JBFCS: Rita J. Kaplan Jewish Connections Programs

Rita J. Kaplan Jewish Connections Programs of the Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services

September 2009

Rabbi Stephanie Dickstein, LMSW

Psalm 27: Coming Home and Being Heard

From the first day of the month of Elul until the conclusion of the holiday of Sukkot, it is customary to recite Psalm 27 in the morning and in the evening. There are many explanations as to why this psalm was chosen to accompany us through the month of preparation for the Days of Awe until the joyful culmination of the Fall holiday season, and even more commentaries on the meaning of the psalm and its individual verses. I would like to share three brief teachings which offered me new insights this year.

The first, inspired by Rabbi Eliot Malomet, is a reflection on the recitation of the psalm as coming home after a long trip. We know everything in our home, yet on entering the space for the first time after an absence, we touch the furniture, appreciate the colors and textures, realize we value even the dings in the wall for the stories they tell and we imagine where we will put something new we have acquired during our absence. When we have read Psalm 27 for many years, the words become part of us. By the end of the 50 days, we are at home and comfortable with them, which is nice, but they may no longer make us think. When we return to the familiar words after a break, we pay attention to them and cherish them. They are well known, yet fresh and new. They challenge us once again to enter the spiritual journey of the holidays, but they allow us to start from the security of a home which is always the same, yet always open to change.

The other two teaching are from Cantor Michael Weiss. In verse 4, the psalmist says that he asks for just one thing, to dwell in God’s House and he explains his reasoning. Yet as the psalm unfolds, he gives a list of other things he really wants, such as for God not to hide from him, protection, and guidance. This is a familiar human experience. At a time of crisis, we imagine that if the one thing that makes us feel imperiled is resolved, all will be ok. However, pretty quickly we realized that no matter the situation, our lives are multi-dimensional and there are many things we need to be whole. Yet there can be something valuable in spending time during this season figuring out our priorities. What is the one thing we ask, and why do we want or need that?

Finally, there is something we can learn from the structure of the Hebrew poetry. Often in English poetry and prose, the climax of the piece is the final line. Following that method, it would seem that the climax of Psalm 27 is a message of hope, strength and courage which is possible because of God’s ultimate goodness. This is an important teaching. However, in Hebrew poetry, the climax may be in the middle of the poem. In this case, the center of Psalm 27 is a plea: Hear my voice, God, when I cry out; be gracious unto me and answer me. Ultimately, a fundamental human need is to be heard and to receive a response. In the coming year, may each of us have the blessing of being heard in our encounters with the Divine and other human beings.

These "Spirituality Notes" are excerpts from our monthly E-newsletter. Articles are © JBFCS Rita J. Kaplan Jewish Connections Programs and may be reprinted free of charge as long as this credit line is included.

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