Psalms: spiritual poems set to music.
Music, says the Torah, was invented by the world’s creatures. After the Garden of Eden, and before the great flood, Tuval-Cain and his sister Naamah fashioned the first musical instruments. Generations later, their creativity sparked the psalms. Psalms express human desires to know, speak to, and be heard by God. So says Biblical scholar Nahum Sarna.
Psalm 23 begins with the phrase Mizmor l’David. Mizmor, a song and l’David, to David, is usually translated as “A song of David.” But, says medieval scholar Rashi, mizmor l’David can also mean “a song came to David,” telling us a bit about the song’s composition. First, David would play a mizmor on his harp, and then Divine inspiration would come to him.
Some readers imagine that Psalm 23 came to David as he hid in the dry caves of the Judaean desert, protecting himself from King Saul’s executioners. There, in the valley of the shadow of death, David was unafraid. He knew he would find water and receive the flow of Divine grace, even in the face of his enemy.
Divine grace is everywhere: so Moses told the Israelites during their 40 year trek through the desert. God, he said, provides for all their needs. God leads them by still waters in the form of Miriam’s well, and restores their souls by giving the Torah. Enemies may doubt and gloat, but only until they see the full table of manna and quail laid out by God. So says the midrashic Targum Yonatan. Midrash Shemot Rabbah generalizes the message: even in times of exile, when the Jewish people walk through the valley of the shadow of death, God provides.
God always encircles the people with tzedeck, justice, says Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, defining tzedeck as the divine plan to nourish every creature so it can fulfill its purpose. Psalm 23 directs our attention to tzedeck, activating our ability to receive. With its imagery, the psalm stimulates our conscious thoughts and feelings. Its deep structure teaches us more subtly, with hidden messages. The Kabbalistic teacher Arizal notes that the gematria of the word zan, nourishes, is 57. Psalm 23 contains 57 words. The gematria of the word beracha, blessing, is 227. Psalm 23 contains 227 letters.
Tzedeck isn’t all about receiving; nourishment should also be passed on. Psalm 23’s central metaphor, God the shepherd caring for human sheep, reminds us. Humans must care for the working animals in their environment – especially important when every animal contributes to our ecosystem. As the book of Proverbs says, “The righteous person considers the soul of her animal.”
Psalm 23 can give voice to human needs for spiritual nourishment at any stage of life, says Barbara Ellison Rosenblit. The first two verses express a child’s vision of God: an optimistic trust in authority. Verse three transitions to a more critical midlife perspective: a need for God’s active support through conflict and challenge. The next two verses speak in the voice of an elder: leaning on a staff, present to troubles of aging that cannot be overcome, taking comfort in spirituality. Through the last verse all three generations speak in unison, each expressing a different interpretation. The child believes in a good future, and knows she can depend on God anytime. The midlife adult finds guidance in the metaphorical “house of study,” i.e., life-long learning. And the elder knows that a final rest comes as a gift at the end of a full life.
Such is the magic of Psalm 23. There every individual can find a starting point for their own interface with the Divine. As Bethany Therriault writes:
The Lord is my Mother;
She provides for my every need.
She cradles me in Her tender embrace;
She feeds me from Her breast;
She envelopes me in love.
She teaches me about the world,
So that I can make Her proud.
Though I stumble and fall and am certain that I have lost my way,
I know that I can always run to Your arms.
Even when You punish me, I know You love me.
You spread the entire world before me,
And You do not hide its darkness.
You gift me with confidence and grace.
You put the universe within my grasp.
Surely the lessons You teach me will follow me all of my life.
And I will be safe in Your loving arms forever.
Sources: The Book of Psalms, Robert Alter; On the Book of Psalms, Nahum Sarna; nazarenespace.com; js.emory.edu/blumenthal, shemayisrael.com. Images: jakartajazz.com, tumblr.com, dailypicksandflicks.com, iraqpictures.org
