבּ ָשׂר ֵשׁם ָק ְדשׁוֹ ְל
ָ ִו
א( ְתּ ִה ַלּת ידוד י ְַד ֶבּר ִפּי
L14 - Intention & Praise - Summary Sheet.doc
Do you see any pattern? Notice that most of the promises to pray are found in Sections 1
& 3 while most of the actual praise is found in Sections 2 & 4. Why? Since we can not
know anything about a transcendent God, it is very difficult to praise Him in Section 1 &
3. All we can do is strive for knowledge of Him. Therefore, we can say very little actual
praise (only one Pasuk at the beginning and one at the end) and we express our desire to
praise more with statements of intent. In Sections 2 & 4, on the other, hand we speak of
God’s infinite kindness to us. Examples of this in everyday life a re plentiful and easily
appreciated. In these sections we need only express intention to praise once and then the
praise immediately pours forth.
4. The Acrsotic and the Missing Nun
The Gemara in Shabbat 118b asks why the Nun-Pasuk is missing. Read the Gemara
quoted in the source sheet above. Do you find this answer convincing? What are the
problems with it? This answer is not convincing for a few reasons. Just because there is a
negative Pauk in Amos which begins with Nun does not mean that Nun is forever tainted.
There are many positive Pesukim that begin with Nun and many negative Pesukim that
63
begin with other letters. If Nun really is unusable, why is it found in other acrostic
Mizmorim such as 111, 112, and 119? Furthermore, assuming that David wrote Mizmor
145 as indicated in the heading, the Mizmor would have preceeded Amos by hundreds of
years.
[If this Midrash is not meant to provide a historical reason for the missing Nun-Pasuk,
then what is the point of the Midrash? This Midrash presents two ways of dealing with a
troubling Pasuk in Amos. The Pasuk says that Israel has fallen and will nevermore rise.
This hopeless situation is difficult to swallow and also goes against the messages of hope
found in other places. In Israel, they repunctuate the Pasuk to mean, “Israel has fallen no
more; rise maiden of Israel.” The Babylonian Rabbis dealt with this problematic Pasuk in
a different way. The use the coincidence of a missing Nun-Pasuk and the presence of the
word נופליםin the next Pasuk (14) as a midrashic hook. They suggest that Mizmor 145
rectifies the Pasuk in Amos by not only leaving it out but also stating that Hashem does,
in fact, lift the fallen. This is not meant as a commentary to Mizmor 145 but rather as a
way to deal with the Pasuk in Amos.]
If we read through the Mizmor while paying attention to the acrostic what happens when
we reach Pasuk 14? When we read סומךwe realize that the Nun-Pasuk is skipped. This
makes us pause before we go on. Skipping the Nun-Pasuk may be a literary device to
indicate a section break. In fact, as we saw from the structure above, Section 4 is the
climax and essence of the Mizmor and so it is fitting to mark a section break between it
and the rest of the Mizmor. In fact Pesukim 1-13 are marked off as a unit by the envelope
created by the word מלכיin Pasuk 1 and the keyword מלכותin Pesukim 11-13. The
missing Nun-Pasuk also indicates a break when reading the acrostic backwards and
marks the beginning of the letters מלכof Section 3.
4. Conclusion
What is the main message of this Mizmor? The main idea of the Mizmor is a total praise
of Hashem by all people at all times. This is summed up in the progressioin of the
refrains and in the repetition of the keyword כל. Why was acrostic structure chosen to
best convey this message? By using every letter of the alphabet, we sense that we are
praising God using all possible language. It is complete praise from A to Z.
Bibliography
Berlin, Adele. “The Rhetoric of Psalm 145,” in A. Kort and S. Morschauser, Biblical and
Related Studies Presented to Samuel Iwry (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1985) 17-22.
Kimelman, Reuven. “Psalms 145:Theme, Structure, and Impact.” JBL 113 (1994) 37-58.
Weiss, Meir. מקראות ככוונתם. Jerusalem: Bialik Institute, 1987, pp. 263-292.
64
Lesson 15 – Mizmorim 9 and 10
Goal:
Students will be able to list arguments why these two Mizmorim belong together, show
that they are an acrostic, and expain why there are irregularities in the alphabetic
sequence. They should be able to define the terms “form” and “content” and show how
the form these Mizmorim fits their content.
Activity:
1. Read Mizmorim 9 and 10 Pasuk by Pasuk to make sure class understands any difficult
words of phrases and noticing parallelism or other poetic devices. They should be able to
summarize the basic messages. In Mizmor 9, the writer is surrounded by evil, his life is in
danger and he calls to God to destroy the evil. In Mizmor 10, the pleas become more
desperate and the writer describes the thoughts and actions of the wicked person in detail
in order to invoke God to act.
2. Ask students to break into pairs for a do now:
Try to find the acrostic structure. Circle the first letter of each Pasuk that begins with the
next letter of the alphabet.
What pattern do you notice predominates?
What are the problems with the structure?
The regular pattern in this acrostic is to have every other Pasuk begin with a successive
letter of the alphabet while the Pesukim in between can begin with any letter. This works
for the first four Pesukim. Pasuk 1 begins with אfollowed by an attached verse at Pasuk
2. Pasuk 3 begins with בfollowed by an attached verse at Pasuk 4. Pasuk 5 begins with ג
but then we have a disruption. There is no attached verse for the letter גand there is no ד
verse at all. Pasuk 7 begins with הbut has no attachment. Pasuk 8 begins with וand has
three attachments of Pesukim 9-11. Pesukim 12-17 follow the regular pattern: ז,
attachment, ח, attachment, ט, attachment. Pasuk 18 begins with יbut has no attachment.
Pasuk 19 begins with כand has two attachements. Moving onto Mizmor 10, Pasuk 1
begins with ל. After that we are missing the next six letters. The alphabet only picks up
again at Pasuk 12 with קand an attachment. Pasuk 14 begins with רbut has no
attachment. The rest of the Mizmor follows the regular pattern of ש, attachment, ת,
attachment.
Do you have any suggestions about why the acrostic is all messed up? Many modern
Bible scholars think the acrostic was once perfect but that it got corrupted over centuries
of transmission? Do you think that is likely? It is highly unlikely that such careful scribes
as the Massorites would make such glaring mistakes in a simple alphabetic pattern.
Rather, these anomalies in the strucuture must be an original part of the composition.
Why would a writer skip letters and put different numbers of attached verses between the
letters?
3. An insightful student should realize that the place where we are missing six letters of
the alphabet (an anomaly in the form) is also the place where we have a long digression
65
about the ways of the wicked person (an anomaly of content), Mizmor 10:2-11.
Therefore, it seems that the form of the acrostic matches its content.
An alphabetic acrostic is the most structured and predictable pattern. This
structure represents order and goodness in the world. When people act properly,
everything is predicatable and good. However, when wicked people commit evil, this
causes disruption and chaos in the world. Similarly, when the Mizmor discusses
wickedness, the acrostic goes off track and becomes chaotic. But chaos is not allowed to
reign forever. When people cry out and God decides to intervene, evil is destroyed and
order is restored. Similarly in the Mizmor, when God is called upon to act, the acrostic
structure goes back to normal. This connection between form and content works
throughout the Mizmor.
The first two letters of the acrostic (ב-א, vv 2-5) are complete with one primary
and attached verse each. These four verses praise God and remember past vindications.
The third letter (ג, v 6) continues to recall past vindications but here we have the first
mention of the word רשע. Immediately, we see a disruption in the order with a missing
attached verse for ג, no verses at all for ד, and a missing attached verse for ה. Here,
apparently, the mere mention of the wicked in v 6, even within a description of his
destruction, also disrupts the acrostic sequence. Proper order is not restored until the
letter וwhich begins הוה לעולם ישב- ;ויproclamation of God’s everlasting sitting in
judgment brings the acrostic back into proper format. God’s name is a key word in the
four verses of the letter ו. YHVH is the first, last, and middle word of vv 8-11. The
YHVH in v 10 is the fourteenth word from the first YHVH in v 8 and also the fourteenth
word from the last YHVH in v 11. Not only do we find complete primary and attached
verses for the next three letters, וeven has two extra attached verses perhaps to replace
the missing גand הattached verses. God’s judgment restores the partial havoc caused by
the wicked.
However, the missing דverse is not replaced. This missing letter is of a different
nature than the other six missing letters discussed earlier. The latter at least have ten
verses in their place, even though those verses do not begin with the correct letters. The ד
verse is completely erased. This may connect to the verses immediately before and after
the spot where it should be located. Both say that the name of the wicked was wiped out ( שמם מחית לעולם ועדv 6) and ( אבד זכרם המהv 7). The first phrase describes the erasing of
the letter, and the following phrase states that its memory has perished. These are the
only two verses in the psalm which state this idea in the past tense and not as a prayer
that God should destroy the wicked. The דverse is not replaced because it apparently
represents evil and its absence represents the erasing of evil as well as its memory.
Order is restored through the letters ז, ח, and ט. But, the end of v 17 mentions רשע
for a second time followed by yet another mention of רשעיםat the beginning of v 18. This
causes a skipping of the yod’s attached verse. The first attached verse to כ, v 20, invokes
YHVH with ' קומה הand this is echoed in the next verse as well – 'שיתה ה. This double
invocation restores order from the chaos caused by the double mention of רשע. The
second attached verse for ( כv 21) serves as a replacement for the missing attached verse
for י.
The acrostic continues with a primary לverse but is abruptly interrupted by three
occurrences of the word רשעin 10:2, 3, and 4 and the word רעin v 6. This meditation on
evil continues for ten verses during which YHVH only appears once as the object of the
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wicked man’s scorn (v 3). Six letters of the acrostic – צ,פ,ע,ס,נ, מ- become garbled by this
extended deliberation on the thought process of the wicked. Order is not restored until
YHVH is once again invoked with the words ' קומה הin 10:12.
Structure of Mizmorim 9 and 10
Black highlight represents disruption caused by the word רשע. Blue highlight indicates
the return of the normal pattern by an invocation of God’s name. There is a red box
around each instance of disruption and reorder.
L15 - Structure of Mizmorim 9 and 10 - Summary Chart.doc
קhas a primary and attached verse, as expected. But the word רשעappears in the ק
attached verse (13). This causes רto lose its attached verse. We then proceed to ( שv 15)
which contains רשעtwice and the word רעonce. But this conglomeration of evil words is
immediately stopped by the declaration in ’שs attached verse (v 16) – ה' מלך עולם ועד.
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Mention of God’s kingship is able to restrain the effects caused by evil. There are no
further ramifications of the evil words in v 15. This is in fact hinted to in the words of v
15, תדרש רשעו בל תמצא. If we take this phrase as being a self-referential comment about
the structure of this acrostic, then we can translate as, “You will look for [the disruption
caused by] רשעbut you will not find it” because by the end of the psalm, God’s presence
is very near and does not allow the wicked to cause harm. From v 15 until the end of the
psalm there are no further disruptions.
The very form of the acrostic reflects its central message. The message is that evil
disrupts the natural order of the world and the ramifications of evil are far reaching.
However, evil can only exist when God allows this to happen. This is poetically
represented in the structure of the acrostic where any occurrence of the word רשעdisrupts
either the acrostic or the primary-attached verse pattern. However, an invocation of God
to act – ' קומה ה- or a description of God in His active role as king puts the acrostic back
on track.
There are many more interesting aspects of the form, word count, and structure of
this Mizmor which are described in the article by Ronald Benun, “Evil and the Disruption
of Order: The Acrostics of Book One.”
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Lesson 16 – Mizmor 37
Goal:
Students will be able to summarize the main point of this Mizmor and show how its form
parallels it content.
Activity:
1. Read through the Mizmor. Let each student read and explain one or two Pesukim.
Then ask students to summarize the main points of the Mizmor. The writer addresses the
problem of צדיק ורע לו רשע וטוב לוand promises that even though the wicked abound at the
present, soon enough they will all be wiped out and the righteous will be vindicated.
2. What is the structure of the Mizmor? Can you find the acrostic? Is it perfect or are
there problems with it? Just like in Mizmorim 9 and 10, the expected pattern is to have
one primary verse begin with a successive letter of the alphabet followed by an attached
verse which can begin with any letter. However, there are three letters which only have
one Pasuk each – ד, כ, and ק. Furthermore, there is no verse for the letter ע. Instead we
find a Pasuk that begins ( צדיקיםv 29) in the place where we would expect to find the ע
Pasuk. Some people think that originally the acrostic was perfect but that mistakes crept
in over centuries of copying. However, it is unlikely that a simple acrostic pattern would
be messed up.
There are many indications, in fact, that all these anomalies are purposeful and
that our text is original word for word. The three letters with only one primary verse each
are not in random placement but are the fourth letter, ד, the middle letter, ( כsince there is
no עverse this is the exact middle), and the fourth letter from the end, ק.
If we take these verses as section breaks then the psalm can be broken into
symmetrical parts. The first three letters א, ב, and גcorrespond to the last three, ר, ש, and
ת. The anomalous breaking verse דparallels the anomalous ק. And the letters between ד
and קare split in half by כleaving six letters on each side. We thus find a chiastic
structure based on the number of acrostic letters in each section: 3-1-6-1-6-1-3.
A – אבג
(two verses per letter)
B–ד
(one verse)
C – הוזחטי
(two verses per letter)
D–כ
(one verse)
C’ – למנספצ
(two verses per letter)
B’ – ק
(one verse)
A’ – רשת
(two verses per letter)
Analyzing word counts reveals another layer of the chiasm. The first and third
single verse letters, דand ק, have the same number of words. In other words, B and B' of
the chiasmus contain 11 words each. This prompts us to analyze whether we also find
equivalences in word counts of other parallel sections. Section A contains 42 words
(excluding the heading) while A’ contains 41 words. While these are not exactly equal
they still create a clear balance. C contains 88 words. C’ contains 94 words; but, if we
omit the anomalous עverse, so that C and C' both contain 6 primary and attached verses,
the total number of words in C’ becomes 88 words as well.
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A – 42 words for 3 letters
B – 11 words for 1 letter
C – 88 words for 6 letters
D – 10 words for 1 letter
C’ – 88 words for 6 letters
B’ – 11 words for 1 letter
A’ – 41 words for 3 letters
Structure of Mizmor 37
The first words of all primary verses are highlighted in yellow and the first words of all
secondary verses are highlighted in gray. V 29 is blocked off because it is not counted.
Verses boxed in red mark section breaks because they have no attached verses thus
breaking the primary-attached pattern.
L16 - Structure of Mizmor 37 - Summary Chart.doc
The fact that the word counts line up so well without the עverse indicates that this
verse is simply out of place. Further proof that the six words of the עverse should be
excluded from the word count of C’ comes with the realization that the number 88
appears again when counting the words of the primary and attached verses of C and C’
separately. The word counts of the primary verses of C (8-8-6-11-6-7) adds up to 46. The
word counts of the primary verses of C’ (7-6-11-6-7-5) adds up to 42. Together, all of the
primary verses in C and C’ contain 88 words. Similarly, as it must work out, the word
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counts of the attached verses of C (8+7+8+5+7+7 = 42) and C’ (6+8+6+13+6+7 = 46)
also add up to 88.This symmetrical structure shows that the single verse letters are
carfully and deliberately placed. We now wonder what happened to the עverse. What is
the significance of the letter ?עThis is even more pressing because the letter עoccurs
exactly seventy times in this Mizmor, which is the numerical value of that letter. What
are the chances that the letter עwhich is missing in the acrostic should appear exactly
seventy times? Now that we know this is all intentional and part of an intricate design, we
ask what does it all mean?
We notice that that v 29 which should have begun with the letter עdoes not;
instead we find the word צדיקים. If we formulate this as a logical equation “not ”צדיק = ע
then perhaps we can derive from its negation that “רשע = ע.” In other words, in the spot
where רשע=עis missing we find righteousness. Keeping in mind that word counts are
very significant in this psalm, we further notice that the word רשעappears fourteen times
– a multiple of seven. Seven and the letter עseem to represent evil.
The picture comes together by understanding v 10 as a self-reflective statement
about the text of this psalm itself. On its surface this verse is part of the wisdom narrative:
“soon, the wicked will be no more.” But on a deeper level, it provides an instruction as to
how to read the continuation of the psalm. “And in a little while there will be no wicked
person, you will analyze ( )והתבוננתhis place ( )מקומוbut he will not be there ()ואיננו.”
Anyone who has reviewed this acrostic, looked for the עverse, analyzed where it belongs
and noticed that it is missing will immediately sympathize with v 10. עis the place where
we expect to find evil but the עverse is missing.
The prominence of עand seven throughout the psalm reflects the current, but
temporary, state of affairs when the wicked abound – ְשׁעִים ַרבִּים
ָ הֲמוֹן ר. But God knows,
and the prophet promises that soon enough they will perish. Not only won’t they thrive,
but even if you look for them ( )והתבוננתwhere they live and where you would expect to
find them ()מקומו, they won’t be there ()ואיננו. The missing עverse represents the future
reality, which includes no safe haven for evil.
Vv 35 and 36, which occur a little after the עverse, turn from current to
retrospective views:
35
I saw a wicked man, powerful, well-rooted like a robust native tree.
36
Suddenly he vanished and was gone; I sought him, but he was not to be found.
Notice how the word רע, backwards or forwards is embedded within almost every word
of v 35, not to mention the word רשעitself: ראיתי רשע עריץ ומתערה כאזרח רענן. The wording
of this verse poetically echoes its meaning. The letters representing evil – ר, ש, and
especially ע- are indeed well-rooted within this verse. If we substitute עfor רשע, we can
understand these verses too as self-reflective statements about the entire psalm: “I found
עeverywhere deeply entrenched in every word and in the very structure of the Psalm.
Then I passed by the עverse and it was no more – I sought it and it was not to be found.”
Now that the psalmist has seen the wicked disappear, he can testify that he remembers
how numerous they once were. The wicked have been replaced by the צדיקיםwho will
inherit the earth and dwell on it forever (v 29).
We thus see how the form of the acrostic, because of its anomalies, serves to
reinforce the main message in the content of the words. For more interesting aspects of
this Mizmor see Ronal Benun, “Evil and the Disruption of Order: The Acrostics of Book
One.”
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Bibliography
Alter, Robert, The Art of Biblical Poetry, Basic Books: New York, 1985.
Meltzer
Sarna, Nahum, “Psalms, Book of” in Encyclopedia Judaica
Sarna, Nahum. On the Book of Psalms: Exploring the Prayers of Ancient Israel. New
York: Schocken Books, 1985.
Weiss
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