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The simple beauty of this Psalm has made it a
favorite for almost 3000 years. It is a series of
affirmations in the face of life's obstacles, and
it's poetic imagery has a calming, healing effect.
There are many tunes to this Psalm, and this is an
easier one. Psalms make up about 30% of the Jewish
daily 3 or so hours of prayer, and 23 is said many
times during Shabbat.
Scan the sections in the video from right to left.
The Hebrew words are the determining factor of
each slide. It will take several viewings to learn
it, but it's pretty short so once you're familiar
with the way it works, you'll be able to sing it.
Pause it until you're familiar with the sounds. A
couple of lines toward the end are tongue
twisters, but most of it is pronouncable. Psalm 23
is relatively short - some of the Psalms are ten
times as long as tehila chaf gimel - Psalm 23.
In addition to the thoughts and feelings evoked by
the words of the Psalm, there are the benefits of
seeing and pronouncing the letters as a meditation
in itself. Allow yourself to traverse these two
modes of experience as you learn, and it will
deepen the beneficial effect.
Here is a straightforward translation, with some
comments.
A song of David.
Hashem [lit. 'the name'] is my shepherd [lit.
'watcher']; I shall not want.
[Hashem] guides me to lie down in green pastures;
Leads me beside waters of menucha [rest,
tranquility].
Hashem restores my soul [breath];
And leads me in paths of righteousness for the
sake of the Holy Name.
Even when I walk in the valley in the shadow of
death [live in fear of death], I will fear no evil
for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff-they
comfort me.
You set a table before me in the face of my
adversaries;
You anointed my head with oil [oil - used to light
the Menorah, symbol of Torah wisdom];
my cup overflows.
May only goodness and kindness pursue me all the
days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of
Hashem, the Creator, for the length of all days.
~~~~~~~~~
You may note that the Havaya, the Holy Name, is
shown as two letter yuds, instead of the actual
four letter formation. The double yud is a
traditional "shield" to protect the Holiness and
inexpressibility of what we mean by "God," or
"Eternal," or "Creator." The double yuds are a
"thicker shell." When the four letter name is
written or printed, it must be protected, and if
disposed of, must go into a 'genizah,' a special
burial place for sacred texts.
The genizah of Cairo yielded original versions of
Biblical texts back in 1906, showing exact
correlations with modern versions.
Whether or not overwriting or erasing an
electronic file constitutes a desecration of the
Name is a tricky problem. After all, it's only
ones and zeros, right? A thought form? N'est-ce
pas?
Tags : Psalms David Tehillim twenty third Lord Shepherd prayer hope mercy grace protection comfort psalm learn transliterated |
